Will anyone in the organisation have the stones to say it? Can Westbrook be the guy to get Harden to get over himself and just acknowledge he's hurting the team out there? Harden has a huge ego, we all know it and it's just dumb to think Harden's competitiveness won't allow him to sit. It's strictly his ego not willing to accept this slump, that he's not playing well and wants to prove to HIMSELF that he's still got it and is fine. He's hurting our chances of winning games and maybe losing him for longer if we catch some bad luck. Just sit, there's no shame, just swallow your damn pride and ego. It would show maturity, but me thinks Harden wants to hold on to his identity of being a guy who plays through anything too much. Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal - Nietzsche
Harden has busted his arse for this organization, for this city, and for the fans on this BBS. He has gone out there and played every night and put up huge numbers even when his organization goes "all in" but with just the tip. He deserves more respect than this.
Agree. However, the coach, medical staff and himself need to be honest about his condition. He's hurting and we appreciate guys grinding it out with injuries, but if he continues to try and play through it then he'll need to modify his style. He can be an effective decoy, post up and spot up shooter until he gets healthy or he can rest to get healthy. Harden has been an iron man and with Russell he's finally got another star that can carry the load for the team if he takes a few games off to heal. Hopefully, its not serious and he bounces back in a few days.
He’s hasn’t been shooting well due to injury. He needs both legs to do so and obviously this is affecting his shot. He’s needs to take time off to heal. I agree with OP on this one.
Harden 100% deferred to Westbrook in the 4th quarter last night. He knew he didn't have it and he was perfectly fine letting Westbrook take over. He was not playing like an egomaniac. I didn't count the shots he took in the 4th quarter but it wasn't many. The great thing is that when Harden has a night like last night, he doesn't have to force it anymore. His choices aren't limited to forcing it himself, or letting EG/Rivers close out the game. It's similar to how he played when he had CP3 playing at a high level. I give Harden a lot of credit for being man enough to give up control last night. I also like the way the team responded. They kept playing hard and put their trust in Westbrook. I have to take a minute to reiterate how great Westbrook is playing right now. These guys who claimed he was dumb and hard headed and couldn't evolve were just straight up wrong. He is my favorite player right now and it's not even close. The energy he brings. The positive attitude. The never quit mentality. Rebounding. Attack on offense. Mental toughness. No laziness EVER, no matter what. I can see why OKC loved him so much. I don't give a **** if he can hit 3's or not. There's so much more to basketball than these ****ing 3 point shots. This team still has a lot of growing to do if they want to contend for a championship but I am seeing growth. It's not over yet. We still have a shot at getting this thing together!
Yao wasn't a detriment to the team after breaking his foot. He served as someone to look up to. No one is looking up to Harden with his inability to make shots and handle the ball. In this current stretch, he's simply negatively impacting the team.
He retired because of that foot. How’s that not a detriment? If you watch what defenses are doing even on a bad stretch Harden is still getting a double team and has the best defender on him. There’s a reason Westbrook is getting g a open lane.
He's questionable for Denver. Hope he sits. Needs to rest, and honestly, he's hurting our chances at winning at this point if he doesn't.
Ok, so Yao played out the Lakers game and was efficient, which is what I thought you were talking about. But if we talk about the implications, he wasn't even on the floor playing through his healing broken foot in the following season - Rockets got a disabled player's exception. And then he retired the season after. Yao didn't turn the ball over whenever he received it in the post (like Harden did last night) and he didn't miss shots he usually makes (like Harden has been doing throughout this bad stretch of games). Harden was mostly defended 1 on 1 on the perimeter, as was Westbrook, against the Wolves. Westbrook isn't getting an open lane - he's either being left open on the perimeter because teams don't respect his 3pt ability or Westbrook is blowing by his defender.
Harden needs to sit not sure why some are so angry at the language. Rockets need to save Harden from himself. Harden will play through anything, MDA allows him to do it. That's not good. Either Harden needs to be honest with himself or MDA needs to hold him out even if he tells him he can go. I still can't believe MDA put Harden back in the game to start the 4th qtr. MDA didn't even wait until the 7 minute mark like he does normally. After an injury, he put Harden in to play the entire 4th. smh
ahahhahahaha! seriously that stuff must be annoying i cant shoot nor play my game if I put anything onto my hair sometimes