Good feedback What excites me the most is that we are beating very good teams with Russ as our leader WHILE the team overall isnt playing that well We would be 8-0 if we didnt lose to the Jazz-holes on a buzzer beater Russ stats would even be better in this historic stretch if he didnt get ejected Covington (who is playing great on defense is still only shooting 40% FG and 33% from threes which SHOULD go up) Harden played horribly last game vs Celtics (7-24 FG, 4-17 3s, 5 turnovers) AND with Russ leading the charge, we still beat the Celtics in Boston whom is one of the top 5 teams in the entire league We are seeing something special brewing my fellow Clutchfans and have seen the torch now pass to Russ to take us to the promise land. If we continue improving like I think we will, no reason why we can't win a championship this year.
It's a good question. But no, unfortunately. Part of the reason he's able to have the space to operate is because teams are doubling Harden at halfcourt. Also their whole defense is geared to stopping James. So that leaves Russ one on one. Harden's threat is the MVP
Westie is batman.....Harden is superman Ever see the episode where superman is fighting Doomsday or whoever While Batman sneaks into the building and save the Damsel in distress It like that Rocket River
We get it you love Russ and want him to be “the guy” even after countless posters pointed out why this is happening you still spew out the same crap. One guy has opposing teams coming up with absurd defenses to stop him while the other feasts on the attention he gets. Let’s not forget what happened in OKC with PG.
I have been a long time Rocket fan from back in the days of Akeem, Sampson, Robert Reid, Jim Peterson and Allan Levell so I am not biased Fact is, we are winning like never before and Russ is the anchor to that winning and should be acknowledged. He has changed the culture of the team with his gutsy play and leadership Harden is a very good player as well and a great scorer but has limitations I expect all the players to fall in line and play their roles and we will be winning a championship this year
What a ridiculous post and this is frankly a ridiculous, knee-jerk thread. Where was this energy when Russ was shooting us out of games going 7/30 while Harden was dropping nearly 40 a game and carrying the team? Russ is great, but he's not a better player than Harden, period. Many people here have tried to explain how this specific game plan maximizes Russ's effectiveness and this team is uniquely built at this point to cater to his game. The sole reason Russ has the lanes he does is because Harden cannot be left under any circumstances. When Harden drives, he no longer has Capela as an escape valve, and Russ's man can come help on the drive since Russ isn't gonna shoot. We literally unlocked a more effective version of Russ at Harden's expense and I think we're the better for it because unlike Russ, Harden can drop 30 a night no matter what the team around him looks like. We need the Russ we have now to compete for a title. But let's not be silly. The Rockets knew they weren't winning anything if Westbrook couldn't be more effective so they put him in a position to succeed, which he is now doing. But he would not be able to play this type of game with any other team and would not be as effective. Harden is going to be a top 5-10 player no matter what system he plays in.
Like never before?? We won 65 games with CP3? James has deficiencies but Russ is the reason Capela isn't here. He simply can't shoot his role is literally attack the basket. You could have watched James Naismith hang the peach basket that doesn't mean you understand the game.
Like he did in OKC? Hardens limitations have had the Rockets as contenders for half a decade You are being disrespectful. Rocket River
No. But it does mean Westbrook has far more space and time to go up with better shots, layups and dunks.
Ya, but that is due to the system of having no center and 4 capable shooters around Westbrook. Not because of Harden necessarily because again, his scoring efficiency is not effected by Harden not playing with him.
Fire and ice. Westbrook is relentless and unpredictable. He’s going 100 mph the entire game. Harden is methodical and takes his time. He slows the game down. Perfect balance.
So you're going by 10 minutes of rest Harden gets? What would happen for a full season? What happened in OKC with PG? Russ is great at understanding his role on this version of the Rockets. He is the ultimate layup and points in the paint guy, but for a full season with defenses committed to stopping him without Harden it won't work. Just go down the line of players that have been undrafted, cut, G-leaguers that have come thru Houston and have breakout seasons, ya'll may hate it or don't understand it but the Harden effect is real and there's plenty of video to prove it. If you know what you're looking at.
Didn’t like Harden settling for 3 pointers last night when he was ice cold. That is the one thing I don’t like that he does, but a little recency bias going on here. Harden definitely had a rough January as he adjusted to Russ taking over more ball handling duties, but including yesterday’s stinker, he averaged 32 points per game on 46% and 37% from 3 along with 6.5 rebounds and 8 assists in February. He’s just prone to a poor shooting game here and there because of the volume of 3 pointers he takes and he needs to not settle for them when he’s not on. Comparatively, Russ averaged 33 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in February. They’ve actually been playing well together lately. Just differing styles which is a good thing. It gives us more variance. Why can’t we just enjoy 2 guys playing MVP caliber basketball? When one isn’t dominating, the other can play off of him and we saw the previous 2 games what it looks like when they both get it going at the same time. Enjoy this. Why worry about whose team it is when you can enjoy them being on the SAME team? They aren’t worried. Did you see the way they hugged each other after the game? I was worried Harden was going to walk straight to the locker room because of the way he played, but he was excited they won and happy for his brother.
I never said Harden was not a good player. In fact, he is a very good player. but you are wearing your rocket goggles on if you don’t think harden has limitations namely as many on this board had mentioned through the years, his defense is still a liability and at times he gets disinterested in the game when his threes aren’t falling beauty of Russ is that he is capable of taking the team on his shoulders and still get us a tough win despite harden being in a funk (ie our recent win vs Celtics).
Consider this... For the season In order of net rating Harden and No Westbrook : +8.4 Harden and Westbrook : +7.4 Westbrook no Harden : +0.4 Last 12 games Harden and Westbrook : +16.6 Harden no Westbrook : +11.0 Westbrook no Harden : -0.8 Harden is what makes this thing work. With the roster adjustment, Westbrook is proving to be the perfect person to utilize what Harden creates. But without Harden on the floor it hasn’t been good at all.
Did you not watch Harden's defense this game? Sheesh, way to cherry pick narratives, Harden's defense has been on point for like a month,
