Ride it out. If this is truly rock bottom, as MDA eluded to, then we have no where to go but up. I just refuse to believe that our effort defensively will remain this poor. I refuse to believe that this 3 point slump will continue into the playoffs. I also refuse to believe that Harden is "done" all of a sudden. I will ride or die with this team, Morey and D'Antoni included. The fans can fold, but as long as the team doesn't fold or give in to outside pressure they will bounce back. I'm extemely disturbed by what I've witnessed over these last 4 games. But I would much rather get this bs out the way now, instead of this happening in April or May. It's just a bad stretch that will pass. The Rockets fix the mess by remaining positive and staying true to themselves. 95 was worse than this. What if we would have just thrown in the towel back then. If this team has any pride they won't go out like this and will come back swinging. We still have a few dogs on this team and they won't quit regardless of what the fans or media have to say.
Change the substitution pattern. Instead of having Harden play most of the first quarter sub him out sooner (around 5-6 minute mark) and bring him back for the final couple minutes of 1st or beginning of 2nd depending on situation. Same for second quarter and second half. About 8 minutes a quarter subbing more frequently totaling 32 or so minutes and obviously having him finish games. This is just an example focusing on the most important player. Figure out a way to keep Westbrook on the floor when Harden sits but if it doesn't work out then Gordon (if healthy) and Rivers can run the offense a few minutes a game. Point is, be more flexible in the rotations while keeping players fresh which takes me to point 2. Go deeper in the bench. Team has a bunch of capable bench players that will play better if given consistent minutes. Again this keeps everyone fresh. This small ball only works if everyone is constantly running their asses off especially on defense. Don't be so hard headed on going small. Bring a big in from time to time and PnR. In football you don't see a team whose strength is throwing the ball throw on every down. You have to mix in some runs to keep the defense honest. Take what the defense gives you. If that means having to take more mid range shots then so be it. A wide open mid range shot should be more efficient than a contested three.
If you want someone to play harder, put in Hartenstein. It was depressing watching Aaron Gordon getting all of those offensive rebounds. Have Hartenstein crash the boards, pick up some loose ball fouls, make the other team feel you.
Another thing: I'm sure that when Daryl is playing around with his abacus he's taking into account the value added of the 3 point shot versus the value lost by giving up all of these rebounds. I'm sure he's surmised that if we even shot the league average we would come out ahead. But consider the psychology of shooting while knowing there's zero chance for an offensive rebound. Or on the flip side, knowing that even if you work incredibly hard to get a stop, there's still a very good chance that the other team will get the ball back with an offensive rebound. The pressure to make each shot, each stop becomes that much greater because there is such a thin margin of error.
So essentially Harden won't rest and the team doesn't have the balls to make him sit. Has anyone told him he isn't chasing an MVP this year? If this team has ANY hope at winning he needs to rest before the playoffs or nothing will change. And seeding is 100000000% important for this team if they want any shot at not getting swept in the 1st.
i mean he rested before the AS break and had the AS break. played well for a few games and now he's looking like this. So did it really help, not sure if it did
I mean you have a point there. I guess it's just disheartening that the team seems to believe he is either hurt or fatigued but no actions are going to be taken to fix the issue. They can't really think it's going to get magically better can they?
many have noticed harden has always been a rhythm player. he sticks to his routines etc. and extended time off of sorts hasn't shown to exactly be that beneficial to him. The only thing anyone can really can do is trust that Harden knows what's best for him. Obviously that comes with a lot of questions. but something isn't right and now is the worst time to see this
Have we really been exposed or is our team just not hitting shots? James doesn't seem right to me - like he might be nursing an undisclosed injury and he is compensating for it by passing more and shooting less efficiently - neither of which really help the team win games. I would rather Westbrook take control for a few weeks while Harden rests against the winnable teams. I'm not sure why we are actively resting Westbrook and yet Harden (and for that matter Tucker) are still playing those burnout minutes.
I can't remember exactly who it was - but I remember hearing an interview in a podcast(probably the Lowe Post podcast) a few years back with I think it was D'Antoni or McHale and someone mentioned that same point but apparently Harden likes to have a long stretch in the first quarter to find his rhythm for the rest of the game and they have tried to push back on that request but it's something really important to Harden so they haven't yet been able to convince him to change the routine he has been utilizing his whole life. Old habits die hard I guess.
That habit was developed prior to the small ball team defense. He should learn to adapt/adjust. Do whatever it takes mentality. Team needs him to be fresh all game.
