Not to mention you literally had a dude not show up play because he was an antivaxxer. Im sorry but Durant is wrong.
This does not explain why its just coming out now which was my point. So now he can't get along with anybody? But you only named 3 people and those 3 people have not been known to get along with people either. Since when did he not get along with Westbrook? Are you really trying to push the narrative that Westbrook asked for a trade because of Harden and not because of Tillman, or because he said he wanted his own team?
Harden should have clapped back and said "Oh I'm sorry you didn't like how I carried the team when YOU were out for 2 months last year? You guys were 16-12 and I came here and the team was like 35-16 when you came back"
I think Lin got a chance to be on ball, hit a hot streak and parlayed it into life changing wealth (over $65 mill for his career). Lin never put up Harden numbers, but he did make himself a legit NBA player (whether it was starter or rotation) for years when there were only 450 NBA jobs to be had. Got give Lin that. Nobody gave him anything, he earned it. He's got money, a ring (as a reserve) and don't have to work for anyone ever again. D'antoni gave him an opportunity and Lin made it gold. And I'm not a big Lin guy either but my hats off to him.
D'Antoni's offense relies heavily on a dominant PG who can attack the basket. He had three successful teams, Nash's Suns, Harden's Rockets, and the brief stretch with Lin's Knicks. Linsanity happened during Melo's injury. When Melo came back and began dominating the ball again, they reverted to struggling again. (It's not surprising that it didn't work very well when he got Melo again on the Rockets.) When he came to Houston, one of the first things he did was name Harden as his PG and Bev was rendered a spot up shooting guard on offense.
So you're saying if Harden wasn't traded to Brooklyn and KD still went down with his injury in February ...that Brooklyn would have survived that ~ 2 month period without Durant? Is that correct?
I had to actually look up when he got a ring. Riding Shaq and D-Wade coattails in 06 with Miami. Any ring Harden gets now will be the same, by riding coattails.
Sure. The Nets were 7-6 when they acquired Harden, this was with both Irving and Durant in the lineup. Between the time they acquired Harden (1/16/2021) to the time KD went down for two months (2/5) they went 7-4 with lineups consisting of Irving, Harden, and Durant together. Then Durant went down on 2/5 in all but one game between 2/6 and 4/5. From 2/6 to 3/23, the Nets went 16-4 with Harden and Irving leading the way. Harden missed a few games after 3/23 but in the games he did play after 3/23 and before KD came back on 4/5 they went 3-0. Overall, during Durant's absence between 2/6 and 4/5 the Nets went 21-6. Do you honestly think that, without Harden, a team led by Kyrie Irving with a roster full of retreads and role players could have amassed a 21-6 record? If you think so, please explain why YOU think that could have been the case, given that the Nets were relying on Jeff Green, DeAndre Jordan, Nick Claxton and Bruce Brown to fill out the roster.
You're moving the goalposts. Originally, you asked if Brooklyn could've "survived" without Harden. That means make the playoffs (play-in games). Now you're talking about a 21-6 record? I absolutely think Brooklyn could've made it to the play-in games without Harden. Zero chance they would've had a 21-6 record without him.
You DO realize that if the Nets didn't go 21-6 during Durant's absence their shot at making the playoffs last year would have been pretty damn small right? The play in teams in the East last year won 33 and 34 games. The Nets, on the season last year, won 48 games. Take away those 21 wins that Harden had a huge hand in and you're setting a baseline of 27 wins. What odds are you giving a Kyrie-plus-scrubs team to win more than 7 games during that 27 game stretch without Harden on the roster? As for moving the goal posts, I did no such thing because my definition of "survived" is clearly different than yours. While your idea of survival means to just claw into the playoffs as a play-in team I was/am thinking survival means they are able to sustain a level of winning (e.g. at least play .500 ball) in KD's absence.
What bothers me is. . . . People are harder on Harden - Who lost his coach/costar/GM in a year ... saw a bare cubbard and bounce Than the guy who had a 3-1 advantage on a team . . .lost to them . . then joined a 73 win team to a title People HATE Harden because he "gave up on his bleak looking team" but Are so so with KD who got the easiest ring in history Rocket River
Actually, they would've only needed to win 5 games (possibly even 4) during that 27 game stretch to make the playoffs. And yeah, I think Kyrie could've led the role players to 5 wins. After all, he did lead them past a fully healthy Pelicans team w/o Durant and Harden. Your application of the word "survive" is incorrect.
"HE DIDN'T COME INTO CAMP IN SHAME!! I AM ANGRY" Versus "OH! He didn't feel like vaccinating so he taking 3/4ths of the season off .. . . .meanwhile the fat out of shape guy keeps our season afloat. . . . .yea I'm good with that." KD full of it Rocket River
and last year took 2 weeks off because. . . .. . I think if Harden was hurt by the criticism . .. . its because his friend basically pick Kyrie over him You cannot have two friends. . .one you jump down his throat repeatedly for small crap . . while they are holding you down . . . . meanwhile you let other one get away with murder .. but shows up every once and a while Rocket River
