That's just silly. Harden shots 86% from the line. He doesn't shoot nearly that well from anywhere else. They're not fouling him on purpose. He's drawing those fouls. The other team would rather he shoot. The real point, though, is that a player uses a possession shooting free throws.
why is it harden's fault he got fouled while in the act of shooting a high pct shot? and btw efficiency >>>>>>>. accuracy
He scored the last 4 points, (not counting Harden's 3). But the thing is the coach took Lin out and put Bev in because of his D. Which is BS because why not take Harden out and put Bev in for D. I hope Mchale don't think that Harden > Lin on D
Lin goes 5-14 for 13 points (not good), Garcia goes 6-13 for 15 points (that's ok but nothing to brag about) and Asik goes 3-9 for 8 points. 2 players in the starting lineup chunking up more shots than points and combine that with Harden's turnovers I'm surprised the Suns didn't blow them out. Maybe we should commend the Rockets on their defense...??? It's hilarious how people put the blame on Harden for other players not being able to knock down an open shot consistently. You can either shoot or you can't.
Free throws are a big part of winning basketball. Whoever can create free throws at the rate that harden does puts a lot of opponents under a lot of pressure and gets us risk free high percentage points. I wish Lin could also get more free throws, like last year! He was touted for that last year as well. Furthermore, Harden is one of the most efficient 2 guards in the league, it's ridiculous to talk about inefficiency when talking about Hardens game. You guys need to cut that out. And finally, 2 good games followed by 1 bad game is not even close to inconsistent! Harden is about there and he's a budding superstar. Just because he gets his numbers every game means nothing. It's the manner in which you get those numbers. Lin is a pg. harden is a scorer. Lins job is to lead a great floor game and control the flow and pace, Hardens job is to score efficiently. People don't seem to realize that Chris Paul also has stinkers every 2, 3 games as does Harden, it's just that Lin doesn't force it as much as them cuz it's not his role. He could get his 20 every night if he needed to but we don't want him to do that.
Why does every thread turn into putting down a player to prop up another one? What is wrong with you people? It would be one thing if you guys were trolling but a lot of you are serious... please GTFO because this team doesn't need the negativity especially right now.
Response Agree. Lin didn't shoot well in this game, so what? It happens to everyone, including Harden. But Lin did make 4 points at the end. Not so good game by Rockets, and Rockets was lucky to win. I am just glad Lin took 14 shots, even though most of them did not go in. The important thing is Lin stayed aggressive, and that's what he needs to do if Rockets are to advance in playoff. Those shots were not "bad" shots, so I have no problem with Lin taking those.
I think that Lin had a terrible game. More importantly, there is no rotation when Berverly comes in with Lin and Harden on court. Lin just stands in the corner.. Despite being a Lin fan, his last game was bad. Missed all the open shots, the first 6 points he got is all from fastbreak layup.
Response Should be noted that most Lin fans are very much against putting down other players and pitting them against Lin. Whether people respect Lin's BB game or not, they cannot deny that Lin is a team-oriented player, like Omer, Bev, etc.
But you CAN'T take the free throws out. He already took them and they counted... You're arguing the "what if" scenario... He got to the line regularly during the playoffs last season and has been doing it all season long and plus Harden has had many great shooting nights and put up points without a vast amount of free throws. But to entertain your theory _ Carmelo is averaging 9 shots on 22 field goal attempts per game and averages 6 free throws a game for 28 points a game. So if you take away the free throws he averages 22 points on 22 shots. Kobe is 9-20 on the season with 6 free throws a game for 27 ppg so that would be 21 points on 20 shots. LeBron is 10-18 on the season with 5 free throws for 26 ppg so that would be 21 points on 18 shots. And those are considered amongst the best scores in the game. You can run that down for practically every player in the NBA. Harden is 7-16 on the season making 8 free throws a game for 25 points, that's 17 points on 16 shots (would be better if he didn't take so many 3's) so he's in good company.
Getting to the line is one of the most efficient ways to score. So actually, it is impressive. It's not like Harden magically got 13 FT's because his beard has ancient powers. He gets it through by getting into the paint and initiating contact. Many opposing players have remarked that Harden is especially good at this. Man, do we have to explain this every time? We've had Harden for nearly a season now and still we get non-arguments like this?
