Just saw the T-mac introduction conference and boy how things have changed. From claiming he got the best player in the NBA who cares about bringing champions to Houston, to a guy who is first thanking everybody who helped him, making Dwight feel at home and saying we're going to have some great runs. Circumstances are a bit different where we first had the center and got the best player, and now we already had the best player and got a center. Just wanted to say I think it's good expectations are not set too high, it's more about the team than anything else and it's probably going to be a hell of a ride with two co-leaders working side by side, not caring whose the best and who should be praised or blamed in case of losing. I like it!
Ouch! That's a tough reminder. McGrady did guard Dirk and did a sensational job of it. However, don't forget Harden's game against Lebron last year. He was taking Lebron defensively at the top. I'm not prepared to say it was greatly effective but I did admire Harden balling up for that. Harden does have defensive potential. Let's hope he fulfills at least some of it.
Cut Harden some slack and I guess his D will get better in time. Tmac was 6'9 freak with long arms. Bothering Dirk is a phenomenal feat. How can a 6'5 dude compare with that. If only Harden can guard most of SGs that will be something at the very least.
A 6'5'' dude can at least give some sort of effort. He doesn't even try against fellow SGs like OJ Mayo, let alone guarding guys playing other positions. Hopefully with Dwight Howard taking on some offensive burden Harden will not use "Gotta conserve energy to carry the offense" as his excuse for not giving any effort on defense again.
Harden and T-Mac are two entirely different players to begin with. Not sure why they are compared so much in the GARM. Harden's game is that more of a fast paced, penetrating P&R scoring point guard much more in the mold of a Isiah Thomas type of guard. However, he has the build, strength, and athleticism to guard 2's & 3's.... He just seems to pick and choose when he wants to play defense (which is something he might grow out of). Actually when you see what kind of size & athleticism he has vs. the skillset he has, there have been very few players that can do what he does on a nightly basis with the size he has that could help him be affective in so many other areas if he would buy in to the defensive end. Harden is more unique than one might think. Amazingly enough, T-Mac might have been even more unique, but played a completely different style than that of a James Harden, Thomas, or even Steve Nash to a certain extent back in 2004 -2006 when he was a much more dominant scorer. T-Mac was more of a supremely athletic version of Larry Bird believe it or not. Something that really had not ever been seen before. He could score & create in the half-court in variety of different ways. Creating out of the high post seemed to be his sweet spot just like Larry Legend. He was also made some of the most amazing passes that few forwards could make when making a move on the offensive end. As for the differences in Defense- T-Mac had his lapses on the defensive end (see the Toronto Game) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjbkXewxlGI Just like Harden has defensive moment, Kobe had some before him, and Wade has had himself, etc. etc. However Harden does have the athleticism and mentality to turn on the defensive ability if he ever wanted to do so.... and I THINK he would do in clutch moments of a huge game. There is nothing physically or mentally about Harden that tells me he cannot and will not have great defensive moments throughout his career. We'll just have to wait and see if he decides to turn it up defensively in the future. Harden & T-Mac are much different types of players, however they both have the athletic ability to play elite defense for their respective positions... they just dont or didn't always choose to give that much effort that that end night in and night out.
So to bring this back to the OP's statement about Les' change of tone- When Les claimed that they go the "best" player in the game, that might not have been accurate, but it was pretty clear at the time that they might very well have acquired the most talented player in the game. T-Mac was that good at the time, and was for a few more years. The Rockets got what they thought they were getting for a few years. The only thing they didn't get was a healthy enough TEAM to compete in the playoffs. If it wasn't Yao, it was T-Mac himself on the shelf. They had only a handful of moments together, and never had that 3rd star type of player to help get the team over the hump. Also keep in mind that the style of play under JVG was very grind-it-out defensive nature, and with that style, it was difficult to get a ton of scoring out of the likes of J. Howard, D. Wesley, B. Sura, etc. The team around T-Mac was never the greatest people think it was, but it never was quite as bad as some make it out to be.... just might not have been the best recipe to be built around T-Mac in the postseason. So, do I see a change in tone.... not really.... but I do see a change in tone with the knowledge now that there is much more of an importance around health, style of play, and surrounding pieces than they had before. They are smarter now at what they do to make their star players more successful... which the first step in that process was to hire Rick Adelman who would have completely changed the style of play that we never got to see with Yao & T-Mac. I believe Les and Morey are going to do a much better job this time around of putting their stars in a position to be successful long term. They dont have to be the second coming of Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, or Hakeem the Dream to be successful... they just need to be put in the best possible situations to have a chance.
I remember when we got EG and he said we had the greatest team ever assembled or something absurd. I don't think Les knew a ton about basketball. Maybe he has gotten better.
tmac is a beast compared to harden tmac can do everything harden can do but better much longer, more athletic and super explosive harden hold tmacs jock strap (during tmac prime years)
I don't mean to dampen the excitement but.... Carl Herrera is right. Not only that, a healthy Yao was better than a healthy Howard at that point, and still not at his peak. You can say what you want but Yao was just as effective on defense, and 100X more skilled on offense. Well, more effective on offense at least. Not to mention a better free throw shooter. I like our supporting cast better this year though. The basketball gods robbed us of something special. A healthy Yao, TMac, Scola, Hayes, Deke, and Artest all together would have gotten us the ring. Here is to a new beginning and our next big chance. I'm excited. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mFppQfs75Ro" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
T-Mac's defensive effort was at best inconsistent and he was not nearly as efficient as Harden... and lets not even talk about health concerns. T-Mac was a freak of nature but his actual contributions as a Rocket were inconsistent at best.
Harden has these things called balls, and a heart too. (Tracy mostly walked around on defense, ESPECIALLY AGAINST THE JAZZ...)
Tmac had a true shooting percentage of over 55 percent only once in his career. That is pathetic for a so called superstar.
No one doubts Tracy's talent; it was perhaps the best the Rockets have ever witnessed with the exception of "PG in a center's body" Olajuwon. But his head just wasn't right for a guy supposed to lead his team to a championship. He listened way too much to the media rumblings and as a result found his foot in his mouth in the most embarrassing ways. He couldn't take the pressure and began to alienate even his best allies (remember the "you will be iso-ed" thing with Yao? Who on earth could ever have a spat with Yao?). His numbers in the big games are undeniable, but results (wins-losses) are also undeniable. He couldn't take the pressure, and when it came time to own up all we heard were excuses instead. Would you EVER hear Jordan, Kobe, Olajuwon, Duncan, or hell even Shaq blame his performance on a bad back or balky knee? Guess what. Harden's not half as talented as T-Mac, but you'll never hear a peep out of Harden about injuries either. Nor any other excuse you could come up with, for that matter. Comparing 2004 to now, you'll notice three big differences: 1. Dwight now is a bit better than 2004 Yao, although it's closer than you think; 2. Dawson cannot hold Morey's jock when it comes to building a supporting cast around his stars; and 3. Harden may not be as good as T-Mac, but he's a winner. I guarantee you that when the season starts, there will be no question who the leader is of this franchise. Dwight didn't leave LA to be THE man, he left LA because Kobe was a douchebag who was gonna drag everyone else down in his personal quest to break MJ's records. In Houston, he won't be the man either; he'll be one of the boys, and together we'll make a hell of a lot more noise than that 2004 team did.
