Lin plays hard but he's also not asked to shoulder the whole offensive load. Like I've said many times, I don't hate him. I want the Rockets to keep him as a 6th man. When he got hurt I said it was a serious blow to our team. His fans, yeah, not a fan. The rest of this makes no sense. You have no clue about how Harden is tempering his game due to injury. it's speculation. Lot's of people felt Lin mailed it in on the Knicks to protect his contract. Do i agree with that; no, but it's out there too. You're doing the same thing
My advice to Harden is: Try to stay with your man, don't try to poke it from behind once they pass you. Stay with them even if you can't stay in front of them.
All we ask is that for the max money u give max effort on both ends of the floor... That AAU matador defense is horrible. Now people will understand why Chanlder is going to get paid on this squad. He gives it every night on both ends, along with PBev!
It's not about Lin. Harden just lets his man get by him multiple times a game. And then makes no effort to catch up to his man. Just lets him go. If you can drive in to the lane to score, you can at least try to catch up to players that beat you on their first step. Try and effort are the operative words. Lin is a bad comparison, regardless of what you heard people say. Lin couldn't play both ends and therefore didn't play, Harden decides to play through injurey, and decides to play just one end. If you can play one end, you can make an effort on the other end. It's that simple. It's "professional" basketball. Harden's the star player. He doesn't get to choose which end he wants to play. Sorry. If that's asking too much, rest and get 100% healthy. If he wants to rest but McHale won't let him, it's McHale's issue. Anyway, you can go on posting about this. I've said what I wanted to say. I've vented the Jazz loss for 12 hrs now. I'm going to stop. You can keep making excuses for lack of defensive effort while injured while laughing at LOFs making excuse for poor performance (but not effort) due to injury if that makes you happy.
Harden was a pretty good defender on OKC, this year he's focused on pure offense. Line of up Brooks and Bev + Harden + Casspi was a real headscratcher in the fourth...so damn small lol
Who's asking Harden to shoulder the whole offensive load? We've been playing pretty good team offense this year. There's been lots of games with 5+ people in double digit scoring. What we really asked Harden for this season is to help shoulder some of the defense. There's a coaching failure in getting our guys to commit to playing team defense. It's not just on Harden, but his lack of effort on defense sure sticks out like a sore thumb.
Who is you guys King, I didn't make up any excuse for Lin p^^s poor performance early on last season. I don't hold any punches from any player bruh, I will call it like I see it period. And whats comical, Harden scored 30+ against the defensive juggernaut Spurs and tossed in 37 last night. But he is still injured so he gets a pass from you and other bloggers on here. Talk about comical bwhahahahahahh
The difference between Doc and McFail, Doc would have sat Harden on the bench and gave opportunities to others to play D. Also disappointed in Dwight and his lack of go get the ball. McFail, could have given TJ the opportunity to play through a mini slump... If Casspi isn't hitting shots then put TJ back in..
I agree with the mis matches, but he left his man wide open for an uncontested 3 ball on more than one occasion. He just stood about 15ft away watching the ball. I mean its one thing to go and help D or try for a steal/block but just standing there? If he was on his man or even 5ft away those plays would of broke down. I'm not asking him to play lock down D just " show some effort " D.
No comment on Harden defensively...he is what he is. Offensively I think his problems are twofold. Firstly I think he's a bit hobbled by injury still. He definitely appears a step slower...and isn't beating his man as easily as he was last year. Which leads to the second issue. Harden really only has two moves...the step back jumper and driving to the basket eurostep/looking for contact. Because he seems a bit hobbled this year...defenders aren't biting as hard on his fakes so he gets less space for his jumper...and he isn't as quick to the basket so defenders are getting to his spot...which is always to the left. Dude's talented but I don't think I've ever seen a right hand finish from him. If he's forced right he'll usually dish or try for the step back jumper. Anyway, I think Harden needs to work on his arsenal...work on finishing to the right..and maybe add some post up moves since he reportedly likes posting up...and it's something that'll utilize his strength and body more...and is a bit less reliant on quickness.
The most frustrating thing about Harden is the fact that he has some very good defensive possessions. He's still a top 10 talent in the league, and something fans should be a little more patient with. I mean.... did you guys not see what he did almost single handily to the team of the decade the other night or is our short term memory REALLY that bad? (dont answer that question) I think the defensive end buy-in will have to come with maturity. Unfortunately it might take losing, and scrutiny on the biggest stage for stars like Harden to finally get it. Look at what Lebron had to go through in the public eye before things finally clicked for him on all levels, and finally figured himself and his talents out (even though Lebron is on another level, you get the point). Not saying I want to be oblivious to everything negative he does, but the fans need to be a little more realistic about what they have with Harden.... the GREAT, the good, and the atrocious. Good news is the atrocious is very, very fixable with time and maturity, and is something he has shown at times he can fix. That's VERY good news if your a Rockets fan.
Play some D. Don't leave your man open. Don't run to the corner. Don't just flap hands. Play D Most concerning thing is that Harden actually has the physical tools to be an average defender at worst. It's not like he is a KMart and physically limited. What Harden lacks is effort, heart and courage on the defensive end. The loner he strays away from this aspect of the game, the tougher it will be for him to regain respectability on the defensive end
agree, you cannot be a leader and max player if you put up minimum effort in defense that hurt your team. like I said in the game tread: defense is a five-men effort. If you are the weakest link, not only the player that you guard against can pound on you, your other teammates will also be taken advantage of, since often they have to cover for you, allowing their opponents room to operate and mount attack. The inevitable result: pourous defense as a whole, and lower team morale .
I really hope that at some point, the coaching staff put together a montage of Harden's defensive mistakes and just sit him down and force him to watch. This guy needs to realise that not only are his defensive lapses embarrassing, they will contribute to losses.
One thing we also need to remember is that scrutiny is also in part Fan Driven. Remember that viral video? That wasn't made by the Media, it was made by a fan who was fed up with Harden's defense. It then went viral on the web, then hit the blogger sites, then finally hit the mainstream media. If we wait for the media to call out players and coaches on their own or wait until they're on the biggest stages, then it can take ages and in some cases can be too little, too late. On the other hand, we KNOW that the Rockets read Clutchfans. We KNOW that teams surf Youtube and blogger sites. We KNOW that players read their twitters and share them with team mates. Part of why Lin worked on his left, defense and 3 point shooting all summer is he *heard* the criticisms from media and fans. So, if us going postal once in a while helps tip the scales in getting Harden to step up his game on the Defensive end, that's a GOOD thing. No, this game wasn't all on Harden. A part of it certainly was. And as a Max player on the roster, it should be disproportionately focused on him. Especially since it's been an ongoing issue since last season.
hmm so Jj reddick and Gordan Hayward are quicker than harden by your standards? I have watched EVERY rockets game over the past 4 season, Live in the woodlands, have comcast sports net, AND i watched other teams other than houston. you want to see quickness, see old broken down D wade, john wall, kobe (before injury), bledsoe, etc. All are quicker then the GARM proclaimed "superstar" james harden. Harden has issues athletically which many dont see because of his play style. Hes a below the rim player mostly and lacks lateral quickness as seen last night and in clippers game. They are attacking him on purpose because they know he struggles.
exactly...Harden is more crafty and quick.......players with blazing speed dont rely on the euro-step all the time. At least Wade's eurostep is actually pretty explosive compared to Harden's and Manu's.
Guess what, if the opposing SG who on most nights is average to slightly above average doesn't go off for 10-15 point more than he usually averages, then you dont have to score as much to win, Ohh wait, but Harden wasnt always guarding Hayward!! How sad is it that you have to switch defenders to avoid having your so called superstar guard the likes of JJ Redick/Gordon Hayward cause he might get tired??! If it was LeBron, or Kobe and you dont want him following then around all game i'd understand...but people like JJ Redick!?!?
I do think thats a good point. Its a blogger/youtube generation now. ESPN probably cut their research staff in half the past decade because information is now so accessible where they can find out things like this at the same time, and just put their stamp of approval on it. I'm sure Harden already sees it and hears about it through social media, etc. Its going to be interesting to see how he grows this year. McHale (everyones fav ) alluded to this after the season last year that he actually thinks Harden has maybe the most room to grow of anyone on the team. I think alot of what he was getting at was foreshadowing the growing pains of really taking the reigns as a superstar player on a team with expectations. As someone who actually wants to be objective and optimistic (rarity nowadays) I think the fact that A. He's shown he can play defense, and trust teammates on the other end and B. He's going to be if he isn't already.... well aware of his deficiencies, should bode well for Rockets fans because unlike years ago where a star level player might get away with these things for years, he might be able to grow and mature alot quick than he would have otherwise. I still think the ultimate growing pain for Harden is going to come with what he does in the playoffs. Ultimately losing big might be what really allows him to turn a corner and create that fire. I obviously want this team to win, and win big, but I think there is alot this tam can learn from losing, and adversity in the longrun. They have at least 3 years with this core together to get it right so this year will be a very good experiment to see how they handle adversity and hopefully grow exponentially from it. Harden being the main catalyst for that growth.
