With Harden out and the win today, I decided to look at the games he's missed this season.

You're pathetic.

 

What exactly do you think is happening more this year compared to last year that would cause him to shoot the ball worse from outside?

 

No way. Harden's build isn't predisposed to back injuries. He doesn't elevate the same way Mcgrady did, and his body plays lower to the ground because of his build.

He won't be a chronic injury type of player, and you can already tell that he has more drive to be on the court despite injuries. Tracy loved to say that he needed to "shut it down." James, comparatively, says that he'll play regardless.


I do agree that our coaching staff, minus Bickerstaff and Sampson, are unable to see a broad picture. They're mediocre for any organization and for a team with our players, they're a step below. They seem like nice guys though. In hindsight, many did not know how good they had it until JVG and RA were sent packing. This talent, with JVG defensive culture would be unstoppable. Same with RA...the back door offense and screens with flexibility would make the offense more fluid.

 

#1 injuries... He was very efficient during preseason when he was 100% healthy

#2 ball movement... he's not getting set up with easy looks as frequent as he did last year, that's not just playing with Lin, the team as a unit with delfino, lin, parsons, Morris, Patterson etc use to swing the ball around more faster compared to this year, we have a inside out game now w Howard. Defense has a chance to get set vs last year how we use to push

#3 better looks... The defense would be forced to stay closer on their man when the ball moved last yr. This year you can cheat off on bev & jones, yes they can shoot the 3 but players just aren't concerned like they were with last years shooters.

#4 teams assist & fast break points have went down compared last year

 

Injuries are for sure 3/4 of the problem they guy hasn't even healthy since preseason. He's a tough guy so he plays through anything and everything. Harden is one of the true old school type players were u would have to cut his leg off for him not to be out their. The other thing is he's 24 and hasn't had this much pressure on him ever. He's trying to be 29 yr old Lebron. He still has a lot of growing todo but all the greats had to go through rough patches. He needs to learn to trust his teammates more right how you can tell the only guys he's trusts are parsons and Howard. That's understandable because frankly the rest of our guys besides Lin and asik are garbage guys from other teams. We're just a good franchise so they've found some success here (gracia, Caspi, brooks) at the end of the day it doesn't matter though and he still needs to trust his guys. Like Lebron says about all his teammates "they could be 0/10 and if your open I'm still going to get them the ball" That needs to be hardens mentality cause frankly he's one of the rare talents like Lebron were he's not only a good scorer he's a good facilitator too. He knows how to pass and get guys open it's just all about "TRUST"

 

How many games we had already lost which opposite teams are below .500?

 

We'll guess we re screwed for the next 4 years then

 

Or in other words, N E 1 but Lin. (surprise surprise)

These are all of the reasons why they said Lin shouldn't be playing PG for us. At this point in their careers Lin is better than AB and at least gives you mediocre defense. AB was my favorite player his first time around but his D is almost non-existent.

 

And the key word in your statement (to which I agree) is SG. He shouldn't be the guy playing point which is what he is effectively doing. Bev dribbles cross court and passes to Harden. Harden then controls what happens the majority of the rest of the time.

He should play a traditional shooting guard role. I don't believe in all this "he needs the ball in his hand to play his game." Dude can shoot lights out and if Lin drives in and draws Harden's man a foot or two off, Harden will be hitting a ton of open jumpers. If he isn't open when he gets the ball he can always make a move to the lane.

 

That is a big concern of mine too. That's why I say sit him and if we lose 5 games in a row so be it. It's a long season.

And yes, I think our coaches and front office were short sighted with Yao too. The guy played non-stop. That might have worked when he was in the CBA but after playing a full NBA season and taking the beating your body takes, he should've rested during the summer. I know that we couldn't force China to do that however so the coaches should have let him skip pre-season and a few weeks of the first part of the season. Then they should've capped his minutes during the games he played.

 

Huh does Harden iso change against sub .500 teams?

Harden iso regardless and the team change dynamics when he is out.

 

I really hope Harden doesn't fall in the Carmelo mold - superstar, unstoppable offensive player, but ball stopper and lackadaisical on defense. In other words, the team will need to be built perfectly around him for it to become a legit championship contender.

 

Sad that you random guys have Internet arguments over players that don't know you exist ! Everyone just state your opinion and move on no debating needed ! Fans or FAMATICS hmmm

 

It is pure speculation on my part but I think Harden's ego is the main problem. I wouldn't be surprised if he is bothered by how he is behind Lin in NBA All-star votes while being considered for the #1 SG in NBA talks. I also think that half the reason Lin was pushed to the bench was that Harden didn't want him to steal the spotlight. Again, no proof for this one but when you look at how he tried to beat George 1-on-1 while getting his ass handed to him and making us lose in an embarrassing way, you can't tell me that it's completely unlikely and out of character for him.

Now, the funny thing is if Lin were to be traded to another team to be the #1 option and he played somewhat above average, the media coverage around Lin would still be higher than Harden's due to his following.

Harden should just man up, stop comparing dicks with other players and excel at his own game. There is absolutely no reason for him to worry about popularity contests if he manages to win a ring with the Rockets.

 

with Harden out:

cons -: less talent, losing a guy who is a very good 1v1 player that can put points up.

Pros +: Ball doesn't get "sticky", more players getting involve on offense, effort seems to be better.

 

So I'm gonna assume the OP's point is that Harden should play more team ball and NOT that we are better off without him...

If that's the case then I agree to some extent. The good news is he's young, he wants to win and he will to whatever it takes to win. He should improve his game and grow as a player, so there's nothing to really worry about hopefully.

 

I hope not. I think higher of Harden than that. I think he is a good guy. That sounds like Melo. For some reason, Lin has a wow factor about him that guys who are much better players don't have. Melo has little wow factor, he just scores well. Harden has some character, but his game is like a rhino or something. He's crafty but looks chunky. But he can really score and make plays. Lin isn't flashy but he there's something exciting about his game. It's not just his story, it's his game.

Harden needs to share the playmaking with another playmaker and for now and I hope for awhile that's Lin. He can still have great stats, maybe down a few assists, and really will exert less energy if he does.

 

This is where I stopped reading.

 

A lot of people struggle understanding what constitutes as constructive criticism.

Instead of getting these types of criticism:

"Harden needs to play within the system, move without the ball more and play more defense."

We get:

"I think Harden is jealous of Lin's giant penis and is not playing defense as a Freudian mental defensive mechanic".

 

I agree. But I think what gives rise to the Harden has a big ego comments is a little frustration that after a number of games where his weak D and his reliance on Isos have cost the Rockets games, Harden still only intermittently seems to make an effort to address either problem.