Because Harden is a better player than Lin, when both are in the game, Harden should be running the show. That's what makes sense and is best for the team. When Harden's out and Lin is in, then it makes sense that Lin would be allowed to play his style of ball dominating creation and gameplay.
Yea, I basically agree with you. With the caveat that if Harden was injured or not rested, it might be useful to have Lin run things sometimes even with Harden on the floor.
I agree that Harden is in a different league to Lin in terms of scoring. But why not have Harden be the 6th man and Lin start? Harden could still close out games, play HIS style of basketball, and become the best 6th man ever to play the game. I know it's unconventional, but if he continues to refuse to play defense or pass he only HURTS the Rockets in the long term.
Harden is our best player along with Dwight. As long as Harden is playing on the Rockets, he will be the starter. End of discussion.
This. I still don't get why Miami doesn't have Lebron come off the bench as well. He'd be the most dominant 6th man of all time by a landslide.
this is exactly what i thought at the end of last season, and still feel the same way. and that's not a knock on harden; arenas was a damn good player. incredible scorer. it wasn't his lack of ability that did him in.
Now that I think about it, twin tower could work. Asik pop out, since no one will guard Asik and they will be doubling Howard, Asik has options. He can run some off ball screens where it's going to be 2v1 on the weakside, he could take the pass from Howard and then pass it to someone else since he has a different angle. There are so many ways to make this work now that I think about it. I feel another coach would put this to good use
Very true. When Lin comes off the bench, he becomes SG and Bev has the ball. Not sure if coach designed, but when Lin gets teh ball he has to be 100% aggressive. This probably has more to do with Lin's mentality.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Rockets All-Star guard James Harden practicing with the team today after missing the last two games because of a bruised left thumb.</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/429317590951800832">January 31, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> He is back ... whatever Parsons wants to say ... let's do it face to face
I think the bigger question is how do you integrate Harden to play the sets more to get his teammates involved and let Harden save his energy for crunch time. He does seem a bit worn out towards the end.
As long as you continue to refuse to acknowledge that your stereotype of Harden is skewed you will only HURT your posts in the long term. Even though his defense is far from ideal it has improved as he's gotten healthier. And he's a willing passer. You don't average over five assists a game by not passing.
CF making something out of nothing as usual. The Rockets have played better "team ball" without Yao and without McGrady back in the day. Doesn't equate to "being better without them". Especially in a playoff series, it's all about players making plays. Good coaches can break down your "team ball" system especially since playoff teams are more likely to have good defenses. That's when having individual talents are more valuable. And as the article even admits, it just so happens that we've played easier opponents (especially on the defensive end) when Harden has been out.
Please stop the "Harden should be the 6th man" thing already. It's like asking the Lakers to play Kobe as the 6th man during his prime, or Melo, or any top scorer of a team. Have any team ever not started their top scorer? No. To me, it's not about Lin or Bev fitting Harden or whatever. It's about Harden learning to be better at leading the offense. Some blame the coaching, which might have some merit. But the main thing is, Harden needs to know when to dominate, when to create for teammates, and when to play off the ball. I firmly believe that if Lin plays up to his capabilities (and Harden understands the dynamic), he can make Harden more potent. Somehow, it doesn't work that way. Lin becomes timid and hesitant when he plays with Harden. It's not Harden's fault when Lin is playing scared.
Why is this still going on? The quote was taken out of context. The full interview shows Parsons saying something completely different to what he was "quoted".
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en data-scribe-reduced-action-queue="><p>Chandler Parsons and James Harden are going to the SuperBowl. 'I got the tickets, he got the plane. Fair trade,' Parsons said.</p>— Jenny Dial Creech (@jennydialcreech) <a href="https://twitter.com/jennydialcreech/statuses/429343105054019587">January 31, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Yep, obviously beef between these two...
Basically, should a team's best wing player also be the de facto point guard just because he is the most effective scorer? In our case, I don't think so. Some of the time? Of course. I do think Lin should play more of a point guard role most of the time though. I think he is up to it. NOT entirely sure though. If we had a a more proven option like Mark Jackson, Chauncey Billups, Dennis Johnson, Maurice Cheeks, etc. then Harden would definitely have to play off the ball more. Lin is not up to par with those guys unfortunately. He is more explosive as a scorer. But that does not quite equate to steady point guard play.
