This seems to be true. Earlier I thought it was due to Harden's selfishness. But Harden ISO sometimes creates a good last second shot.
Sorry, but I am going to have to disagree. Once in a blue moon to catch opponents off guard is one thing, but this has become a habit for Harden. You seriously think a rushed, last half second, contested shot from an inferior shooter like Lin, Bev, or Parsons is a higher percentage shot than a last second, contested shot by Harden? I don't think so.
Harden's hero ball (14/47 & 5/19) at only 29.78 FG% has already cost us the first two games. He should have given the ball more to other teammates that were hot. He's been insisting on being the main playmaker over Beverley and Lin for two seasons now. He should have focused on doing that when his hand were cold (hope he knew that himself) instead of taking the shot himself or passing to other in the last two seconds on the clock. I never buy into the "live by your superstar, die by your superstar" myth.
Harden (and the Rockets) were at their best when he was playing facilitator, and focusing on hitting Dwight on the roll to the basket. He then hit a few shots in rhythm in transition. Any time a possession involves him dribbling 30 times for 15 seconds, nothing good is going to happen. The refs are letting Matthews and Batum put their hands all over him.
Well duh. He is the main playmaker. You can't complain when he gave Lin an opportunity to make a key shot after almost costing us the game. How selfish of Harden! He just wanted Lin to fail! Beverley is not a playmaker (although he is my favorite player). His career high is 20. He understands his role.
When ISO Harden works in our favor (frequently): OMG BEARD IS AMAZING HOW BLESSED ARE WE TO HAVE HIM STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT THANK YOU PRESTI!!! When ISO Harden doesn't work in our favor: OMG HAREN IS SO SELFISH AND A TOTAL FRAUD AND EVERYTHING IS HIS FAULT AND NO WONDER OKC KEPT IBAKA INSTEAD OF THIS LOSER!!! Rinse, repeat. Meh.
Exactly. I stick to my premise that some of these "fans" would have been all over Dream when he missed a critical shot late in a big game (and yes, that did occasionally happen).
Please read my post again. I was saying if he knew that his own shooting were not going, he should have focused more on setting up his teammates who had a hot hand instead of taking those shots himself. How could he do that if he wasn't on the floor? He should have changed the way he played if it wasn't working.What does "go with the hot hand" really mean? If your hands are cold, you go with someone else's.
Who was our leading scorer on the 4th quarter? It was Harden with 11 points. Who was our leading rebounder in the 4th? It was Harden with 5 rebounds. Who was our leading scorer in overtime? It was Harden and Lin who each scored 4 of our 11 overtime points. Did Harden turn the ball over in the 4th or overtime?Nope no turnovers. That's pretty good for a guy that was a negative player.
Lets make sure we are talking about the same thing here. Sometimes he does what people ignorantly call an "isolation set" which is actually a two man game. Harden dribbles and makes fake jab steps right. The fake step is actually designed to test how the help defender responds if he drives past his man. He will do three or four jabsteps to see if the help defender will break away from the shooter. If he determines that yes, the defender is going to break off of his man, he will take his drive but only take one step, shooting a quick pass to his shooter the moment the help defender starts his momentum towards Harden. Often the shooter will catch it while moving right and forward to almost position themselves behind the defender. The shooter will have a defender near him, but the defender's momentum will be towards Harden. If the shooter is set up a half step behind the line, it creates a good shot. It is an incredibly high IQ play if you know what you are looking at.
@Blazerfreeman Batum on Harden's comments: "They have huge expectations. They talk about championships. We just talk about the next game."
For some reason I always think the guy who made up the term "hero ball" probably got picked on in high school.
Good post. No offense, but it's pretty clear from reading their work that some folks don't understand what they're seeing. I've brought it up a few times here before. It takes many years of watching or playing (coached) basketball to appreciate the subtleties of the game. An old girlfriend of mine didn't understand why you intentionally foul when down a few points with time running out. She also didn't understand why the center wouldn't take that open three pointer at the top of the key. "Dude was WIDE open! Shoot it stupid!". Granted these are novice examples, but the point remains. I'm by no means an expert, everyone has room to learn.
Hah! Excellent. I hate that term too. All superstars do it. I need to visit the Heat forums. Do Labron and Wade get roasted like Harden when they want/take the ball late in close games, and miss? Hmm...
I was being facetious. You said Harden cost us the first two games because he shot poorly, and that he should have been giving it up to whomever was hot (who was that by the way?). Also you don't want the superstar with the ball late if he's not the hot hand. Or did I misread your "live by the superstar, die by the superstar" comment? Sorry man, I disagree. Harden could have missed five in a row and I'd still want him initiating the crucial play whether he takes the shot or not. If he gets a quality look and decent shot, I'm fine with it. Make or miss. If he puts up some garbage, sure he deserves to be criticized. If that's all you meant about games one and two, fine. Point taken. If not then we agree to disagree.
You are only looking at one side of the ball. He got beat on the defensive end time and time again. Couldn't stay in front of anybody. Leading scorer in the 4th, but look at the shot attempts. Leading rebounder because he refuses to guard his man on the perimeter and stands directly under the goal on defense. Although he may not have recorded a turnover on the stat sheet on the Daniels three...that was a turnover. Lin and Daniels bailed us out. I'm glad we have Harden, he's not a perfect player (wish he would give way more effort on defense), but it's alright to be critical of the guy when he's not playing well. Especially where effort/being out of shape are concerned.
