Dear James, I don't even care about your defense liabilities anymore (it is what it is), but you are the engine of the offense. If you have to take every single defensive play off, I can actually live with that. Just please please hit some shots. Call a PNR, do something. Also, are you physically injured? I can't remember seeing you this passive the whole season. You basically sat back and jacked up 3s in an elimination game. What is going on? You are usually as aggressive as anyone else in the NBA on the drives. Is it the reffing? Is it Matthews defense? What is causing you to behave like this on offense? We need you. We're not going anywhere unless you figure this out. If you have to take every shot in the first quarter in game 6 to get yourself in a rhythm, please do it. I do not care, you need to figure out this funk you're in right now. Sincerely, A worried Rox fan
I honestly think there might be something going on off the court as someone else suggested. He looks worried and timid. That's not him we all know that. And Portlands D isn't all that good. I don't by the he doesn't care or is dissintrested BS. There's got to be something else
James gets another opportunity to hit up the hookah bar tomorrow night in Portland... He must be stoked!
Learn to go right Haren. You're in the NB freaking A and you can't drive right. Wesley Matthews is eating your lunch, reading your mail, and pooping on your living room carpet.
Well, Mario Elie, and Olajuwon's motivational speeches didn't work... How about paying for a session with Tony Robbins...? Lastly, if Harden's the engine of this team's offense.... it's dead in the water before the game starts according to these playoffs... Great showings by Dwight, Asik, and even Jlin... and it was still a closely contested game... You're encouraging lackadaisical defense from your "superstar"...? Thank god you're not their head coach....
definetely not encouraging it, just more like resigned to it. tired of wasting my breath hoping for it from him.
I dunno OP, I would rather see this Harden, a guy who tries on D and is relegated to an outside shooting threat on O, rather than to keep handing Portland open looks over and over. That was the main difference this game: more and more of their shots were contested. What happened? We won. Not a coincidence. Lay off the team for a bit people. We just won. Time to regroup and do some more of it.
Random theory, with no validity at all..... James is a little hurt, that the play is get Dwight the ball in the post, go to guy, so he is pouting. Dwight, upset, a bit, at Harden for lack of effort and emotion...post game interview.
Harden is why I'm not pumped with this win. It feels flat because if Harden isn't buying in, tonight is nothing more than a dead cat bounce.
this actually saddens me to see how far he has fallen...he worked all year to get to the playoffs and to get to this point, everyone should be all in, especially the stars, what gives?
I believe the fact that he isn't getting to the free throw line is hurting his overall game. In the regular season if his shot wasn't falling he would penetrate and draw fouls. Not getting calls is frustrating him and making him settle for threes instead of penetrating. With that said I'm predicting a big game for James on Friday. He started getting some shots to fall at the end of the game and he is to good of a player not to have a good game in this series.
This is exactly the reason I'm going to post in every thread right now because hardens play tonight has me worried we will lose in game 6
Disagree. Shots go in sometimes, sometimes they don't. Layups go in very often and that is what Harden gives up when he takes off plays. I'm not expecting him to be Tony Allen on D but there's ZERO excuse to not at least be Ray Allen on D.
It is important to note that the offence has significantly changed in the playoffs. Maybe it's Portland forcing us to change our offence or maybe it's us. Our offence is now based around throwing the ball into the post with everyone watching instead of running an initial pick for the guard to get a shooter or big man open. This has taken harden out of the offence because the only shots he gets are last second shots causing him to force shots.
