The Rockets have finally cheated to Aldridge side on the PNR and ran a man at him during the pick and roll. McHale has made some good adjustments, but they are adjustments that should have been implicated in timeouts or at half. It is aggravating. I just don't think Portland's shooting is sustainable. It has gotten to the point that every time Lilliard, Mathews, or Batum shoot an off balance three from 27 feet, its money.
Also as OMR just pointed out.... If there really is bickering in the locker room (insinuating that Harden and Howard aren't getting along obviously) why in the world is Harden doing such a great job at going out of his way to setup Dwight in the post time and time again? Have you guys forgotten how difficult it was early on in the season just to get Dwight the ball on the post? Harden is willingly setting up Dwight as much as he can. If anyone is truly trying to insinuate that there is bad blood between Harden and Howard, I'm going to call BS until you can provide a little better evidence. I certainly dont see it.
Even great basketball players struggle shooting percentage wise At times, look at KD he's having a hell of a hard time shooting the basketball right now. But what I can't overlook is Harden disinterest taking "plays off" letting people go by with his matador defense, he's certainly capable when he gives a f@ck, what pisses me off is that he should give a f@ck every single play, if your having a hard time on offense contribute to your team in other aspects of the game. Get the hustle plays, rebound, try hard give it your all. This is the playoffs win or go home.
Correction he's played like a BAD Carmelo Anthony. At least Anthony when he ISO's can dominate his position matchup. Of course that screws up everyone else but hey he's Carmelo
gaining a few pounds to his chest will definitely impeded his forward progress and tire himself out. don't understand why no one thought of this earlier.
They've been one of the best 3 point shooting teams in the league this year all season long, and we all should know that they live and die by the 3. If you are coaching against the Blazers you really shouldn't be assuming that they will make some and miss some because they wont when it matters.... you have to ASSUME that they will make whatever they get clean looks at. Its a gamble yes, but its a gamble in essentially the casino on the strip with the highest odds of kicking you A#$. I thought it was BS last night in his presser when McHale stated that "Matthews hit some shots that we are going to give him" or something along those lines.... that's crap. Matthews, Batum, and Lillard should NEVER be allowed to shoot open 3's without a hand in their face. That's exactly what they want and what got them the best record in the league for the first couple months. The Blazers should be guarded much like the Rockets. -Keep them out of transition -run them off the 3 point line -force them to take long 2's -Keep Lillard(Harden) out of the paint & off the free throw line -Try to make LMA's(Howards) shots more difficult but dont double him if you dont have to The few exceptions are the Blazers are a much more efficient 3 point shooting team than the Rockets, and Harden is a much more elite attacking guard to get to the line more often even though Lillard is pretty damn good at attacking.
Watching the rockets during those years I never once thought Tmac was THE reason we lost. He was huge in the playoffs. There were a lot of variables involved as to why his teams never advanced and certainly he needs to be responsible as the leader, but playoff Tracy generally brought it.
McGrady was a much more athletically gifted scorer than Harden is which makes this comparison un-fair. He was way more Durant than Harden. Harden is way more Steve Nash in his prime than Durant or McGrady. However Harden is still just as if not more creative offensively with his skill, and the way he can orchestrate the offense. McGrady could always score even in the playoffs... yes. However it takes more than that to win a playoff series. If Harden is able to orchestrate and break down the defense by doing what he does (breaking down the defense off the P&R, hitting the roller, getting to the foul line, hitting guys for open 3's) its much more dangerous of an attack than a guy who is simply just the best athlete on the floor who can jump higher than anyone else to get his jump shot off. McGrady could do alot of the same things Harden does well also from a point guard/facilitator standpoint, but when you look back at those playoff games that they lost, most of the time the other team was staying home on the 3 point shooters, and allowing McGrady to get his. What they wanted to stop was David Wesley 3's, Jon Barry 3's, and easy looks at the rim. They knew they couldn't stop T-Mac, but they could stop everyone else.
I think it's interesting that people focus on "What's wrong with Harden/KD/_____," rather than giving any credit to the opposing team's defense. Portland is doing a great job of not swiping at the ball when Harden drives, and doing an equally good job of forcing him to his right. Same way Tony Allen is draping himself on KD like a cheap suit and forcing him to settle for ill-advised jumpers. Not saying Harden isn't in a slump, but I think you have to give some credit to the Blazers' defense.
Mathews is doing a number on him defensively, which is why Harden is also doing a number on Mathews defensively. Oh wait...
Pressure bust pipes. Matthews is pressuring Harden on both ends of the court, Allen is pressuring Durant on both ends of the court and Westbrook is being Westbrook LOL Yes Ma'am these teams are geared to stopping those players and letting someone else beat them. But as we look at these games Matthews is D'n Harden up one on one. Allen is D'n Durant up one on one. They only help if these two stars get past them.
Well, they definitely deserve some credit... but Harden has been missing wide-open shots that he normally drains. His shot has been really off.
The thing is, KD is playing against one of the most elite defense in Memphis. Harden is playing against one of the weakest. KD gets a pass. Harden doesn't.
Not entirely true. Much like the Rockets, the Blazers' defensive stats are skewed due to their erratic pace, and style of play. However, one-on-one Matthews and Batum are some of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and in the half-court with Lopez on the court they are a very good half court defensive team. Their numbers get skewed dramatically when Lopez leaves the floor and their porous bench comes in the game.
agreed that blazers are playing much better defense than they did in the regular season. but it's worrisome that matthews has basically outplayed harden on both ends of the court. i understand if matthews makes harden struggle on offense, but for him to go down the other end of the court and score more effectively than harden as well? not cool.
Portland's defense is not the problem with Harden. He is getting the same shots he was getting all season. He's missing open jumpers left and right. He has even been missing easy lay ups. Harden's problem is so much more deeper psychologically than you all are making it out to be.
I disagree with the notion that Dallas and Utah allowed Tracy to get his and shut everybody else down. Tracy would start the game off facilitating and his teammates would miss wide open shots. We would get down and Tracy go all out just to keep his team in the game. By time the 4th rolled around dude was no more good. That is why so many fans don't like the man. Tracy would score 30+ point through three quarters and score 0-4 points in the 4th.
