Jordan>>>Mozgov and Noah. No comparison. The whole Clippers team have gameplanned for Harden to take him out of the game and let the rest of the team to beat them if they can. So far the rest of the team have failed again and again. They are funelling him towards Jordan, and they keep their hands down all the time to avoid fouls. If the rest of the team stepped up and started being a threat and forced the Clippers to start giving them more attention then the lanes would open up more for Harden.
mannis wish somene would put clips up of him ball watching. His stats were great but i promise most of the time he was on the floor they would go on runs -game one seemed like every time he turned the ball over they scored off it -game 1 when we had lead down to 3 with like 5-6mins left he came in clippers went on a run. -barnes would cut everytime harden was on him, if matt drove even if he didnt make the shot it got howard in foul trouble because hes covering for harden where barnes shouldnt have even caught the ball to drive in the first place. -harden D hurts the team D, with rotations is just bad out there ive never saw anythign like this, even reddick is built to play good D but he satys on his man and at least rotates
Defender got his hands behind his back in time, but did not completely dodge the shooting motion- looked like harden caught some body contact with his arms. Didn't he used to get those calls? Apparently they're suddenly just not giving them to him this season.
People will keep saying that the refs don't call fouls in the playoffs, but statistics say otherwise and anecdotally, Wade and Dirk won titles on the ref's whistle. The negative PR campaign against the Harden free throws has been effective. The refs have actively avoided calling fouls on him and the destroys this team as currently constructed. With no other creators on the floor other than James, the defense being given free reign to foul him or physically affect his shot without a foul call completely neutralizes the offense.
You mean playing him physically and keeping hands down are enough to take harden out of his game? Then he is soft. Take advantage of the hands being pulled back and go for the shot. You gotta win over these guys, not try to get fouls called.
I just want to point out that, in the Dallas series, Harden attempted as many FTs as he does in the regular season (avg-wise). He made almost all of them. This series, he's avg'd 9 FTs a game, one shy of what he attempted in the DAL series and the regular season. His post-season FTA this yr is 9.8 FTs/game. During this regular season? 10.2 FTs/game. No one listens to knee jerk fans who can't actually back up what they say except with "feelings" and "intangibles".
The idea that the Clippers are somehow "not fouling" him like other teams have is just a myth as far as my eyes can tell. Following game 2, the Clippers did a PR campaign about the foul calls. The result was the last 2 games the whistles disappeared for James. Was that because the Clippers play him differently? When I watch his drives I still see the contact. His arms still get hit, his body still gets pushed in mid-air, etc. The difference I see is that the refs just aren't calling it a foul. The way this team is built, unfortunately, they can't be effective if Harden isn't going to get foul calls. Him not getting calls means he is missing shots in the paint that are turning into points for the Clippers and ultimately it leads to him being less aggressive which means more shots for terrible shooters which leads to fast break points. This team is built ENTIRELY on Harden's ability to create in the paint. When that doesn't work the entire team falls apart.
Last year, we used to do all these 1-2 screens, where Harden and Lin would screen each other and Harden would get the PG on him. I don't know where that went. Last year too, we used to do the side pnr with Dwight. We're not doing it again. I don't know. if I were Harden, I would call for different things to try and get myself open, knowing how much my team needs me. Try and execute something else to get yourself free.
Colin Cowherd just said on his show that sources tell him that players on Rockets team don't like Dwight and Harden at all. I can't stand Cowherd. His radio show is dumb.
As bad as Jeremy Lin was, even with the exaggerated turnovers, he was the only other Rocket in the past 3 seasons besides Harden that could really handle the ball. Lin could create his own shot and won some big games without Harden there.. He was ultimately traded to open up cap space.
Really? With the T-Mac comparison? Get outta here with that! It's more on the coaching for not making the right adjustments to put our team in a better position.
Those are some seriously rosey red glasses you have to be wearing to come up with that conclusion. That was as much a non-call as there exists in the league. I can only imagine the brick this place would collectively **** if Harden defended (Harden defending anything being a joke in itself) Rivers in the same way and they called a foul on Harden. Wade averaged over 16 free-throws a game in the 2006 NBA Finals. 10.9 for the whole playoffs. By comparison, Dirk averaged less than 9 free-throw attempts for the 2011 playoffs and just over 7.5 for the Finals. That just isn't a good comparison either way. This idea that there is a PR campaign that is swaying the refs is absolutely comical. If that were the case, why isn't Morey's fat ass campaigning FOR the calls? He spent time campaigning for a meaningless MVP award for Harden, why not to try and actually go deep in the playoffs? Rhetorical question, though, because it isn't a PR thing. It is a Clippers team that is wise to Harden's one gimmick and not falling for it. They just aren't taking the bait on his drives. As homer as you can be if you think he is still getting fouled. I mean, that gif a few posts up is a prime example of how the Clippers are handling his drives. His game is a big gimmick and the Clippers aren't biting anymore. They are simply not putting their hands out to contest the shot, thus not giving the refs an excuse to blow the whistle.
Yeah, cowherd is absolutely full of ****- his whole schtick is using apologetic reasoning to make sports fit into metaphors. I've heard him rant about a point for an entire episode then completely contradict himself the next day in a single comment.
Harden got to the line 10 times last night. To complain about FTA is pathetic. Are you expecting to always get to the line 15-20 times? He averaged 10 FTA this season, and he's getting to the line the same amount in this series and playoffs. They're getting blown out. Going to the line a few more times isn't helping. What James needs to do this offseason is diversify his game (post game, more midrange, finish with his right...). You seriously can't be slowed down by the likes of Redick, Rivers, and Barnes. That's just disgraceful. 12 shot attempts last night. That's the number you need to look at closer more than anything.
