Look , let's be honest . I know McHale said that he chose not to bring harden back in , but if harden says to coach around 7:00 minute mark ." Hey coach put me back in I'm ready." Then McHale will absolutely put him back in . Harden showed tonight that he is willing to throw away his ego for the benefit of the team . He had a monster first half and you could tell he was gassed in the second. People often complain about a "lack of killer instinct" from James but tonight his rational decision making and willingness to be a cheerleader saved us. Also by him sitting out it sends a message to the guys on the floor that he has confidence in them . That's huge from your leader . Make no mistake harden will be back with a vengeance in game 7.
One bad game means NOTHING. He had a triple dub just the game before. McHale made the right decision and i applaud him for it
Harden is the farthest thing from being an egomaniac. All he cares about is winning. He's been playing with the flu its been really annoying seeing people hate on him tonight.
Love the decision by McHale. I was thinking to myself that the Clippers were panicking when that group was in. If that group was pulled out it would have caused the Clippers to relax and regroup based on the idea that they weren't against the group that was kicking their ass. The defense was spectacular. The Clippers looked lost. And the Headband of Brothers had all the confidence in the world.
You know what this Game 6 victory means? NO MORE GAMES IN LA FOR JAMES HARDEN THIS YEAR!!! What is his shooting percentage in the city of LA as a Rocket again? 38%? Worse? Who cares what the reason is, he always sucks there, and now he won't have to play there anymore. The whole team picked James up tonight. Game 7, he'll get a chance to return the favor.
Harden made the right call not coming back into the game. He'll be ready Sunday, rested and recovered from the flu. Great game tonight, hoping for more of the same on Sunday.
Trying to tell people that Harden is probably the most selfless scoring leader in the NBA. Yes scoring leader. Once they realize that awarding the guy who averages more points per game should get the title and not the guy with the most points then it'll go back and say that he's the scoring leader.
He is a breath of fresh air. Look, he's not as physically gifted as a McGrady or LeBron, but him having played the 6th man role, has helped the team when he is struggling. I'm thankful that he didn't decide to just take over and start jacking 3 pt and 20 ft jumpshots and stuck to his strengths. That is the maturity of a great player and at his age at 25 he will eventually have confidence in himself to take over games in the playoffs like he has done for us in the regular season many times.
Big time decision by McHale, but I have to hand it to Harden... He never sulked, begged, or complained... He knew the group on the floor was playing well and he just continued to cheer them on and coach them up. Props all around really.
Whatever. We did it, we won! James was probably at the end of his flu, good that he got his rest now he can go off on Sunday!
I think that leaving him out for most of the 4th quarter of this game was absolutely the right move and i think absolutely that he should be starting next game. i think he will rebound at home. he had a bad game. and i think part of that was because the clippers got into his head this game. i dont think that'll happen next game at home. our roleplayers step up from time to time, but i dont think we should try to rely on them next game. I think next game Harden will step up more. More rest and being at home will help him
Wow.. Honestly, I'm not trying to troll or anything... I'm elated that things went like they did but I guess I'm the only one that is concerned that the runner up MVP and team leader wasn't fighting to get back in the game to give whatever he could, while his team was on the verge of elimination... idk... I think of MJ playing that game through the flu... just sweating like a dog... nearly collapsing at the end.... that was impressive...
McHale did the right thing sticking with the group that was playing well at the end of the game. My only concern is that Harden's confidence may be shaken a bit going into game 7. I'm sure McHale talked to him after the game to remind him how import he is to the team and how much he will be needed on Sunday.
