[ClutchFans] Podcast: Stop complaining and start giving Harden, McHale credit for Game 2

Maybe my brain processed what I heard wrong. But Reggie Miller was somewhat incredulous the the players weren't "fronting" Griffin because, as he said, "...that's what they are supposed to be doing." He mentioned a couple of other things the Rockets were "supposed to be doing on defense," that they weren't. It seemed like he was aware of the adjustments being made defensively but the players weren't doing it as planned. So how do we know for sure when adjustments are being called for if the players are slow to implement them? The "adjustments" might have actually been made verbally to players in the 1st half but weren't absorbed until told collectively at half time. And then it seemed slow to be digested.

I think another thing that needs to be considered when wanting to criticize the team's play is that this group has not even been playing together for a full season, while most of the core players for the Clippers have played together for several seasons. That can be a huge difference in close games.

Criticism doesn't always have to be given in a hard or harsh manner. Game adjustments are corrections (criticisms, if you will), telling players what they are doing wrong and/or what they need to be doing that they aren't. I think the issue being addressed here is when criticism has a sniping quality, which is, actually, natural when the desire for success runs so deep with fans. It has been such a long time since the Rockets experienced this much success in the post-season. But after a while, given the success that has been achieved, continually ignoring the success and hammering at flaws grates on the nerves of fans who are trying to enjoy the accomplishment so far.

I don't mind reading critiques, which can be critical, but without such raw emotion, that sometimes descends into disrespect.

 

where did i even criticize the team?

i merely said i doubt the rockets can win another championship with harden being the #1 guy. and i stated my observations and reason.

i could be right, or i could be wrong. time will tell.

but in any case, i'd not digress any further in this particular thread and at this particular timing.

 

Yes, even Miller knows how to coach a NBA team better than our current coach. A good job Morey.

 

And that constant is what has helped the Rockets get to the second round, no?

Or is it a collective team effort that has gotten the Rockets to the second round and it is Harden that is to blame on losing and losses?

 

I still think we have some seriously problems with intensity and consistency.

The only thing that makes me a bit more positive is that we play better on the road.

MilkHair made some adjustments, but really late. He needs to make adjustments as soon as things start crumbling.

 

no, that constant is what hurt the team. what helped the team get to the second round is, among all other players and things, the brilliant part of harden's game.

look,,, harden is a very talented baller. i even said he's an elite player (in today's standards nonetheless). but i don't believe it's enough to get the city of houston a championship with him being #1. that's all.

maybe we can talk about this a bit more. maybe in another thread?

 

LOL at this. Clips had no timeouts down 6 with 15s left. Giving up a dunk is fine. Doc not running a play for a 3 with no timeouts there is idiotic.

 

WCSF, 1994:

But it was the Rockets' faulty execution offensively that opened the floodgates and left a wildly enthusiastic sellout crowd frustrated.

The Rockets, who got 31 points and 17 rebounds from Hakeem Olajuwon, were outscored 26-8 in the fourth quarter, shot 3-for-18 from the field and had five turnovers.

They went cold and played with the common sense of a sixth-grade team down the stretch, which might be an insult to sixth-graders. In a span of just more than seven minutes, they scored one point as the Suns chipped away at the lead.

Even the Rockets admitted they threw their savvy out the window in the fourth quarter. They resorted to outside jump shots after trying to force the ball in to Olajuwon, who had only three points on 1-for-5 shooting in the fourth quarter.

 

Well the fact of the matter is this...not many people seem to remember that before there was Clutch City, there was Choke City. Clutch City was a mantra born from the flames and ashes of heartbreak and failure. It became a beautiful thing, but we payed a high price for it with some of the most horrific and disappointing basketball collapses I've ever seen. We just weren't ready for this. Not again! This, a city that watched the Houston Oilers blow epic playoff leads resulting in historic comebacks that we were on the wrong side of. Good teams that we felt could be great, but let us down. Year after year. Our beloved Rockets simply ripped off a scab and we just knew that whatever could go wrong, would go wrong. Here, a city where our most precious professional teams seemed to make a profession out of getting our hopes up, only to crush them in the most traumatic of ways. You can't tell me I was the only kid who cried after the Buffalo game or fought back tears watching the 94 Rockets team blow it. Choke City!!! Clutch City came with a price...a price that some seem to neither know nor remember. That was a tough day.

If this team ever manages to win anything with this core...there will be more tough days ahead as well. Ride the wave.

 

I love what MK pointed to with fans and media that are "Cemented" into the narrative about McHale, Harden, and Howard. Literally nothing they can do will change the narrative that continues to get pushed.

-Howard was joking at shootaround AKA he's not serious about basketball. All the while he dominates later on that night.

-Harden shrinks in the playoffs. Yes he's #2 in points scored in the playoffs thus far, #2 in assists, #3 in PER, #2 in offensive Plus/Minus, and #6 in win shares.

-McFail can't coach, and doesn't make adjustments, all the while his adjustments in game two took the best player in the playoffs thus far out of the game. On offense, he went small, and jump started the Rockets offense on the other end.

So yes....

Its hard to not be disappointed with the team effort through the first 6 quarters of the 2nd round of the Western Conference semi's but STOP COMPLAINING about the same damn narratives.

Yes the Rockets have flaws. They are not perfect. James Harden is not perfect. Dwight Howard might not be likable. McHale might be a jackass in your opinion. But these three parts of the organization are the best chance at giving YOU THE FANS a deep playoff run this year. Either stop the whining or just quit the Rockets like an addict should quit the crack.

 

Key game 3 adjustments: McHale must stand more.

Go Rockets!

 

I'm new to Clutchfans. Been reading on and off for years, but just decided to post recently.

I am absolutely embarrassed at the way so many of you treat James Harden. It is just pathetic. The man just carried this team to a 56 win #2 seed season when in reality this team shouldn't have won 50 games with all the injuries we dealt with.

28 PPG -- .655 TS% these playoffs including countless daggers in the 4th quarter vs. Dallas and now LAC

James is not perfect. He's a bit lackadaisical out there at times and even with his defensive improvement, he'll never be a true gamechanger on D the way some of the greats like MJ/LeBron/Hakeem are. There is a ceiling to Harden's game. But he's a sensational offensive player whose arrow is still pointing up in this league.

IMO, I love the stepback that he's added but now he really needs to add another move to his repertoire to complete it. Something where he is going to his right preferably and finishing in the mid-range. Maybe a Beno Udrih type FT line pull-up jumper... that should be easy as hell for Harden to get good looks from. Or maybe he continues to improve that floater. That stepback was huge but he's still missing one ingredient on offense imo.

 

Greg Popovich didn't have anything for Blake Griffin either and he is the best coach in the league. Great offense will always trump great defense.

 

Maybe he adds a better post-up game. Harden has the lower body strength and feet to become a threat down low.

 

The move to sit Harden instead of allowing him to play with 4 fouls was HUGE and also the decision to stick with T-Jones instead of Josh Smith can't be discounted.

The guy is the winning-est coach in Rockets history. Every reg season has been better than the previous. Only his 2nd year of having Harden and Dwight in the playoffs and so far it's been better than last yr.

I'm really curious. Who else would you want coaching our team that's actually available?

 

Oh stop with your logic your going to drive the "milkhair/McFail" Clutchfans into a complete fit of rage on this board and Clutch will be forced to do more than tell them all to stop complaining or the board will lock up on account of unbridled hatred.

 

I had the same reaction after reading some of these posts. Harden is 25 and still developing parts of his game. And yes, that includes the mental game. For the poster that questioned his ability to be the #1, have you not noticed the evolution of his mental game after playing with the national team in the off season? It's been a huge part of his overall growth this year.

As for him not being able to be a #1 on a championship team that's just silly. How many championship teams have had a MVP type leader with no significant help? Did Jordan lead a team to a ring by himself? Kobe? Shaq? LBJ? These are some of the most dominant players of their generations. They couldn't do it alone. Harden has Dwight now and some nice role players. With that alone we're still in competition this year, and that's with key injuries during the regular season AND in the playoffs. If there is another key acquisition (PG maybe?) I'd say this team has an even better shot next year.

Basketball isn't a one man game. Even hall of fame players can only impact a team so much before other teams adjust.

 

I call BS on this one, the Clippers made no run larger than 4-0 after the 90 second mark in the 2nd half until the very end when they were 12 points down, and he called timeout on both of the 4-0 runs, it had been constantly in our favor since we were down 13.

We got it down to 3, they pushed it out to 7 (hardly a run), he even called timeout then, then we got it to 12, then they got it to 8, he called a timeout.

 

delete

 

Amen.