How do you feel about Harden as the current franchise player and the Rockets building around him?

Harden is fine, We have done a poor job surrounding him with pieces that fit and quality coaching.

DD

 

Nobody is at his level. Harden is a really ****ing good player, Curry is just.....

 

a player that wins championships.

 

Can we upgrade the rest of the team enough to compete with Golden State?

This may be the perfect time to do a rebuild by trading Harden and going young. We have Harden for two more years. If we can't bring in some major talent THIS summer, then what's the point of keeping Harden. The Warriors aren't going away anytime soon. Let's build a team that will be a contender when the Warriors run comes to an end.

 

He really doesn't have another play maker on this ball club, let alone a guy in the post he can dump it to for easy buckets. People complain about his defensive effort, but what can he do given how much of q burden the team places on him offensively??

I still believe Harden can be your number 1 guy on a championship team, look what he did with an injury riddled team last year. Forget about bringing in a 3rd superstar, we need to find our 2nd one first to pair with this young superstar.

 

I don't have too much criticism of Harden - i think he will mature just fine and find the right attitude to winning - he's not far - just needs a bit of humbling and understanding of what it takes to win. I think the early accolades tripped him up a bit but I think he will find the right groove.

The bigger issue...as dada said...and for once I agree with him - we have all the wrong pieces to put around him.

We need excellent 3point shooters, great defenders, and guys who can space the floor and give excellent picks.

 

I used to think if OKC still had Harden, they would be able to wipe the floor with Curry and Warriors but now I think they are unbeatable in 7 games unless an injury happens to their players.

 

I feel like we are the laughing stock of the league based on what I see on social media with "Better than James Hardens Defense" and "That's where Dwight Howard's FT went" quotes popping up where you would least expect it. The Houston Rockets have become a joke, although most of it not fair as there are worse teams and players, we are the analytical nerds getting bullied in the schoolyard. Personally, I can absolutely see James hoisting up the Larry O'Brien as the #1 option but he needs to get fueled by all the criticism to a point where it is burning and eating up his insides and that holding up that trophy would bring bigger satisfaction than any fat booty. Pause.

 

This was well said. Needs to mature and improve in areas, but some people on here are so dramatic with Harden. He's still a great player.

We need an overhaul with some better fitting role players and a new coach. That's a good first step towards getting back on track.

 

Harden is a top 5 player, very happy with him as our #1 option.


Not happy with his surrounding roster, lack of a 2nd star. Very unhappy about the lack of a real coaching staff as well.

 

See I don't know what's worse, the lack of defensive stoppers who can cover up Harden's lapses or the lack of a real number 2. I don't see us ever getting both those needs filled, it will be one or the other.

I don't have the data to back it up, but I feel like Ariza has lost a step or two on defense and that has been a real problem this year. Brew too. Ariza and Brew still go out and use their length to get steals, and occasionally are able to stop smaller players, but for the most part it feels like Dwight and Bev are the only guys who play D. Harden either needs to shift his focus back to D, or we need another creator or a number 2 to be able to bench him when he is stopping nothing out there.

 

I can't say until we get a coach that he has respect for.

 

Should have traded him at the deadline for young players and picks.

You are not going to win anything with him unless you get a coach who gets rid of his 'Dribble the ball for 23 seconds and then jack up a brick' offense and makes him play defense.

No one else will want to play with him either until that happens.

He is our Kobe. Not prime Kobe. Current Kobe.

 

This.

Get a GOOD coach, a couple more solid players who can shoot and defend and we're back at the top.

 

Yao dominated on both ends????

 

I still think we're one star away and a coach from competing against the Warriors, Spurs and Cavs.

 

He should not be considered as such. That's part of the problem.

 

How do you figure??? How many players in the league are better at creating offense from nothing - both for himself and others??? That has to be a big part of the criteria. He's not a monster on the defensive side. Still, name some players who are better to build around. Even better, tell us how easy it is to swap out Harden with any of them. You people should be stuck watching the Nuggets night in/night out right now.

 

He's fine.

Need the supporting pieces.

 

You went to bestbuy and saw an awesome 90' inches oled curve tv there, the picture is freaking stunning, and then the sales rep approaching and greet you,

You asked him this : how do I built a nice house around this beauty?