this harden-led rockets team has been playing hero ball for quite a while. too many times harden bails the team out in sticky situations. and each time he does that, his fans will come out and cheer and claim how everyone else is garbage. many times harden has failed to deliver as well (such as last night's typical case). hero ball makes it easier for the opponents to defend. executing a hard double and forcing other players to beat them is a simple and often effective tactic, and it really doesnt take a genius coach to figure that one out. does harden want to be the hero? idk. idk him, so there's no way i can tell for sure. i guess he does. does the team want to rely on him to be the hero? they may not consciously do all the time, but in my observation this team has developed a pattern of doing that. it's getting more and more obvious. if you look at the teams historically have won championships, they all played team ball. even the teams that had magic, bird, mj and co., hakeem, kobe & shaq, miami's big 3, etc., they all played team ball. there were many heroic moments, sure; but overall it's team ball - not this hero ball brand of bball we're seeing in houtown right now. many runners-up type of great teams, such as rick adelman's sactown kings, played the same style of team ball. and i haven't even mentioned the spurs and the current gsw team. imo, if the rockets are to start anew and truly start a championship run, no matter who's the #1 franchise player, they need to fundamentally change the style of playing bball. i know i am kind of stating the obvious, but i just need to let it out.
Stating the obvious like you said but unfortunately, the way this team is built this is the style of play that they have to go with. New personnel which we should anticipate this offseason will hopefully allow for a better change
sometimes i think what a great coach will do, even with the current makeup of this team. think, for example, rick adelman...
As long as we have anemic offensive players in Brewer and Terry, Harden absolutely must have the ball in his hands to end games
there's just too many players on this team that are limited in what they can do and have to rely on others. There's not nearly enough versatility to adjust to different situations. A better coach may help slightly but unless certain players show drastic changes in improvement to allow themselves to be more versatile, personnel change is the likely answer for a better team
I cringed watching us struggle to get a basket down the stretch. Almost every possession was the PG wasting 8-10 seconds try to get the ball to Harden at the top of the key with Harden's man on him. And then Harden wasting another 10s trying to find space and pounding the ball going nowhere and then a desperation shot or move All this while rest of the players stay rooted to one position watching the action unfold. 1. Is the Rockets team catering so much to Harden that they can't run a play without him? They look for him even when the other team knows that is what the Rockets are going to do and trap accordingly 2. Can Harden not come off screens or make cuts to get open? He just stands at the top of the key demanding the ball and it's a struggle. SMH at this top 10 offense.
1. Yes. Harden wants space, space, space. He wants guys around him that aren't going to get their own shot. Works great for 46 minutes a night against mediocre teams. But it sucks the last 2 minutes of the game and against teams that actually play D. 2. Harden doesn't want to do that. That takes energy. It's the same thing as Dwight not wanting to run pick-and-roll. So when your two leaders don't want to expend energy in a motion offense then for sure the rest of the guys are going to stand around. Not to mention....Harden doesn't want them moving around and dragging defenders through the paint. They HAVE TO stand around to suit him so he can break down his defender and go to the hole. But....you know.....it's Dwight's fault. It's not acceptable what Dwight does, you know, wanting the basketball once-in-a-while and all that nonsense. He's the problem. It's for sure not Harden not wanting to do anything but catch the ball in the triple threat, then wind down the shot clock making a dozen moves off the dribble before either shooting or dishing to Corey "Headless Chicken" Brewer for the 28% 3-ball. This whole mess is on DUH-WHITE!!
Yeah, top 10 offense my ass. This is indeed what is going on and it has been like that for a long time, this year is just the worst it's ever been because there's nobody who can step up and no coach to try something else. Not sure if it's Harden unwillingness or coaches who have catered to him and not bothered to come up with anything else. All I know is this 'hero' role which means sticky ball (no Dwight) is tiring Harden and makes our team ineffective as hell. Guys might as well just stand out of bounds or go back on defense. The latter might actually save us from some fast break opportunities in case of Harden's TOs.
Why are people blaming Harden for the Rockets style of play? Isn't it obvious it comes from the coach? The Rockets have basically two offensive plays, get the ball to Harden, or get the ball to Beasley and see what they can do. The biggest problem with the Rockets isn't Harden, Dwight, or whoever, it's that they are the worst coached team in the league.
We obviously need another above average ball handler. Beasley can create for himself, but it will be interesting to see if he can learn to move the ball better.
it doesn't all come from the coach. like i said its best for the personnel by the way this team is built. most of the players on this team are just too limited in what they can do. blaming the coach for the sole reason is completely false.
Adelman did more with less when he was here..................... A great coach changes everything. No way Dallas should be anywhere near the playoffs, but Carlisle has them playing at a whole different level. Coaching DEFINITELY matters. The fact our GM dismisses it is part of the reason we're at a 9th seed