One more thing about our mvp he plays winning basketball and makes players around him better. That's the mark of a truely transcendent player. You need that hof numbers he does that bit you have to win and be in contention every season and since he's been here Houston has went from missing out on the playoffs to qualifying for the playoffs evey year and advancing in wins and rounds next step finals.
My concern is Harden leaving for L.A. or some other big market city after his current contract is up with Houston. I would hate seeing him leave us for the Lakers and a Kardashian. He obviously loves the attention and after Kobe retires he could be the face of the Lakers. Anyone else believe he would leave money on the table to move somewhere more appealing to his lifestyle choices?
You have absolutely no idea on how the Rockets play or their style of basketball. First off, since Harden's been here he's dominated the ball. The Rockets have been best when Harden does this even at Harden's detriment. In basketball (you should know this btw), when you have a ball dominant PG & SG, the SG will need to get his shots of screens, pin downs or catch & shoot opportunities from the PG's penetration. This is a HUGE adjustment for us. Harden will have to play a totally different way with Lawson in. It's a different style Its a legitimate concern. To a casual fan that doesn't know the X's & O's its no big deal. But ppl who follow basketball know the significance of misdirection, hard screens, off the ball movement, weakside cutting etc.. I'm sure you probably don't pay any attention to this though.
For being a professional writer, Watkins is terrible at writing. His grammar is consistently atrocious. I'm pretty sure there's nobody editing those things.
I get what your saying but from hearing mchale and some of the players speak at training camp I don't expect the offense to change much Harden is still going to dominate the ball. He's going to get some opportunities in the open court to run the break on the wing, but in regards to lawson running the show for a few possessions. I'd imagine that Harden will be on the opposite side of the court standing in between the corner and up top for a catch and shoot as the defense collapses on Ty's penetration, sorta like the lebron Miami teams. I can guarantee Harden is not going to be running around the court threw picks for and open jumper off a curl. Thats going to wear him out just as much as him dominating every possession.
...and because Golden State set numerous moving screens every game. If we want to beat the GSW, we need to start pushing the boundaries of what we can get away with like they do.
actually this is going to happen more often times than not this season and there's nothing wrong with that.
Personally, I think Harden is building a legacy, and it started when he came to Houston. I think if he leaves Houston, it will diminish his legacy. Also, he doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that would let a girlfriend determine anything at all about his career. I don't think there's anything to worry about.
This. Harden has the drive to be one of the greatest. You could tell that when he was criticized for his defense, when he was criticized for being first round fodder, criticized for being a flopper...dude wants to be great, and I think Houston is the best place for him to achieve that without unnecessary distractions. Though he may be under the bright lights in LA, I think they will take a lot longer to get another Pau type player to pair up with him. The time to win a ring is now and in Houston, and management takes Harden's considerations deeply. He wasn't fazed when we lost Parsons, he called for Ariza. The dude is an asst. GM.
I don't think so. Coming off screens and catching & shooting will not only save him energy, but prolong his career 3-4 years. Guys like Ray Allen & Reggie Miller benefited greatly by not having to handle the ball. There are times he'll need to dominate the ball, but McHale will need to be creative in drawing up plays to get Harden open looks when Ty's running the offense. Standing in corner waiting for the ball is not gonna cut it. I don't know if McHale's competent enough to make a adjustment.
I definitely hope you both are right...it has just been a small concern of mine and what you guys say makes a lot of sense. It just seems like a perfect storm brewing with Harden being from the L.A. area and dating a Kardashian. Then you add in the idea of Kobe retiring and the possibility of Durant also going to L.A.... heck even Westbrook could go that way. They could reform the trio and rename the Lakers the Thunder.
yah he could average 30 the next 4 years. jordan freakin averaged 37ppg when he was 23. wade only got to 30 one time.
That's not hardens game, I don't think his body type is going to allow him to just run around fighting through picks. He's still going to be handling the ball 90% of the time he's on the court. Did you not here his interview a couple days ago he said he'd like to do that maybe 2-3x a game that's It. He also said he doesn't want to do to much of that. Comparing James harden to Ray Allen and Reggie miller is funny to me because their games and body types are nothing alike. Harden plays more like lebron than those two guys. Those two guys could never do the things harden does great on offense and you think mchale is just going to strip some of that away from him so he can run around the court like rip Hamilton to get an open jumper? Not buying it. Having a guy like Lawson who can drive and kick should get harden plenty of easy catch and shoot threes you don't have to fight through screens when you have another guy that's a more than capable playmaker to do it for him. I guess we will see but I'd imagine harden gets more open looks off lawson penetration and recieveing the pass directly or from hockey assist than running off screens like Reggie miller.
One I think harden is ultimately going to be better than wade and it will be obvious over the next 3 seasons. Secondly I didn't say he would be Jordan I said he could be the 2nd best SG After Jordan. Nobody is Jordan not lebron not Kobe not KD so I don't expect Harden to surpass the goat. Bit offensively Harden is extremely rare and can absolutely go down as one of the best of his game keeps rising as we've seen over the past 3 years.
I don't think Harden WILL leave Houston, but anyone who outright dismisses it is kidding themselves. Lebron left his hometown. Dwight left Orland. Dwight left LA. LMA left Portland. People are convinced Durant will seriously consider leaving OKC. It is definitely possible.
We'll just have to wait and see if Harden will move off the ball more, set more screens, slash to the basket and gets plays called for him with Lawson being the creator. I doubt our offense will change much, maybe some sets where Harden can be in the corner to give Lawson more room to operate, but we won't see Harden moving off the ball like crazy all of a sudden I reckon.
