I think we're already seeing the improvment in his game. He's been shooting the ball at 48/40/87 for 2 months now. I don't know if his numbers can improve because what he's doing has only been done by 2 guys regarded by ESPN as the two best players ever in MJ and LJ and the other guy Oscar avg a triple double. What I do see is him starting to slow down and just take over games and will this team to wins. His teamates seem to be feeding off this approach and playing better also. I mean look at his last 20 games he's avg 30/7/7 with elite shooting. i think he came into the season out of shape and that hurt the rockets more than anything and that's on him he's the franchise guy and the one everyone looks too on and off the court. Since he got in shape the team has started to try harder on both sides and harden has really hit a stride that is very rare. If the rockets had a better record everyone would be talking about how great he's been playing and how he's and mvp guy again. If the rockets can get to that 6th seed harden is playing at such a high level I think we could beat OKC in the first round and give the Spurs a nice 6 game series.
Going through hot stretches doesnt mean much. A lot of players do. True improvement comes for those that can sustain it throughout the course of the year. I see you're still holding some pretty high hopes. Me on the other hand not so much. I just have the realization that since this defense is right there with the worst in the league they won't be doing anything. And if they somehow squeeze into the playoffs they're going to get demolished likely
Cmon now dude a lot of players go through hot stretchs but not many go through stretchs like the one Harden is on. I just think he's in shape and this is how he would have been playing had it been the case coming into the year which is on him, and that's a big negative not only on him but the team because he's there bet player and leader. I watch enough NBA to know that the 6th seed is attainable and up for grabs. Portland is the flavor of the month but their really not that good and are starting to lose a lot not to mention theors defense is settling back into what it really is which is bad. As good as they'v been there 34-31 only 1.5 games above us with golden state OKC and the Spurs coming up next. I would be shocked if they won any of those games. Dallas? They staright suck and I could see them falling out the playoffs altogether. They have a hard schedule coming up with a real need to win these games they've been playing against lower level teamd, and they haven't. Only reason I think they will hold onto the 8th seed is because the Jazz are the most overrated team in basketball everytime it looks like they got it together they lose 5 out of 6 games. Houston can def and should get the 6th seed on the simple factor that they have James Harden and those teams don't. We'll see what happens. I admit I don't blame you for not giving this team any Chance against OKC but I will hold out hope till the end. OKC is not the Warriors or spurs they are beatable.
If we get to the 6th seed, there is a chance Clippers can make the 3rd seed. Then we can have a rematch of last year's playoffs minus Blake Griffin. Definitely winnable.
If I were him I'd come to Houston. I don't think the thunder will ever be a legit contender. They are fun to watch and can beat anybody but always feel like the role players can't keep up with good teams in a series. Also harden(players MVP) and Durant alone could probably lure another big name if Dwight leaves GS would ruin his career if he went there especially if they repeat. He'd be marked as a bigger b**** than lebron going to Miami and anytime rings were brought up he be named a ring chasing w****. The Knicks also seem like a long shot. KD would probably hate playing with melo If I was Durant, depending on how far we got, I'd probably sign a one year max deal , and then can totally see KD/Westbrook/harden all going to the lakers
I disagree with the idea that Harden cannot improve on offense. What he has now he's developed all by himself. A better coach/staff will be able to improve his offense by putting him in new situations/schemes and challenging him in different ways. He can play more in the post. He can play more off the ball. He can come off double screens. He just hasn't been asked to yet. When/if that happens - you'll see a deadlier, more efficient James Harden. One that can do more with less effort.
he was definitely out of shape coming into this season but at this point its just a little too late to try and all of a sudden believe this team is any different that what we have seen thus far cause they aren't. Harden being in better shape doesn't change that. As you mentioned it is a huge negative on him the way he came into the season. This season became a huge waste and headache for those of us excited coming into the year. Houston is actually just benefiting from a down year in the West. They are a pretty much a .500 team give or take with one of the worst defenses in the league. It doesn't make them any good or at the level of top tier teams regardless if they make the 6th seed or not.
Yes you let Dwight walk. And then call up Al Horford and see if he wants to play with Harden and Durant.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...s-upcoming-free-agency---uh-oh-211012603.html Daryl Morey on Dwight Howard's upcoming free agency: 'Uh oh' By Kelly Dwyer Ball Don't Lie Dwight Howard, noted for his unique ability to be swayed by the breaking of a wind, will likely be this summer’s top free agent prize. The Houston Rockets center will probably be the last star standing once LeBron James and Kevin Durant decide to return to their incumbent teams as free agents in July, and in a league rife with salary cap space, you can bet that one team will attempt to break the bank on the big man. Houston general manager Daryl Morey, the king of thinking three transactions ahead of the rest, is more than aware of this. As the only GM that can comment on Howard’s impending Big Move without fear of tampering charges, Morey still gave a circumspect but knowing answer when asked about his team’s plans moving forward with the center. From the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, as relayed by Sports Illustrated’s Matt Dollinger (via Pro Basketball Talk): “During the front office panel, ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, who was moderating, asked Morey about re-signing Dwight Howard. Morey immediately replied: ‘Uh oh.’ MacMullan pressed the Rockets GM on negotiations. He responded that the NBA’s max salary threshold keeps things simple. MacMullan asked, So you’re re-signing him? To which Morey responded: ‘I just said they had the concept.’” Howard, who turned 30 last December, is due to make over $23 million in the final year of his contract next season. He is expected to decline the player option on that deal, first signed in 2013, to take advantage of a salary cap that is expected to jump over $22 million this summer, as the NBA happily warms to the embrace of its new television deal. Houston has played well of late, especially on the defensive end, but the team still stands as perhaps the league’s biggest disappointment in 2015-16. Unable to point to the sorts of injuries that outfits in New Orleans and Chicago have dealt with, the 34-33 Rockets have struggled to lob themselves into the sort of Warriors-spoiler status most predicted they’d run with prior to the campaign. The malaise has already cost former coach Kevin McHale his job, along with Howard and teammate James Harden’s league-wide credibility. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year hasn’t made an All-Star team since his first year with Houston in 2013-14, and he missed half of his team’s games last season due to a combination of back and knee woes. With that in place, he’s still providing nearly 15 points per game on nine shots a night, making over 60 percent of his field goal attempts, pulling in over 12 rebounds a game with a rebound rate right in line with his career averages. That is to say, in a league starved for tradition big men, a healthy Dwight Howard will be well worth that next deal. For the first couple of years, anyway. Whether or not that happens in Houston is dependent on a massive confluence of tipping factors. Howard has left money on the table before in order to chase down a happy working situation – witness his move away from Kobe Bryant’s Lakers in 2013 – but that batch of history could either work as a predictive force or a “not this time, I need the cash up front”-situation. Though Morey is able to speak freely when discussing his starting center’s options (and, jokes aside, none of us should be reading anything into a flippant comment regarding a free agency turn that is three and a half months away), there is considerable reason to believe that the Rox might pass on re-signing the center at what will be the market rate. Even if the Rockets were cruising their way toward home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, this consternation would still be in place. The team isn’t cruising in that direction, though. Houston is tied with the sinking Mavericks for the seventh seed in the West, working two games up on a snakebitten Utah Jazz squad. As of right now, the team would line up against the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the postseason, a team the Rockets took one game from earlier in the season prior to losing by a combined 59 points over the next three contests. Also as of right now, with that scary market rate, the Rockets would then be beholden to basically offer Dwight Howard a third of its salary cap to pay him into his mid-30s. No, Dwight may no longer be a star, but would his unique skill set be worth such an investment? And, again for the guy who said “no” to Kobe and guaranteed millions just three years ago, would Howard even want to hop on back into the same situation? For so many years?
Thanks for posting that as I was having trouble getting Yahoo to load today. I almost feel sorry for the Yahoo bloggers, they have to make articles out of just a sound bite or a clip just for the sake of adding content to the site.
If Durant wants money and Championship - he stays in OKC. If Durant wants a guaranteed championship - he goes GS or SA. How are you people so delusional? Rockets are hardly a playoffs team without Durant, wake up, no great player is choosing Rockets over 10 other teams.
For what extra hundred millions he'll make in OKC, he can import Beasley to be with him at all times, he doesn't need to go to Rockets to play with Beasley. You guys are not desperate, not at all.
