What is the main reason for this teams struggle this year?

do you calculate the amount of points off turnovers that opposing teams get off hardens turnovers. Last nights game it was 14 pts out of the 19. Dude hurts this team especially with turnovers which he is on pace to break all time nba. not to mention he already has the record for most turnovers in a game. need I remind you of game 5 last year against golden state. too many fans on here get caught up in the fact that harden scores so much. hell you go to the line more than any player in league . again I'm not saying harden isn't a star or this team is better without him but cmon people stop defending this dude. its fans like you that make him feel likes its ok to take plays off especially on defensive end. last year he played great on defense cause viral video came out dogging his defensive effort. and harden being the egotistical player he is took exception to it and actually did something about it hence the mvp caliber season. Stop defending his play cause believe it or not when a player whos entire team relies on his effort it needs to be great on both ends>

 

The debate should have ended here.

1. There is no shooting guard in this league that has better plus-minus numbers than Harden does, so replacing him with other supposedly 2-way player would have done us no good, since their contribution is not as great as Harden's, taken as a whole (Harden leads in almost all traditional and advanced stat categories at his position. He is that dominant.)

2. We play much better with Harden on the floor whereas our level of productivity totally falls out of cliff when Harden sits out (well, at least before Beasley joined.) This should be an obvious sign that the current struggles facing the Rockets are not all related to Harden, if any at all.

 

Biggest reason is a major lack of talent.

 

You don't need to state the obvious, my friend. Some just desperately seek out reasons to believe Harden is sabotaging the entire team for some reason.

 

Worrell just explained why you're wrong (at least partly) here when he compared Atlanta, with no dominant stars, to Houston: . . . "Atlanta is a team, and that's what it's all about, isn't it?"

 

There are many problems with this team. But the root of the issue is Harden's play, TO's and defense. He is our point guard who doesn't get everybody involved consistency with his ball dominating/iso offense. He commits the most turnover's in the league resulting in points for the other team. And everyone knows about his defense. Thereupon, his high scoring is definitely negated by all the other holes in his game. In other words, he is fools gold if he will be the future of the Rockets. Dwight on the other hand was never the kind of superstar who will dominate and lead a team to the playoffs with his limited offense. The Rockets and fans knew what they were getting with Dwight long time ago. Unfortunately, both our superstars are overrated but Harden more so.

 

the rockets are not cohesive enough as an unit and that's a problem. but numbers wise, i just don't see any other 2-guard that would have been better for us besides Harden. outside of his position, sure, there are certainly better players, but among the shooting guards, Harden is easily the top dog. i think Butler is the second, but his offensive game is still unpolished as well as too injury prone. the rest are not even close.

 

Low IQ

 

And bad effort

 

Coaching coaching coaching

 

Personal agendas, misplaced priorities.

 

Harden haters love to harp on his defense and turnovers, which are certainly his weaknesses and areas where he can improve upon - but just can't seem to come around to the fact that his massive offensive talent easily offsets those deficits more than few time over. If Harden's negatives outweighed his positives, than he would have been a net minus player, and the relevant stats would have shown that all around (PER, Win Share, BPM, RPM, VORP, etc. you name it)

DeMarcus Cousin's is a good example. Really impressive numbers that don't lead to anywhere. Hence, mediocre advanced stat. Not even near Top 10. Harden is def not one of those guys. His impact his largely positive, and you can clearly see it from his records.

 

Problem or not Dwight needs to go, he is negatively affecting this teams performance on the court

 

I think one of the big problems has been the lack of a defensive presence in the paint. In prior years Howard, Asik, or even Dmo filled in nicely. But this year, we haven't had anyone who really clogs the lane on the defensive end.

 

you know what, more and more I'm coming to agree with this assessment. From another thread:

I actually think this is right. Basically the same personnel as last year and they have underperformed all season long. I think this is "the main reason" if there is a main reason.

Look at the game last night between GSW and SA: two extremely well-coached teams that just seem to do things right, even when the shots aren't falling. When our shots don't fall, we fall apart, we collapse mentally. So I think the coaching thesis makes a certain amount of sense, particularly in comparing last season with this one.

 

Maybe if Harden had a center he could rely on that would commit to pick and rolls,lobs and COULD CATCH THE BALL AND DUNK IT he would turn the ball over as much in my opinion. Howard a much bigger disappointment

 

Bingo...last night it was embarrassing...retired Hawks all star Dominique Wilkens who is a sports commentator for the Hawks, was laughing last night at how bad the Rox were playing on D especially in the paint along with all the switching the Rox were doing that made no sense

 

Coaching and the teams best player.

 

Defense

 

Harden and Howard care more about individual accolades than playing defense.

DD