I'm one of the biggest Harden's supporters. I've defended him countless times against co-workers and family and strangers talking mess about him, but tonight I can't defend him. I'm already seeing all the numerous threads pop tonight (or be bumped). "Fire Mike" or "I've grown to hate Mike D'Antoni" or "Moreyball sucks" or "Blame our crappy crowd", etc etc etc. In reality, we need to stop making excuses. Tonight is solely on Harden. His demeanor, his energy, his leadership were nowhere to be found. Tonight I saw a player that looked scared, that folded under the pressure. There is nothing wrong with Mike's system, there is nothing wrong with Moreyball, etc. Overall this has been a fantastic year. Harden took a team full of role players and made them much much better than they are. But tonight defined Harden. I know that he will blame himself after this, he will say whatever crap he wants us to hear, but let's be honest, the guy folds under pressure. I don't want you guys to think I have forgotten the numerous clutch plays that Harden has had for us over the years or some of the great playoff performances that he has provided us since his time as a Rocket. He's definitely a very special player. The problem is that he continues having these games where he just does not seem interested in playing and I'm now accepting that under the most brightest of lights, the guy folds. It sucks, but that's just the damn truth. Now, you start questioning yourself, do we trade this guy and get the best value back we can get? Do we start tanking? What do we do? Let's face it, there is not a free agent out there available that will be better than Harden and allow him to become the 2nd player behind tough situations like this. I also know that there is no one in the draft that is worth tanking for. At the end of the day, I'm still a James Harden fan, I still want him to be a Rocket, but I am now recognizing that the guy will not show up in the biggest, most important of moments. He's done it to us countless times. I'm sure many are thinking, "how the hell do you want to stick with this guy? Shouldn't it be time to move on?" Honestly, I don't. At the end of the day, at this point in time, Harden is the best player available for US that gives a chance to go far some day. Maybe he will never get us any further than what we experienced in 2015, but he is still what gives us the best chance to build a good team and continue our philosophy. That's what I believe. I hate it, because I see performances like tonight and it makes me just want to throw in the towel, but it is what it is. I accept it. I do see deficiencies in this roster that need to be addressed, but I am firm that our best chance going forward is to continue to shift pieces around Harden. I'd definitely welcome an addition like Hayward, but I don't see that guy walking through that door. My main point from this post, is stop making excuses, stop blaming others, because tonight I blame Harden. He is our leader and he is in charge of leading us forward and tonight he failed us.
