are you saying CP3 and WB are not ball dominant guards? LOL and in the last 3 games you only see harden as a role player? who are the superstars?
Ankles are like important in basketball. James coming back from a sprain is being smart in my opinion. Seems about right though. One legged James is averaging 17/11. Once he feels great again and scores his 30 a night will we be going back to the culture gripes?
The idea is to empower other players by distributing the ball to get quality shot. Harden can get his when he wants to but empowering others will result in better outcome in playoffs.
I guess. He’s not quitting. Tender ankles are easy to re-injure. What does that even mean though he’s allowing other guys to score or finally his decrepit surrounding teammates are actually performing? He leads the NBA in assists he’s been trying to get everyone involved. Nice they are earning their checks too! I hope they all keep hitting shots and James can reserve some juice for the playoffs and not have to score 35 a might to have a chance to win.
yup people here cry about Harden ISOs, selfish play, running out of gas in the POs and now his balancing the load and pacing himself and put up 18 and 13 he's suddenly an irrespectible role player
If Harden is having to score 45-60 points a night to win.... HOU is in trouble. This team is WAY deeper than past squads. It’s ok
> New system > Ball dominant guard in John Wall > Harden averages less points but more assists. It seems like you're insinuating that Harden suddenly fell off a cliff, when you said it yourself - dude is in a new system playing with another dude who needs the ball to be effective. He's also playing with Christian Wood - an offensive big that Harden has never had before. Getting more people involved + less iso-ball + having baby AD = less points, more assists. I'm not sure why it's so concerning that Harden is averaging less points, when all the factors you listed usually cause someone to need to put up less points.
The league leader in assists is a "role player"? And 17 points a game is only low for Harden. Which other role player averages that many points? Those are some high standards you got going there.
Were Rockets in trouble last 4 seasons? Rockets have had most wins in franchise history with Harden leading the team AND THE NBA in scoring. And this is a franchise with former MVPs, champions and HOF greats like Dream and Moses. Let that sink in.
Superstars play roles too. With all his faults, Harden isn't a stat monger . Adjustments need to made when the makeup of the team changes. I think they are still very much in that stage where they are experimenting to see what works. Harden's role this week maybe different next week as the players learn each other. I for one am glad to see things evolving and changing.
Silas has said he wants multiple ways to attack. It will take some for the team to adjust to not only John Wall, but less iso ball. Harden has demonstrated he can lead the league in assists (2016) and with Woods as a running mate he can do it again. Thought it was interesting on one of the Rockets broadcasts they mentioned how Silas viewed Woods like Porzingis.
Another game Harden hasn’t scored more than 20. He feels like the third option in this system right now. Again, the ball is moving, players are moving, etc. But it comes at the expense of Harden’s production.
