What does that look like? Bunch of dudes running figure 8s? Running around the top doing dribble hand offs? Rocket River
boxing out, jockeying for position, cutting, setting picks, etc...ie - not standing at half court disinterested bc its 'the other guys turn' on offense... side note - remember when people on here were saying that James standing at halfcourt (totally removed from the play) was part of MDAs masterful strategy to create spacing... yeh... people can rationalize anything... lol!
To be honest, a full on leader understands that you have to defer to a lesser player sometimes to massage their ego and motivation. Harden is not good at that. He is who he is: great scorer, passer and rebounder. He's better with the ball in his hands than practically everyone in the world, so it's never statistically going to be a good idea but second stars are usually people who are accepting a new fate. Some leadership is necessary to help them flourish. Alternatively you can pair him with another MVP-calibre player like Durant or Anthony Davis and he will deliver you a title. He almost did it with CP3, against arguably the most talented team in NBA history. Pair him with two like Lebron, and he'll deliver you a dynasty. We never gave this era its chance tbh. It's absurd looking back that we were pinching pennies with a perennial MVP candidate on the roster.
Here's a thought: maybe when you hold the ball more than anyone in NBA history for half a decade, you kind of lose the rhythm of playing off ball. Some of it must be mental rust. Literally no one ever has played less off the ball than Harden. I'm sure it's easy to get back, but it may not be in an instant. Perhaps his catch and shoot rhythm will improve through the season. I'm still ok with winning fewer regular season games if it means the GM, coach and the rest of the roster have to learn how to avoid being embarrassed when Harden sits or plays off the ball.
Except Curry is also playing some ISO ball and doing whatever needed to push the GSW. Nobody is trying to make Harden an off ball player but expand his game so his teammates do better. It's just a lack of imagination on your part .
We don't have an iso ball team anymore..... We had an elite defense supporting Harden's iso ball. We no longer have that. Also Harden is still ISOing, just not as much.
I get it though..... some of yall would prefer losing in a "more comfortable way" with heavy isoball.
This year Harden is shooting 44.4% on catch and shoot 3's. How much more do you expect him to improve?
Id like not to lose by double digits vs "contenders" if that is what is considered "team ball" Just give Silas a chance right?
Sure... lets go back to playing the style that we almost lost a series to Dort and CP3.... Yes, give Silas a chance.
Isn't that basically a worse version of that We lessened Harden's roles and Gave Westbrook's role to Wall Rocket River
"almost" why not talk about the LA series where they beat us at our own game? Silas will be successful when he understands he has an unstoppable player on his team and quits trying to install team ball BS. I wanted the Silas that was supposedly responsible for the Mavs offense and the way they used Luka - not this. Yuck.
I mean sure..... isn't it clear that the Lakers were and are head and shoulders better than the Rockets? Lebron + AD + elite defense + role players that stepped up? We had our own version during CP3's first year, but we don't have that team anymore. Sounds like you are just going to be disappointed since your expectations don't line up to reality.
