Not sure what your point is? I'm not saying Rockets were better than GSW, I'm saying Houston had them beat but the pressure was too much for Harden in 2017....He has choked multiple times, but the SA and GSW the year after just solidified him as someone who does not rise to the occasion. Believe it or not, there have been players that have led inferior teams over elite teams... I mean we are Rockets fans, we know what Hakeem did to Orlando.... We knew Rockets were always going to be underdogs vs GSW, but the 2017 squad was as close as you were going to get to beating them. The only thing that team was missing was a leader, we had him... When CP3 went down the series was over, Harden just isn't bad like that... No scary hours in Houston...
How’d they have them beat? The series wasn’t over and they lost. This “leader” BS is just funny, especially how CP3 gets a pass when he’s lost to Harden twice in series play and limped off when the Rockets needed him vs 4 HOFs. You didn’t give fat Harden a pass for playing hurt this year with the same type of injury. The fact you can’t get around is that the best team (Warriors) won the series. Harden tried plenty and he lost. What was the rest of the West’s excuse, because the Warriors waxed their asses too. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the better squad.
Bruh, Harden did not just lose lol.... Harden did not go out fighting, he went out with a blunder... in 7 games from 3 he shot 5-9 Good 3-15 Choke 2-6 meh 3-12 Choke 0-11 Atrocious 4-12 Choke And ended game 7 2-13. Like what do you want me to say? Harden played well but GSW was just too much? I don't see how anyone can say that with a serious face. Hey, maybe this year we see the Harden you and @HP3 are talking about... I'd love to see Harden drain some clutch shots vs Giannis in a game 7... Been waiting to see it since Harden became a Rocket...
So he can lose but he has to look good doing it? Gotcha. I say the Warriors would have done what they needed to do regardless. They were the 5x Western Conference Champs and you have to tip your hat to them. They were better, you can make excuses for the Rockets and say Harden choked but it just means the Rockets weren’t good enough to win if all they had was one guy. And doesn’t change the fact that the Warriors dominated the Western Conference for half of a decade. At some point you got to respect those cats. They were the standard.
So Harden was flat out just not good enough to beat GSW? So losing with him playing awful vs good is the same thing because of the final outcome? And you are suppose to be defending Harden yet I'm the one who keeps saying Harden could have beat GSW, its not like Houston did not give him all they could in that series. Harden's team despite his awful shooting still put him up at halftime in game 7 vs GSW... Harden's job was to close it out, but I guess it was never going to happen... He was just not good enough.... I believe Harden was good enough, he had the talent, the skill..... Just didn't come through...
talking about game 7, but doesn’t even bring up this… imagine hating Harden so much u completely overlook the team getting screwed in 1 of the biggest rig jobs ever so u can say Harden “choked” against 4 stars u bitter baby mommas are funny
game 6 was even more egregious imo rockets were in control of that game and then mauer and malloy took over https://twitter.com/getnickwright/status/1000572558859792384?ref_src=twsrc^tfw&ref_url=https://s9e.github.io/iframe/twitter.min.html#1000572558859792384 https://twitter.com/getnickwright/status/1000567897222205441 https://twitter.com/MZavagno11/status/1000734518800801794?ref_src=twsrc^tfw&ref_url=https://s9e.github.io/iframe/twitter.min.html#1000734518800801794 https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/1000571737585532928?ref_src=twsrc^tfw&ref_url=https://s9e.github.io/iframe/twitter.min.html#1000571737585532928 https://twitter.com/RSherman_25/status/1000203994235457536?ref_src=twsrc^tfw&ref_url=https://s9e.github.io/iframe/twitter.min.html#1000203994235457536
Your aren’t going to convince Harden apologists to be honest with logic. When we need him to show up and get buckets, we got left hanging in a spare bedroom closet.
I dont know about @Salvy, but I hate when people say stuff like this. The screw job by the refs is not being overlooked. Despite the NBA cheating, Harden and the Rockets, without CP3, were still up in the 2nd half and had a chance to beat one the best teams in a generation. This isn't hate.. This is in reverence to how good people who are called Harden Haters think Harden's game is. Despite all the barriers, Harden and the Rockets were right there in game 6 and 7. If Harden had more focus, wasn't relying on the same moves and shots the refs took away (because they were cheating) he could have been lifted into the pantheon of NBA greats. (also MDA should have never put Ryno in the game.. MDA never adapted) We all knew the deal. This sh*t is hard. And none of it's fair. I think the main difference between the Harden Only and the people perceived as Harden Haters is the (perceived) Harden Haters think there was a chance to win with Harden's skill despite the cheating. Harden Onlys seem to think the Rockets were dead on arrival.
I think its fair to say Harden could have played better. He shot poorly from 3. But I dont think its fair to chastise him for the loss. Its hard to think of anyone else in the league besides Lebron who could have won this game. Like, yea we had a chance to win...but also it was the Warriors with 4 all nba players on their team. You dont cut slack to the guy who was put in a position, literally none of his peers were in?
This moment perfectly encapsulates game 6 and 7. Refs were not going to call a foul for Harden on 3's or layups... ever. That was the game plan. Harden then should have gone to the move that put him in the MVP convo when he came to Houston - the step back turnaround fade away mid game.. They would have never been able to stop him. The game would have been a wrap. Harden just kept on running in there for turnover after turnover. he was relying on the refs to call the game fairly and it wasn't a fair game. At least give yourself a chance.
I know it isnt fair to put everything on Harden, but history is just as cruel, man. History will say Houston got the L and move on. All this nuance about cheating refs is only going to be talked about at the margins of r/rockets and clutchfans. Thats why you talk about what Harden could have done to win an almost unwinnable game. Look at the way Harden is perceived now. Harden was carrying the Rockets for years never missing the playoffs. He gets no credit for any of that. History is Cruel. When Harden was a Rocket, I switched my thinking to how can Harden win in his situation because you get no credit for nuance.
The difference, if we swap Lebron and Harden, Rockets win those game 7s. I firmly believe Lebron would have gotten buckets needed to win those games. We are hard on him for those losses not because he was on team and we lost those games. We are hard on him for practically being a no show for those games that we lost with how great he is.
Lebron is at worst a top 3 player ever. Maybe he does, maybe he doesnt. He wasnt a no show though, check his percentage on twos. He just shot really poorly from 3 Also our team missed 27 threes my guy. They were tired, our second best player was out and we were playing the Warriors. I think its okay show appreciation and not constantly dog our players. And yes I know I was an ass to Westbrook, I was wrong ok lol.
I’m not some Harden Only, so u can miss me with that sh*t it was absolutely being overlooked…GS was the best 3rd quarter team in the NBA by far that season and crushed us in that quarter the entire series…that’s why the blatant rig job that started in the 1st half matters, especially when shorthanded and with GS being as good as they are…and then it started immediately in the 2nd half where a 4 point play was taken away… Harden had 32 points on 12-29 shooting, with 10 potential points being taken away by blatant cheating so bad even Reggie Miller and C-Webb were astonished by what they were seeing…all those uncalled clear fouls on 3 point attempts show up in the boxscore as missed threes instead of free throw attempts but yeah, if Harden was more focused, he could’ve overcome 1 of the biggest rig jobs ever while the rest of the team was bricking everything…his 2nd best player in that game was EG, who went 2-12 from 3…Ariza went 0-12 from the floor…we had 3 bench points…but I guess that’s on Harden as well without getting into the fact that it was already 4 stars against 1 heading in plus 3 refs
game 6 was atrocious…I remember how Swaggy P was all of the sudden able to defend Harden because they were allowing him to get away with an absurd amount of contact basically bodying him on the perimeter…meanwhile, we couldn’t breathe on Durant only reason I’m not as mad about game 6 is because we were on the road and ended up getting blown out so badly
The only way for anyone to win a game is to be on a super team.. there is no use playing otherwise. there is no way to overcome by adapting to the game that is being played I guess Harden was taking shots from 3 and at the rim expecting calls that were never going to come. Harden's teammates were relegated to spot up shooters missing wide open 3 pointers and MDA never thought to get them easier shots. Yeah they were wide open but they weren't knocking them down so why continue to run the same futile sets? CP3 was missed, when your team is bricking, and nothing is going in, CP3 would knock down a 2 pointer just to keep the score running. If only Harden reached in his bag of 2's and kept the score running. he would have had 50 just like Giannis. Classic Harden Only's move is to talk about Harden's stat line like it absolves him form the Rockets loss. Harden would have needed 50 points to win a game against GS.. yeah it sounds about right. You're going to need a mammoth effort from the best player to get it done. Reeko you're a Harden only just own it. It's okay, man. regulars ninjas dont call people "bitter baby mommas" in regular conversation.
Lmao, now you’re going to midrange jumpshots would’ve beaten GS and that rig job? 1. PHX is nowhere near GS as an opponent 2. Giannis had 19 free throw attempts in that 50 point game. Now imagine the refs rigging his game and not calling any blatant fouls while going up against GS and not PHX. so there goes that nonsense Harden could’ve played better in game 7, but if u bring up that game and ignore everything else that went on so u can solely blame Harden and say he choked, then you’re a clown…seems like u might fall into that category Harden Only when I’ve been going to Rockets games long before I ever knew Harden existed and will continue to go…Mfer please
I totally agree on the refs, Durant was out bounds and they botched tons of calls.... My personal most hated one, Durant out of bounds.... But none of the calls have anything to do with Harden going 4-12 and 2-13 in those last two games..... I just don't know why someone without a bias is looked as a bitter ex... Harden's performance alone can be looked at individually without even considering the game.... And individually he botched it, he did not have good games with the exception of the 1st game in that series where he was good from 3 and scored 42 points I think... He flat out did not deliver, refs or no refs... GSW or San Antonio.... He fell way short... There is no around this...
