I keep thinking to myself "when will he learn??" after the same boneheaded plays over and over. Flopping his body in the paint without trying to make the shot, lazy defense that leads to an open 3, pull contested 3pt bricks. I know it's a process and we got to look at the long term but his attitude and his tendency to repeat the same mistakes over and over has me concerned. He's actually increased the frequency of these mistakes as the season has progressed..
Harden is tired and injured. Can we appreciate that he played through a ****load of injuries this season? We're all forgetting this too quickly. A summer of rest will do him a world of good (also remember, last summer he was playing in the Olympics!)
Okay even if he's injured he's not showing any spirit out there, that's just unacceptable. Harden needs to bring it BIG TIME in the second half because if he ends the season on this note then he can look forward to some very justified criticism over the summer.
Almost every single player plays through an injuries. If he truly has an injury that has slowed down his game, then they he needs to sit.. Tired and injured can be said for almost every player at this point in the season.
I'm sorry but there is no excuse on earth that can justify having more turnovers than points in the first half as a franchise player. It just can't be done. Harden still has the second half, but there is no defending the first. None.
I mean he's 23 and scoring very well in his first year as #1 option. He also probably had no idea he was about to be a #1 option as he was traded right before the season started. He didn't have much time to alter his game from a 6th man role to #1 option. He should learn from his mistakes and I believe he will work to fix them in the off season.
I think if you isolate his stats from jump shots the % is even worse. His driving has also resulted in a lot of turnovers. Give him some slack though his first full season asked to carry this much. Lets see what happens after an offseason of preparation.
For a player like Harden, it takes going into the offseason and making the proper adjustments. He is still young and hasn't had time to add much into his game yet. The Rockets knew this before getting James Harden. We just got bonus play out of him, which was unexpected. He will make the adjustments in the offseason and keep playing the way he knows how at this moment in time.
Curry played through injury throughout the season. He played through a f'd up ankle and single-handily carried the Warriors against the Nuggets.
He's been mailing it in since the all star break then. I think the man is injured/unaccustomed to long minutes right now. He needs to heal up and work on his conditioning over the summer.
Anyone comparing Harden to Durant because they both played in the Olympics needs to realize something. 1. Kevin Durant is the best player in basketball, forget all that Lebron noise. 2. Harden does not have Durants size. Harden NEEDS a big man, just like Kobe does. that's all