I'm down with Hakeem and Drexler all day long. But put TMac in Harden's place on this same team, and watch the magic unfold. Put Harden in TMac's place in those Jazz series, and watch brutality unfold.
I used to think people hated him because his team lost games and he has the highest salary. Lins contract is bad, but he is not a max player. I dont care if he doesnt show up in a playoff game. Harden does not show up at all. Teams used to game plan around mcgrady and he would still drop 40. Harden is getting out played by wes mathews.
It's tough to say TMac ever got schooled, when he was healthy. Some fans have trouble accepting (or willfully ignore) the dynamics of team sports.
That was a classic example of the overrated phrase people use on here, "The toronto game" except this game mattered so much more. T-Mac was fools gold, and Harden isn't giving us much of a reason to think otherwise.
Good teams always exploit a player's weaknesses. Portland has come into this series with a specific game plan for Harden. They are not going to put him on the line. They will contest the 3, but they will let him take the mid-range 2, because he isn't a very good shooter from the field inside the 3 pt line. Portland is also going at him on defense and even though Matthews isn't lighting up the scoreboard, it is making Harden expend more energy. It is up to McHale to employ more pick and roll and playing Harden off the wing to get him into positions where he can score more easily. Letting him handle the ball on isolation play after isolation play simply isn't working.
When defense gets physical, touch fouls aren't called, Harden disappears. Harden needs foul calls to get separation from defenders who are afraid of fouling him. When they are allowed to play up on him, he doesn't have the speed or elevation to get a shot off whenever he wants. The only recourse would be to have him run off screens, but he just isn't mobile enough to do this regularly. Quite frankly, Harden's stamina sucks. He doesn't move his feet because he has a terrible motor (what his college coach used to get on him on). What is inexcusable is Harden's lack of general focus and his body language. Patrick Beverly is playing with a torn meniscus. Dwight is leaving everything on the floor. And Harden looks like he slept at 3 in the morning. Until Harden WAKES up and realizes that the playoffs are not the regular season, we are a dead team walking.
i think OKC had it right, he's a great 6th man / 3rd star. we need melo or rondo this summer plus a new coach and we will be legit contenders next year.
Lin has played well. They should run the offense through him. When he was on the floor he made the shots easier for Harden, Jones and Howard (even Asik). The Rockets need to push the panic button and I think that means getting back to how Harden and Lin played together last year and several games this year (including their last win over Portland).
boo <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>In 2014 playoffs, only 2 players to attempt at least 19 shots and shoot less than 33 percent are James Harden (Gm 1) & James Harden (Gm 2)</p>— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenGolliver/statuses/459186615714197504">April 24, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Yea...and shaq then left for LA. Harden better shape up and show some effort...there are still so many other things harden can do even if he's shooting so poorly, but he just seems disinterested or there is no effort. It seems like he's a hollow shell of himself. If shots don't go in, play some D or try to move the ball around. Get involved in the game...help rebound. I just don't seem him being aggressive and feeling a sense of urgency. I miss the old Rockets where players played hard and with heart...where they played as if each game mattered. sigh...
I dissagree with all ofthis except his stamina it does seem to be awful. But Harden can get a shot off over anyone in the league. He's a lot quicker than people think and he's very crafty. The problem with him right now is he's mentally broken right now. Its all mental. Idk what happened he was clutch in the regular season. I fully expect him to turn this around though
I have seen Lin get to the rack in the past two games just fine. You attack the rack and draw fouls. That is what Harden has been doing all season long. Why he has stopped now is beyond me. McHale is a huge problem as well. If we get swept I think we have to look at firing him. There are rumors that Thibodeau might be out in Chicago or Vogel in Indiana. I think both of those coaches would be a great fit here because they preach defense. McHale obviously doesn't do that well at it. I can't blame our bench for doing nothing in this game because McHale has only used Garcia, Lin, and Asik. I think he needs to throw out Hamilton, D-Mo, Daniels, and even Powell (just as another body to attack Aldridge). There is no reason we should be down 2-0 to Portland. We are a better team overall. Parsons needs to stop talking and just play, Harden needs to get back to what he was throughout the regular season, and Howard just needs to keep up what he has been doing for a whole game.
Harden and Howard for that matter....neither of them are superstars. They're both all-stars. Neither can put a team on his shoulders and carry them.
