True. There are quite a few plays that I can point to and say "if that had gone our way, we probably win the series."
Drummond likely to get cut: Andre Drummond’s days on the U.S. men’s national basketball team might be numbered. Despite a knee injury to DaMarcus Cousins and the defection of Kevin Durant because of physical and mental fatigue, the Pistons’ center never got off the bench Saturday night in a 95-78 Team USA victory over Brazil at the United Center in Chicago. While Derrick Rose made a triumphant return, playing in front of his home fans for the first time since November 2013, Drummond sat, not even garnering mop-up minutes. Apparently Mason Plumlee, a former Duke center under Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski, is a better fit for the team than Drummond at this point. Plumlee played 15 minutes and hit all three of his shots from the field. ESPN reporter Marc Stein said Drummond is the 15th man on the roster. The final 12 will be selected before the team leaves for Spain for the Basketball World Cup, which starts Aug. 30. With Plumlee playing well Saturday and Anthony Davis and Cousins almost locks to make the team, Drummond appeared to be the odd man out. He gets a chance to make an impression tonight during the team’s open scrimmage, but it appeared that the final two spots on the roster are going to Chandler Parsons, a stretch power forward who can shoot three-pointers, and Kyle Korver, a three-point specialist who can play small forward or shooting guard. Rudy Gay basically walked in off the street and became an integral part of the team after Durant left. He played 12 minutes and scored five points Saturday. Drummond, DeMar DeRozan, Cousins (injury) and Gordon Hayward didn’t play in Saturday’s game, but DeRozan, a 6-7 guard, had been great in practices and has the shooting range and defense to help this athletic team. So despite his size and length, Drummond, listed at 6-foot-10 and 270 pounds, could be headed back to Detroit soon unless there’s an injury or the coaching staff changes its mind and keeps another big man. http://www.freep.com/article/20140817/SPORTS03/308170190/Detroit-Pistons-Andre-Drummond-Team-USA
Yes, I am happy with Harden as an offensive player. Your perception that he is not trying to make shots is ridiculous and absurd.
Eh... I think there are definitely times when Harden is more concerned with drawing the contact than getting the ball in the basket.
So is driving at someone important on the other team and trying to get them in foul trouble not important? It's like pg's running at centers looking for contact.
To be more specific. Bball reference shows Harden had 79 lost ball turnovers in 73 games played. So even if you attribute every single 1 of those lost ball turnovers to when he just drives and flails his arms praying for a foul call that he doesn't get, that's essentially 1 time per game. I would guess not all of those turnovers were from that type of play. Just for reference he drew 261 shooting fouls and turned 42 of those into and 1's.
overall it is great. im talking about the finer points. there is a clear difference when a player is taking a shot WHILE getting contact compared to a player just looking to get to the foul line. it IS on the side of nit-picky, but it has to be tuned to some extent. see video below you didn't answer the question. in the playoffs, refs tend to call things a bit differently. when you see harden use a possession like this (the first clip in this video), refs may or may no call a foul. i dont like the idea of player's games needing to be dependent on an outside force they don't have control over. these end up being a loss of possession if a foul isn't called. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoiM0IixCNo[/youtube] and if players do not reach in, which i believe wes matthews said was intentional on their part, then harden losses a bit of effectiveness. id like to see drawing contact lose prioritization while trying to make the shot or kicking it out gain prioritization. i dont think it is wise to drive to the rim with drawing contact being the only thing in the players mind. getting the shot should be the first priority while drawing contact should be second. do you really want situations coming down to whether or not the refs are favorable?
Every year of Hardens career except last year his free throw rate has gone up in the playoffs. This is typical for most star players. Last years playoff series is what I would call an anomaly for Harden. Shots weren't falling and the foul calls weren't coming. To me it doesn't point to anything wrong with what he's doing just a rough stretch of games.
That is a fairy tale. Harden was ineffective in the playoffs because his normally reliable jumpshot was off, it had nothing to do with the referees changing foul calls. In the elimination game , Harden was extremely effective, getting to the line 12 times, and posting an outstanding 83% true shooting (34 points on 15 shots), yet we still lost. There are 100 issues with this team that are of greater importance than Harden's "ability" to get to the free throw line. To shine a light on that issue as if it is some great huge obstacle to team success, while not recognizing the 100 or so other things is unfair to Harden. Yes, Harden is not perfect, but that doesn't mean he has to be diminished. You have a Corvette, and you are complaining about it not being a Ferrari.
LOL @ fans complaining about Harden's offense. If you want to criticize his defense, go right ahead, but one of the 5 best offensive players in the game is on our team. Enjoy it.
my points aren't addressing the overall game of harden. it's based on individual possessions. a micro view. overall he has an elite offensive game. i just think he could make better decisions in some cases from an individual possession perspective. i already said it was a bit nitpicky. no where did i claim harden is terrible. it's the little things. winning on the margins. winning each individual possession. it's the little things like that which put you over the hump. i don't have a corvette. i have a ferrari that isn't running at 100% of it's capability. full maximization of potential. winning doesn't happen from generally being great. it's the fine tuning that gets you there.
The occasional turnover is an accepted consequence of that style of play. To try and modify that will diminish his overall effectiveness.
More like "my neighbor has a Ferrari but he doesn't drive it nearly enough to make it worth it." What he's saying is true, and nitpicky also, but he's not wrong.
Yeah that's basically the definition of envy / hating. It does not have anything to do with making harden a better bb player or the rockets winning more. Other players envy hardens elite offensive game and that includes using his body to create contact, protect the ball, and draw fouls If he wants to really make a difference try calling out hardens defense instead
When did Parsons get so highly valued? There's no better SFs out there?? LOL @ him being called a stretch 4. Team USA does not look really impressive.
It's more along the lines of this. no, it's from having a perfectionist mindset. I believe he would be more successful if he prioritized putting up a shot (or another play) over trying to sell a foul. I think he would get more and-1s and a higher chance of putting points on the board if a foul isn't called. I remember a play late in the playoffs where LeBron drove inside and the paint was covered. Instead of trying to force it inside, he passed it out to bosh (or Cole/Chalmers can't remember) for an open corner 3. LeBron got flack for this but that was the best play imo. Open shots are better than a contested shot and it's out of the referees's hands.
