The spread was 10.5 points. Harden throws the ball away and then fouls curry, down 11. Ok no big deal frustration foul maybe? Next possession go's between the legs with no pressure and loses the ball out of bounds and then proceeds to back curry, the refs don't even want to call the foul but harden forces the refs hand by pushing curry while shooting a 3. Rockets lose by 14 spread covered. Watch the game again with an open mind the turnovers, no defensive intensity or effort at all. I hope the money was worth it Harden because it was obvious that you were paid off.
There are some f***in idiots in this thread. I wonder how many of you basketball geniuses would have crucified Olajuwon if the forum existed back in the late 80s and early 90s.
Come on man. You can't seriously believe these things right? Howard gave his all this series no doubt but also on display was his complete lack of a post game. Harden had a terrible game but to say he is not a good player? Come on.
Agree Harden is not a ''To-go'' player, I want him to stay!!! He is the best player the Rockets have had since Hakeem!! This was only his 3rd season as a starter and people seem to forget that. Life as a go-to player is different than coming off the bench with 2 other go-to guys!! He has improved every year and is only hitting his prime! No reason to believe that Harden can't still improve. Also, saying that Harden is not aggressive in attacking the rim is just stupid!! If he isn't aggressive in attacking the rim, then who in this league is. He usually is relentless in attacking the basket. Does he have games where he is more timid, sure and that might improve still with more experience. And no, you don't want Dwight being your go-to guy. He hasn't been that guy in a couple of years now. You really wanna live through lots and lots of Dwight post ups?? You do this, the offense will bog down like crazy. Furthermore you will see Dwight averaging close to 5TOs per game, because he is not good handling the ball in these situations. Dwight when healthy, is a great 2nd option, but his main focus has to be defense, rebounding and the PnR on the offensive end - like a super DeAndre.
Not to pile on but I've never seen a player at any level have as many TOs as Harden did tonight. Just a ****ty way for him to end an otherwise great season. He's a great scorer but his ball handling is not as good as a lot of people think and his bball IQ is lower than a lot of people think as well. The team has been depending on him to be like Magic Johnson or Lebron out there. Mr. Everything. He's just not that caliber of a player. Morey don't waste another year without addressing the pg position.
Yeah its bad for a elementary kid to have 13 TOs in a game. Unheard of for a professional/NBA player.
He looked under the influence, hung over, drunk, drugged, something. He did not look right at all. His private life IS an issue. If he had been completely PRESENT mentally in this game, the Rockets would be heading into game six. The Warriors weren't so great tonight, just good enough to beat the bumbling Rockets and a spaced out Harden.
So we'll have to listen to you and others whining and attacking the guy after a bad game. So he struggles you get but hurt and personally attack his game ans basketball skills? Find a mirror.
Aww WTF ever, I've stood up for Harden a lot this season but he deserves criticism for tonight. He choked. He failed! But like I said he also needs help so he's not put in this position again.
Easy. He isn't a gym rat like Kobe or other greats. You can see it in his relatively high bf% at his position. You can see it in the fact that he doesn't have the stamina to be a great two way player. You can see it in his constant ball watching on defense. You can see it in his inconsistent play.
Apparently fans here don't care about winning rings and apparently when the team fails at it's goal, it's the fans that are calling out a legendary bad performance on an elimination game by the team's best player that are mentally weak, not the player who just finished having one of the worst playoff games in NBA history on an elimination game. Some posters here are just pure nut huggers. I believe the nut hugger fans are mentally weak as they can't acknowledge a glaring hole in the player they nut hug.
