1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

James Harden is the one true king.

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Mathloom, Jul 29, 2020.

?

Do you Believe?

  1. Yes

    76.3%
  2. No

    12.6%
  3. I don't care all that much

    11.1%
  1. Mathloom

    Mathloom Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2008
    Messages:
    18,105
    Likes Received:
    17,788
    No one in this league has challenged the Warriors dynasty like James Harden. Some decided to tank, some decided to load manage, others were trying to make the playoffs and flopped. James Harden showed up and did enough to win it.

    The Warriors are lurking in the grass. Durant is in Brooklyn. Kawhi is in Los Angeles. We have played a better team for 2 straight years, they were competitive series, and we swept the floor with everyone else.

    So much doubt has been thrown this dude's way from media, fans and opposing fans. It's time to put a stop to this. James Harden is who he is, which is he will give you an efficient 30/6/6 in the playoffs with good defense for sure. He's been through the most difficult battles. Meanwhile Lebron couldn't take a team full of young talent to the 8th seed in the West. James Harden has taken worse teams to the second round. We still have to hear about Lebron? With his cheesy ass throne? Harden keeps improving defensively and Lebron keeps declining defensively.

    Remember when it all started? When everyone was talking ish until Harden's debut?

    Remember what they were saying?



    Let's get behind our guy. He is good enough to be the best player on a championship roster. The microball trade coinciding with a second training camp and facing teams who will have few scouting reports on us is a blessing.

    Time for Harden to prove everyone wrong again.
     
  2. Juxtaposed Jolt

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2010
    Messages:
    20,794
    Likes Received:
    16,585
    LeBron? To a lesser extent, Kawhi?
     
  3. pippendagimp

    pippendagimp Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2000
    Messages:
    26,955
    Likes Received:
    21,119
    he'll have to do it shorthanded again this year w/ WB still recovering and EGO already out, not having shown much even when on the court this entire season anyways. and then there's the issue of zebras. harden is literally the lone gladiator against all odds
     
  4. Mathloom

    Mathloom Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2008
    Messages:
    18,105
    Likes Received:
    17,788
    Absolutely none. Kyrie Irving made the shot for Lebron to win a title against the Warriors, which is the only type of shot Harden is accused of not being good at taking lol.

    Kawhi forget it. He beat Durantless Warriors. We took Durant's Warriors to 7. Hell, Harden played the Warriors (with Durant for 5 games) BETTER than Kawhi did against Durantless and often Klayless Warriors.

    Not to mention, neither of those teams (Cavs, Raptors) exist in those forms. James Harden's Rockets are the most successful intact team in the NBA right now. Oddly though, we changed so much else that we are going to improve with this training camp more than the 22 other teams. No one needed to gel and practice more than us.

    We were in 2-3 seed territory before a slide. This season is perfect. James Harden never ever plays well as the favorite. Coming in from #5 is so Harden and so Houston Rockets. I love it.
     
  5. Mathloom

    Mathloom Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2008
    Messages:
    18,105
    Likes Received:
    17,788
    Here are some recent haters, the doubt never stops:



    Amin El Hassan says the Thunder would beat us in the first round. No wonder he can't find a real job.
     
  6. Mathloom

    Mathloom Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2008
    Messages:
    18,105
    Likes Received:
    17,788
    Would be nice if we filled this thread with videos of aaaaaaaaaall the haters. No one even mentions us as a contender except that buffoon Perkins.
     
    D-rock likes this.
  7. vlaurelio

    vlaurelio Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2005
    Messages:
    21,310
    Likes Received:
    11,755
    Lebron had Kyrie and Love

    Kawhi joined an EC Finals team

    Lebron or Kawhi couldn't carry the Rockets past GSW
     
  8. Reeko

    Reeko Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2017
    Messages:
    45,377
    Likes Received:
    126,848
    ??

    Kawhi never challenged the Warriors dynasty. He beat a shell of the Warriors in the finals.

    Lebron had to come back from 3-1 to beat GS pre-Durant. With Durant, it was child abuse. Harden with an aging CP3 was giving KD, Steph, Klay, and Draymond all they could handle.
     
    #8 Reeko, Jul 29, 2020
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2020
  9. Mathloom

    Mathloom Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2008
    Messages:
    18,105
    Likes Received:
    17,788
    Exactly. If you take away Kyrie's game winning shot in the Finals, Lebron hasn't won a title in 7 years.

    If you go 7 with the healthy Warriors, it means you can beat almost any team in NBA history in a series. That opponent disappeared. Now we are led to believe that with Westbrook 2.0 replacing Paul, we can't beat a lesser team than the Warriors?

    I think there is something in the air. Corona, Kobe, Lebron and Giannis mocking him, media ignoring him... Harden has tested his mental strength a bit this offseason, I anticipate growth in playing off the ball and being selfish in the clutch.
     
  10. Zoplicone

    Zoplicone Member

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2013
    Messages:
    4,903
    Likes Received:
    3,863
    Harden is the man. Easily my favourite player ever. But I can’t see it being enough. He’ll come out firing the whole game and always keep us in the game or give us a lead. But it’s too easy to tighten up D on a single player down the stretch, especially in a series, and when it’s Westbrook that’s going to have to take the pressure off James you just back off him and take away his driving lane. I’m making it sound simpler than it actually is, but unfortunately we also play a simple offense. And if you want Harden to close out the game it’s just going to have to be him taking very difficult threes, which he is probably the best in the league at, like his Golden State dagger over Dray and Klay, but it’s still not a great option the majority of the time.

    I ain’t gonna lie. Besides LAs the Thunder is the one team I fear
     
    Mathloom likes this.
  11. pippendagimp

    pippendagimp Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2000
    Messages:
    26,955
    Likes Received:
    21,119
    i had to watch last nite's game w/ the celtics' feed b/c ours had nonstop freezes/glitches (as usual)

    one of their announcers made mention several times throughout the broadcast he felt harden was going to take over this bubble as the #1 guy come postseason, at one point even saying something to the effect of "all the talk about his previous playoff failures are going to be erased and forgotten after this postseason"
     
  12. Cstyle42

    Cstyle42 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2008
    Messages:
    21,822
    Likes Received:
    13,264
    Westbrook won't leave him hanging during the playoffs. They are too close for that. Westbrook has too much to prove this year.
     
    banzai, D-rock and Mathloom like this.
  13. Mathloom

    Mathloom Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2008
    Messages:
    18,105
    Likes Received:
    17,788
    Did they really say all the talk of his previous playoff failures? Because I've been re-watching every single Warriors game, and Harden has dropped daggers in Durant, Draymond, Klay, Iggy and Curry's faces often. It's so overlooked. Look at that list of talent as his opponents lol.

    Btw bro, that video I've embedded in the original post... that's Harden alone against the Warriors with Chris Paul making key appearances in 2 of 5 games. That's against a better team than anyone in the league right now. Harden can do that to anyone. The Clippers might be a better defensive team than the Warriors, but they are not as offensively dominant as us or the Warriors who were always among the best ever offenses.

    This team healthy can produce the #1 offensive rating in NBA history. We just haven't seen it, but every time we have tried to experiment in this direction it has worked. And that's the whole point of microball - you're losing rebounds and gaining points, is that a bad deal?

    If teams had a whole season of scouting on us I would be less optimistic. We have all of them covered. Clippers and Bucks are my #1 and #2 concerns, but we will overcome.

    You are right but are ignoring something that has changed. We have a player other than Harden who is capable of winning 2 of the first 3 quarters practically on his own. With our pace and transition game up this season, I know it's counter intuitive but Harden is going to be more rested in 4th quarters. Westbrook creates all the easy points - score like Shaq in the paint while running like Nash on the fastbreak.

    Not to mention MDA's quote today: Harden WILL play more off ball. We have never heard that, so there must be buy in now. It's always been we'll try or we'll see or we're playing with it. When Harden sprinted into that corner on the fastbreak against the Celtics (scrimmage) I knew something had changed in his mind about playing off ball. He didn't just run there. He got there as fast as he could. Refreshing to watch. Can Harden plug that final hole in his offensive game? What does it mean when one of the most prolific playoff scorers of all time adds a layer to his game?

    Westbrook changes everything. Harden can be far more selective in slowing down the game, and take his energy into consideration when isolating. He trusts Russ. He should trust other people, but we're lucky we got his best friend. In truth, Harden wasn't blameless in the Howard and Paul departures. I doubt he is the easiest to play alongside if you're a big time scorer. It's different with Westbrook.

    As for the Thunder, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hope we get them. I know they are good. We will wipe the floor with them, 5 games maximum. I'd like to see Paul keeping up with Russ hahaha.

    Believe in this team brother. I've only been this optimistic twice in 20 years: Yao/Mac prime and Harden/Paul first go around. Everything is falling into place. Westbrook was a top 15 player when he landed in Houston and his primary skill (creating points) is at the most efficient it has EVER been in his career even when counting the first half of the season. Harden's defensive rating was 7th out of 25 among players with high usage last season, and I distinctly remember that his defense was almost stellar last playoffs. He has so much experience now, the past 2 years everyone knew a healthy Rockets-Warriors series is the real Finals.

    It sucks that Gordon is out. I think we would have gone at least 7-1 if he were fit and healthy. We'll be fine for playoffs though, I don't care about seeding that much. We will trash anyone but the LA teams and we have to beat both LA teams and Milwaukee or Philly (expect a special playoff performance from Embiid).

    We got this and as a bonus, our story intersects with ex-King for once. Welcome to the Wild Wild West Bronny.
     
    #13 Mathloom, Jul 29, 2020
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2020
  14. pippendagimp

    pippendagimp Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2000
    Messages:
    26,955
    Likes Received:
    21,119
    @Mathloom

    it was only one of their 2 broadcasters who was gloating about harden's next couple months, and he was doing it early from the 1st Q

    based on how he's looked so far, the fact that he's rested and healthy, and that the bubble environment is conducive to a gym rat like him

    not sure if he believed the playoff failure narrative himself or was just referencing it
     
  15. Mathloom

    Mathloom Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2008
    Messages:
    18,105
    Likes Received:
    17,788
    Well I know one thing: Harden is probably the best pickup basketball player of all time. That's also conducive to winning in this environment.

    We have two guys who play ball at a gym as hard as they do in an arena full of fans. I have doubts about whether guys like AD and George will be able to sustain their energy and interest without fans.

    Our #1 enemy of course is the amount of money the NBA would make if there were an all-LA Finals. I'm not actually sure that would happen (since non-LA fans would feel kind of alienated) but Silver is sure to be firm with the refs about his interests. Fortunately for us, they have run out of ways to stop James Harden from breaking all time scoring records on the regular.
     
  16. jch1911

    jch1911 Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2009
    Messages:
    2,919
    Likes Received:
    3,704
    I peeped Harden taking more corner 3’s in videos that @D-rock posted... that’s when I knew
     
    BeBreezy, Mathloom and D-rock like this.
  17. Juxtaposed Jolt

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2010
    Messages:
    20,794
    Likes Received:
    16,585
    @Mathloom @vlaurelio @Reeko

    I mean, I can see your arguments on Kawhi, and I supposed you can also discount LeBron from the conversation of toppling the Warriors.

    But I think it's more a "what-if" scenario. I'm not saying LeBron and Kawhi were better at trying to beat the Warriors than Harden was, since Harden had to go at them in both the regular season and postseason. But "what-if" LeBron and Kawhi had to deal with them as much as Harden did? I think they could see some success.

    LeBron is LeBron. SA with Kawhi were cruising in game 1 of their 2018 series against the Warriors; after Kawhi got hurt, the Spurs were pretty much done. Obviously, Harden has been the closest, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that LeBron and Kawhi could hang with the Warriors.

    Not trying to discount Harden, but imo, LeBron and Kawhi can't be dismissed so easily.
     
  18. D-rock

    D-rock Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2006
    Messages:
    40,743
    Likes Received:
    64,228
     
    jcf and jch1911 like this.
  19. Mathloom

    Mathloom Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2008
    Messages:
    18,105
    Likes Received:
    17,788
    Nothing is out of the realm of possibility and we can differ on what we think would happen but only Harden has done it and Lebron had the chance and got trashed badly by Durant's Warriors despite having an All Star and the most expensive roster in the NBA.

    Here's what people really need to talk about: James Harden would AT BARE MINIMUM take last season's Lakers to an extremely competitive first round series. Why were the Lakers at home while we were playing the Warriors? Harden has taken TWO lesser teams than that to the playoffs. Cherry on top is Lebron's mid season declaration that he's gonna get serious hahahaha.

    As for Kawhi, like I said, Harden performed better in a loss against the Warriors (with 3 games from Durant) than Kawhi did in the Finals (with 0 games from Durant). Kawhi hasn't won a title Harden couldn't win, but you have to give him his due because 2 Finals MVP's. Important note: I don't think he'll last very long physically while Harden (knocked on wood) is an ironman.
     
    don grahamleone, JumpMan and D-rock like this.
  20. larsv8

    larsv8 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2007
    Messages:
    21,663
    Likes Received:
    13,913
    Harden is spectacular, no doubt about it.

    Shame people dont appreciate his greatness.
     
    jcf, don grahamleone and D-rock like this.

Share This Page