I think that depends more on which starter, the lineup, and on the referees each game, playoff may be different case
hmmmm what you are actually saying you have no any sound argument against my inovative ideas?:grin: Another thing I would like to remind you(cause I am sure you know it but yeah these are kinda things that we all tend to forget from time to time and need a gentle reminder- and the gentler the better): If idea sounds outrageous it doesnt mean it's not good. As per your love for my suggestion to keep the beard on the bench and nevertheless expect jordanlike potential it's a perfect opportunity to qoute a famous man, i cant recall exactly who he was or what he said but he did said something along these lines: you will never be able to have a deep intellectual understanding until you are able to hold two opposite concepts in your mind and still be able to act on it
I am not sure either way. Without Harden, the team will likely score 4 points less per game, but likely will play a little better defence. Without that 4 points, we are still the 6th highest scoring team. But we are not saying simply getting rid of Harden may not be a bad thing. With the salary cap, the team can always use that money for a different max player. The key is to get your money's worth and get a player who can fill your biggest hole. Does the Rockets need more fire power or stronger defense? I sincerely don't know. However, I have been told countless times defence wins Championships. Well I seems a Harden hater but actually I have a tendency to be anti-authority.
Can't believe you guys think Harden or Lin are hurting this team, it's... PARSONS! We don't have 50 wins because Parson's is bringing the Rockets down!!! It's so obvious if you just watch them play. Worse yet, his contract is hindering our flexibility...
you make me lol, not in a negative way... more like a chuckle. Don't be offended. lol A superb, extraordinary offensive presence [such as Harden's] is not easy to come by. Harden is young and still raw. He can improve his defense and I have no doubt he will. This is his first year with us as a starter. His first 3 years, he was utilized as a spark off the bench, not a go-to player. He'll adjust. And even if he doesn't pan out, he is well worth the risk of his contract.
before going further, ppl need to realize what OP wants to know is overall not those specific situations although those cases are debatable in my mind. therefore, talking about specific cases or situations is meaningless and is not what OP wants to listen. OP, to be honest, your question is kinda dumb. is it not obvious to you the team were not and will not be better w/o harden?
were you truly grownup and perhaps you would have read more carefuly though my sarcasm about being an artist:grin::grin::grin: and you wouldn mis my comment about what is my true art...here I repeat aagin the words of a genius cause there is a lot of wisdom in them to be pondered up not only skim quickly through.... There are two types of creators in the world. One type of creator works with objects - a poet, a painter, they work with objects, they create things. The other type of creator, the mystic, creates himself. He doesn't work with objects, he works with the subject; he works on himself, his own being. And he is the real creator, the real poet, because he makes himself into a masterpiece. On the other hand many people mix growing up and growing old...people who dont know for fun and laughter are just growing old not growing up...they are too serious to enjoy life and thus to understand things because they are too anxious and anxious mind is not a good servant...when you are too serious you miss wonderful things in life....your mind becomes too rigid and and you become kind astupid...(Seriousness is a mental disease - Richard Bandler) true grownups wellcome any fun and play because that's how you relax and have clear mind....you dont get caried away adn bothered by stupid fights and arguments:grin: you are always in good mood and have clear mind and the clear mind is your best friend
Guys, this thread is beneath those of us that understand basketball. If the mods don't close it then those of us who understand the game should abandon this thread and leave the 2 or 3 guys here to discuss among themselves and prove over and over to themselves using flawed logic how much better we are without Harden. The rest of us already know better. It's not even worth discussing. And if someone actually believes otherwise you aren't going to convince them differently. Let's just abandon the thread and leave those behind that actually believe we are better off without Harden and see how far out of the realm of reality they go when left to themselves.
Wow, what an informative and insightful post. You proved your superiority on BBall over us effortlessly. Thanks for nothing.
Without Harden, I think Rockets can still beat average teams and perhaps be at 50% level. However, when Harden is playing well in a team context, Rockets can be very dangerous to good teams. Without Harden, good teams will just trap Lin and then it's a game over for Rockets. However, until Harden plays a better D, Rockets are not going anywhere in playoffs. Whoever plays against Harden tends to look like a superstar offensively speaking.
It really depends on the player Rockets will have in place of Harden. If Rockets had Durant, yeah, Rockets would definitely be better than Harden, and maybe even win the Conference. If Rockets had Melo, Rockets will probably be the same.
We may lose four points without Harden, but think of all the points that his teammates would score without Harden around. We might end up scoring even more points per game. I'm not saying it's a definite, but it's certainly worth considering.
TLR -> No we are not better without Harden @wincan459 There is only 1 team in NBA history that won a championship without a superstar... and they instead had lots of middle tier stars instead. Let's look at the teams around the league and see who has a superstar and who doesn't. It becomes very quickly noticeable which teams win and which teams lose. Please also point to which player you will replace James Harden with who is going to give you the net benefit you say you will obtain by getting rid of him. -Wade?Ginobili?Kobe? All old, declining and sooner rather than later - retiring. Not what we want on our young team. -Eric Gordon? Sure, just leave the stretcher next to the bench please. -Joe Johnson? Not even close. -OJ Mayo? Best option on the list to improve defense at this position but still produce... but still produces significantly less. -James Anderson/Francisco? Yeah coz we win with them while Harden rests for injury therefore they are better! (*Sarcasm...*) Do you really want to start talking stats to say Harden isn't worth having on the team? First of all, his PER is 23.5 (#8 NBA, #2 SGs) that's pretty good. But let's just assume like many of you here do, that he's just some greedy stat padder. Let's talk about defense, you know that thing that he's really bad at. The best defensive rating the team has had , based on 5 man units is Douglas-Harden-Parsons-Patterson-Asik with a Defensive Rating of 0.83. Surprised? (Also best +/- 5 man unit is our starters with DMo on the floor, wasn't expecting that). His total plus minus is +185 (+3.5 per 48). Asik is actually invaluable if you look at the stats but he's not playing SG. The argument we hear here is; "Well he scores 26 but lets his opponents set career highs every night! Therefore he's a negative!". Sorry, just not true! Playing against SGs (majority of the time, only sometimes played on SFs for less but still net positive results): Harden Per48= PTS 33.0, eFG% 51.9, PER 24.8 Opposing SG Per48:= PTS 21.4, eFG% 49.6, PER 14.5 So... not the tragic picture many of you paint of him (not to say I don't get annoyed when he gives up on defending a fast break or slower to close out to his man). So obviously replacing Harden with other's hasn't resulted in our defense being better (yep, it's worse when replacing him with Anderson). Let's go back to who's passes are worth more points. James Harden's assists are worth 2.43 points on average (Lin's are worth 2.32). Factor in turnovers off passes? [Points Per Assist / Assist Per Bad Pass Turnover] -> Harden 0.71 v Lin 0.59. I used Lin here not to hate on him but to show who the next best guy on the team is. But...but... he loses the ball more when he's handling it! He's not the damn PG?! Lost ball turnovers / Possession = Also looking at TOR, he is ahead of the other potential ball handlers in the team, with TOR 11.8 compared to Bev 12.03 and Lin 13.79 - so moving the ball more out of his hands - let alone NOT playing him - is worse for turnovers. There are 3 players absolutely essential to this team. Asik, Harden and Parsons. Also our top 3 in win share and each playing the most important roles on this team. These guys must play when they can for us to be successful.
BraveFox, do you have to post a GIF or pic of the Mask in every thread? Do you have some obsession with the movie? Its kind of annoying.
Harden is overrated, when speaking of his impact on this team. Are the Rockets better without Harden? Definitely not, if they play team ball as the more threats you have on the court the better. However, a lot of people are giving him too much sole credit for this team's record. Defensively, without Harden, you are not missing much. His 26 points can be easily be spread among several players. This team is where it is based on the currently core of Harden, Asik, Lin, and Parsons. Neither of them is any less or more important than the other. You lose one or two players from that list for a long duration and you will be in trouble.
