As the last minutes showed, our fate ultimately lies with Harden.

I'm honestly very worried about Harden. Matthew's defense has been good this series but Harden was such a monster in the regular season. Constantly torching any defense. He should have no problem with Portland's defense.

He just looks so timid. Times when he looks to be going for a drive, he pulls up for a 12 foot shot. I rather him attack the basket at all times. Keep Lopez and Matthews on their heels. Harden's game is centered in transition and getting to the line, he needs to get to the foul line. 5 attempts per game is not aggressive enough.

 

Im beginning to think something is wrong off the court. What could it be though.

 

Well whatever it is, thankfully doesn't affect him in the clutch.

 

I'd actually prefer a Harden that shows up for the first 45 minutes of the game rather than the last 3...

 

At this point, I'm just not expecting him to much now. Matthews has clearly gotten into his head and he just seems timid. He has played a little better in Portland than in Houston, so there is that.

 

I don't know why he wasn't in the huddle. That is weird.

Maybe he is just exhausted as well from working so hard on both ends of the court haha! But it seems McHale took him out for a bit after he let Batum cut right behind for an easy score. That might be why he was pissed.

It also seems he was resting on offense, but working on D for the most part.I have a theory why Harden is struggling beyond Matthews:

Harden is actually trying to play D.

He doesn't have much to like about his situation. His number suck. He feels like he is a disappointment. Not the leader anymore as clearly the players respect Howard more. In fact I saw Lin wave off Harden to pass to Dwight in the 4th. Harden was passive. Maybe it's fatigue, maybe it's mental. It doesn't matter.

What Harden has to decide isn't how to score more, it's how bad does he want to be the guy who wins championships, or is he happy just being top dog on a team that doesn't win much, or being the role-player guy whose job is just to provide offense.

 

Harden has money on this series.

 

I agree with this. He's afraid of going in the paint because he's not getting the same calls but I think he has to start thinking of himself like a PG. He needs to drive with the intention to create. He may score but he can always create as well. Just because you aren't scoring doesn't mean it's worthless to get all the way into the paint.

 

It was great to see Harden playing defense in crunch time. I wish we saw that more. About the huddle, it seems like a classic situation of a superstar pouting to me.

 

Is it weird that I would rather have Troy Daniels take more shots than Harden?

 

Matthews is ALL OVER HIM ALL THE TIME. Matthews is Portland's Pat Bev but he's a lot bigger, a veteran, and a have a HUGE EFFECT on each game. Modern day Bruce Bowen / Shane Battier etc

Harden needs help. Dallas / San Antonio don't have that type of player AFAIK. They just have to get through Portland and you will see a different Harden

 

It's on him no doubt, because our coach does not know any play in 4th quarter other than ISO. Either have a 30pt lead going into 4th, or win by defense, because ISO will NOT work.

 

If Troy Daniels were to take 25 shots, that means they were good, quality looks.

The one thing Harden has though is the ability to create his own shot. However, his shot making has been atrocious this series.

 

Stop with the one sentence threads.