Breakdown: Bickerstaff Was Talking About James Harden

You don't get to Harden's level of play with no work ethic. You don't get to be 2nd in MVP level and taking your team to the WCF being a lazy player.

People really have no proof of motor issues. The night they said he went out and partied with Drake in the playoffs he came out the next day and went toe-to-toe with Curry and had he had a little bit of help would have won a huge game.

People just have higher expectations for Harden and when he doesn't reach those they say he's lazy. Or if he makes a mistake they then say he's lazy. I've seen many a player make the same mistakes he does, getting beat on a backdoor cut, not running back and instead letting a guy have the fastbreak, be passive on offense for long stretches of times (Hello Durant) but Harden gets a knock for all of this stuff because frankly...many opposing fans despise him and also he just has this aloof look to him.

 

All of these players you named are no Harden.

Just a hope and a wish that they could be.

 

As usual, we really don't know what the coach is referring to, and we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. Is Harden the root of all our problems? Maybe.

Harden could be our biggest problem if he just isn't giving effort, or playing the way the coaches want him to play.

What were the things that McHale always talked about? Effort, and the ball getting sticky. McHale wasn't the idiot many here at ClutchFans thought he was. McHale wasn't a screamer. McHale was indeed a players coach, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. As they say, there's more than one way to skin a cat.

The fact of the matter is that Harden and the entire team bought into what McHale was saying last year. Remember people saying that Harden had gone from being the worst defensive player in the league to being almost average.

But something happened over the summer. This season, Harden and maybe other players weren't buying into what McHale was preaching. I don't blame McHale for this, I blame the players.

If you look at how the Rockets play against the good teams this year. You see a team that wants to win. The talent is still there. And when they really want to win, the effort is there.

Unfortunately, it appears to me that the Rockets, and especially Harden and Howard, really aren't very concerned about what they accomplish during the regular season. They view the real season beginning when the playoff begin. Last year they had a goal during the regular season to get a good seed and home court advantage in the early rounds of the playoffs. But, I feel that Harden and Howard really don't care about that this year. They are content just to make the playoffs. They feel that the effort needed during the regular season to get a top seed just isn't worth it.

I think the success that Harden had last year has made him fat and happy. He got respect from everyone around the league and was MVP runner up. He signed a huge shoe deal during the summer. Harden is fat and happy, and content to just make the playoffs.

McHale came into this season preaching the same thing he did last year, but this year it fell on deaf ears. Maybe behind the scenes, McHale tried to hold Harden accountable when the team got off to a poor start. It may have cost McHale his job, as the superstars possess more power than the coaches these days.

I do know this though. Only the players can fix whatever the problem is. And it all starts with the best player on the team. The player that controls the ball most of the game. The player that could show the most improvement on defense if he had the desire.

 

You are right. There is no proof. In contrast to the ample proof of lebrons amazing motivation and work ethic to always grow his game or jordans huge competitiveness.

However whatever it is or it isnt I or you may not know it but the team does. Maybe its not even harden. I do not know.

But I believe that who it is and what it is it will come out some time..

 

And have 5 to 10 years to learn under complete team control. Harden has two years after this one.

 

And look at the difference in action the few moments Capela replaces Howard. He chooses not to mention how active Capela was vs Howard.

He also talks about Harden not using an Ariza pick, but nailing a 3 instead in ISO (our last points). Look again at that. The play is a Curry play for Harden to come across baseline and get two picks, Howard and Lawson in a picket fence. Neither of those picks worked. GSW would have stopped that trailing defender from following Curry. So, the out after that failed action includes an ISO.

That's his vid called Harden3. He doesn't discuss the main part of the play, which is the two picks that failed.

One interesting comment JBB makes in the video specific to the game was picking the switches. He said "pick your man" instead of the ball-handlers man. I found that very interesting, and I'm sure he's discussing the PnRs with Lawson/Harden, maybe others. That's my interest in re-watching the final moments, is to look for something that JBB did indeed talk about explicitly.

We can break down this last 8 minutes and see Howard doing little action and see poor picking (to include Harden picking for Lawson), but still, this is just the game that led JBB to talk. JBB says it's more than this, so all takes that include previous games are valid as well.

 

Are you implying you'd rather be in a team like the Lakers or the 76ers position? Seriously?

 

The end is judged by the results. So far harden 0 76ers /lakers 0.
The others are at the start and we may or may not be near the end . but we certainly are in the middle and far ahead in our timeline.

I would rather be the wolves than the lakers or sixers tho.

Do u think time doesnt pass? Because dwight and ariza are 30 and the clock is ticking.

 

This is where I disagree. Harden might be our best chance in the short term but he's still a low odds guy. His playing style doesn't make the people around him better and his low motor means there are far too many nights where he's a negative on the court. You cannot build a team around someone like this in the long term - it's simply not possible. Of course he gives us a better chance to win than Lin, Asik and Parsons , but either way is just treading water - the only difference being that with Harden, maybe you manage not to get your hair wet.

Morey has been criticized for treating players like assets, but I think it's better not to hold on to players whose cost outweighs their worth. I've long said that Dwight isn't worth the price we pay for him (not just in raw dollars but also in the percentage of cap space devoted to him) given his health and offensive ineptitude. So from my perspective, it's a no-brainer to unload him this year. Same goes for getting rid of Lin and letting Parsons walk (which given his health issues, was a stupendously smart move).

In Harden's case, it's a lot trickier because his hard stats certainly exceed his contract value. But it's the soft stats (inconsistent effort, poor leadership skills) that bring his true value down considerably. Like Iverson, Harden is just as much a ceiling on this team's success as he is the cornerstone. He'll hero-ball us to a tough victory to the Spurs and then hero-ball us to an ugly collapse against the Pelicans. He'll get us 50+ wins in a season and then sleepwalk his way to another playoff defeat. Let's not forget - we got to the Western Conference finals because Josh Smith and Brewer (two even more inconsistent players) took over that Game 6 when Harden had quit. And we lost badly to the Warriors because Harden quit once again. If the goal is a championship, then Harden isn't the guy to build around. I said this after the Portland series loss (where Harden simply didn't show up until the last game) and I stand by it now.

If the Rockets can manage to bring in a new cornerstone and keep Harden as the #2 guy, then I'd certainly like to give that a couple of years and see if the right team can be built around him. But surrounding him with different role players and coaches is a Sisyphean exercise in futility.

 

The clock has ticked for Dwight. Yes, but not for Harden. It's not even close to ticking barring injuries of course.

Those teams you named would LOVE to be where we are. An established superstar player is the first thing you need but also the hardest thing to acquire. Especially a superstar player that is seemingly happy to play for your team. Many of these teams do get superstar talent and then trade them away because that guy isn't going to stay there for long.

Pelicans are going to start being on the clock soon with Davis for example if they don't turn it around.

Any ways to me it's a fool's exercise to build a team by getting rid of one of the best players in the NBA. A guy that is on Team USA and is going to foster friendships with future disgruntled stars.

I think it's clear, unless Dwight can turn back the clock and Lawson can turn up his play the Harden/Dwight era is not getting us anything.

That's fine. Yao/Francis era didn't last long either. Harden is still young enough to be paired with another star player.

 

Stockton, Malone, Barkely, Ewing and countless other greats ended at 0.

It would be wrong to go away from Harden for unproven youth, just like it would have been wrong to go away from greats of the past just because they didn't end up winning it all.

Sometimes there are just better players out there. Just because Harden is more in the 5-10 range overall and not 1-5 doesn't mean he's hopeless and that any team with him is also hopeless.

It's very, very, very easy to say you will never be able to win with a guy. Simply because most people don't win it all. It's rare.

 

They would envy? That depends if u think that harden will stay beyond two years. Otherwise the lakers can sign him for free on top of their other guys...team control matters.
How do u knpw that harden will make friendships that other players cannot?

I didnt say we cant win except i dont think for a second we can win THIS year but unless u know the future u dont know which path leads to more probabillity. By the team the trades i gave as examples include superstars they wont be offered anymore.

The Bulls were conservative and found lebron for years in their way. Now in our way is a young champion team. We dont know how long it will last but what i know is that one half of our core has limited years of good perfomance in front of him and the other half has two more years contract.


I am not advocating trading but to say the alternative to harden is roleplayers like asik is wrong.

 

So the past 3 years, since Harden has been here, the Rockets have been on equal footing with the 76ers and Lakers just because of rings? The Thunder haven't won a title yet. Are Durant and Westbrook no different either? You'd seriously rather be where the Lakers or 76ers are at?

Just because you try rebuild doesn't guarantee it leads anywhere. Plenty of teams show that.

 

U can't assume we would get the first pick to draft Simmons, honestly that's not very smart to think you would.

2ndly the rest of Tgose trades would be terrible setting us back for a very long time resulting in the lottery the next 3 seasons following the trade and then maybe you win 43-45 games and sneak into the 8th seed with...... Another flawed superstar that most likely Simmons included isn't as good as Harden is and has been over the last 3.5 years.

I get that were all mad at the season so far but let's see how these guys finish.

JH had an mvp season last year and one of the best season a player has ever had wearing a houston rockets uniform. He only led the team to the 2nd most wins ever in franchise history. He only led the team to the WCF for the first time in 17 years.

Every player is flawed every player goes through issues. The only difference is there is Internet, Twitter, ESPN to magnify everything that is going on now unlike 20 even 10 years ago.

Imagine what ppl would think of Hakeem, Jordan in this era after there first 7-8 years? Ppl would be saying the same stuff there saying about JH, not a leader gives up blah blah blah.

Lebron gave up on the playoffs in clev, kobe gave up in the playoffs against the Suns, Dirk lost in the first round to a team that played 4 guards and they won 67 freaking games that year. DWade couldn't win over 45 games or get past the 1st round after Shaq left till LeBron arrived.

My point is Harden is the problem but he's the solution also you do not trade him unless he asks for it. We need to get a Paul George who would happily play with JH in sure. Your not going to get a top 5 or even 8 player to team up with JH because those guys don't get traded but Geroge type players do.

He's a good player but flawed himslef but what he does well compliments JH really well. If I was Morey I would trade Indy whatever they want but JH and try and get it done. Indy is not very good there starting Slip maybe PG demands a trade after this year who knows.

 

Durant and westbrook havent won anything yet. Yes i would rather be a 6er fan if this sick process would lead to a championship. But i dont choose my team based on champioship probabillity otherwise i would be a lebron fangirl lol.
Teams fall and rise and the time in the nba can change too fast and the windows can close before u know it.

What i see is that our window is not big. If u disagree fine. I dont feel confident with harden as the no.1 guy and i dont feel confident in him resigning.
Maybe its only me who thinks that but i wouldnt advise anyone to be so confident.

Luckily u can make trades too after the lottery u know.and as i said above by the time some of them become stars the package will not be offered anymore.

 

But,but,but... Dwight isn't elite anymore, he can't do a baseline dream shake, really this team is better off without him. TRADE DWIGHT!!

Some people.

 

Every GM in the league would pick Harden over any of those combinations. Asik, Parsons, and Lin was the combination that I used to explain what the Rockets foundation would have been had Morey not made the Harden trade. I would have thought that was pretty obvious.

Those combinations you listed are fans theoretical trade scenarios anyways. Its fiction.

 

Like 8 months later and y'all are STILL ignoring the fact that the random Twitter person who started this rumor came back and admitted HE MADE IT UP? Really?

 

It seems simple to me. I played a lot of street ball. I'm from where these guys are from. It's just simple. If u want someone's respect on the court u gotta do the dirty things,share the ball, be unselfish, never quit and play defense. I'm telling u guys it's harden. He can play so much better. U can't expect a big to carry a team in this age.

 

Its not fictipn since we have the near precedent(spelling?) of love being traded for two first round picks one deemed franchise player and love had one year in contract.

Not every gm wpuld pick harden. A gm of a team that doesnt have hope to resign harden because their team is in a small marlet wpuld rather the te contol amd the hope/bet on their young blue chip prospects growing into franchise players.