Calvin on James.

Maybe if Calvin wouldn't have quit or played harder they could have gotten lucky again.
CP3 grabbed his hamstring and the series was done. They didn't have enough firepower to stay with Golden St. for 4 quarters. No shame, the Warriors swept the West for 5 years running. How were the Rockets supposed to beat them without their 2nd best player? The Warriors won 15 series in a row facing the West. At the end of the day, that Warriors team were just too good.

 

I actually agree. It's run it's course, 2018 was as good as it got.Tillman doesn't want an expensive HC (No MDA), or expensive GM (No Morey) & will not pay the luxury tax to build a contender and that isn't changing. James is 31 and wants out. It's a perfect time for a rebuild. Question is, the organization hasn't built a champion in 25 years. How long is it going to take?

 

That would be under the presumption that Harden is still the 28 year old MVP Harden or the 2018/19 old version.

I think that dude isn't the same, I think he can still function to 90% if he tries.

He'll have 2 great games, then proceed to 2 or 3 duds.

- Or not motivated enough

 

True, I'm not saying that you are wrong at all. Harden very well could be hurt, I'm not discounting that. All I'm simply saying is he told the media, the coach, the team, and the trainers that he was ok to play. At that point if he has a bad game or a good game then that's on him. Because you have forged your own destiny at that juncture. It's not up to us to assume he is injured if he plays and tell us he is fine.

 

Well, hopefully the next time the Rockets land a superstar caliber player they won't be a loser like Harden.... or broken like Yao/TMac

 

I watch these games closely, Harden is being asked (coached) to move and play off the ball, he is also not the primary ball handler when Wall is on the floor. His assists are up because he is trying to pass to open players instead of be one dimensional all the time. That is what is being asked of him not only by the coach but by players that have sacrificed and won like Ray Allen, Shaq, and Jordan. I do believe he wants to join what he considers a contending team and right now he is frustrated. But he hasn't truly quit yet.

 

I disagree, he's not being asked to be a passive b**** that doesn't care....because that's not what he did in the first few games and it's something we've seen from him before when he quits.

 

If that's the kind of defeatist attitude you want to have my dude then don't put that on me or the Rockets franchise. The Rockets whole entire organization have said on many many many occasions that they should have beaten the Warriors that year (remember the "Run it back" slogan?). Calvin didn't quit on the Rockets bro. And basketball is a team sport (shocking concept to HardenOnlyFans LMAO), only so much a reserve 5'9 guard can do to help in a game of giants. Remember most players played 4 years of college ball, so when most guys got to the league they were already 21-22 years of age. So at the 10-11 year mark most players back then were already in their early to mid thirties. It was very rare for players to have long careers in those days, as medicine was not as advanced (Achilles, acl, mcl tears were all considered career ending back then). Calvin was in the twilight of his career in 81. Trying to compare Harden to Murphy in the sense you are making now is literally comparing apples to oranges. Two totally different situations...

 

The Warriors were the best team in the West. They proved it 5 years in a row. Hats off to them.

I think you're missing my sarcasm regarding Murphy. The guy is accusing a star athlete of quitting. Fine. But have the balls to call out Tillman for quitting. No Morey (Tillman let him walk & went cheap with a 1st year replacement). No MDA (Tillman let him walk & went cheap with a 1st year replacement). No luxury tax for years while Morey was here. So the message that's been sent is that saving $$$ comes before winning. They were dumping players and attaching draft capital to get under the tax. If keeping it real Calvin Murphy wants to keep it real & call folks for out quitting there it is. The Rockets aren't spending to win! Calvin knows and sees this. Now If James (31 who wants out & should be traded) takes a personal shot back at Calvin folks wouldn't like it. Why even go there in the first place when you know what Tillman is about?

 

So now we are acting like harden aged 6 years since the bubble ended. Oh boy.

Harden is still James Harden. One of the top 2 players in the entire world. He was playing amazing till his injury. Wasn’t he like #1 on the NBAs rating tracker? He’s hurt. Nothing more.

 

If his mind is gone, his body should be too. I fear the longer this drags out, the lower his stock will be and we'll end up with a 2nd-tier player and maybe one FRP.

 

Ah so it's just a massive cover up and that's why everyone, including him, says he's not hurt?

Seriously, let's not be as bad as warriors homers were every time Steph would have a bad game.

 

Then we should just keep him those final 2 years and let him sign somewhere for the MLE if that's all he's got left.

 

That series was up for grabs. Like you are really making it sound as if we virtually had no chance of beating the Warriors that year. Even after Chris Paul went down in Game 5. Game 7 was a very winnable game (next man up philosophy). Morey and MDA wanted out. For the life of you guys, some of you just don't understand simple things. You guys try to sound so smart by quoting all this advanced analytics BS but can't understand simple concepts. You can't force people to stay if they want out. This is the same thing people on this board are saying about Harden. Trade for this guy or do this or do that to make him James happy. Sometimes people's minds are just made up and they want a change of scenery. And it's absolutely nothing you can do to get them back, so just let them go in peace. Life will be so much better for many of you guys here if you guys stop trying to force every gotdamn thing.

If Harden took a shot at Calvin then that's cool, I'm sure Harden would as there is a huge disconnect from older guys to young guys. Here is what I'll say about Tilman. Yes he is cheap and I think he is a fake billionaire. But I'm not going to blame the entire Rockets situation on him. The Rockets championship woes here recently have been a collection of failures from Tilman, Morey, Harden, and MDA. All share some blame here imo. But the biggest caveat to winning a title to me is the players. Would Jordan have only won a championship if he only played for the Bulls? How about Kobe, Magic, Bird? LeBron and Kawhi have shown that a top 5 player can go anywhere and win a ring. At the end of the day Jordan still won three rings with BJ Armstrong just like he won three rings with Ron Harper. Sam Cassell could have replaced Harp on the Bulls and they probably still win those titles. The drop off from role players from team to team is not as significant as people on this site believe if you have a top 5 talent. That's why I don't believe Harden was ever a top 5 talent in this league. Now flame me...

 

One thing Lebron didn't do was build solid dynasties.

He jumped from one team to another.

I did expect him to stay longer with the Heat.

That is why Curry and Klay staying with one successful franchise only is so important to the next generation.

 

lol

Harden has quit and is passive while being 3rd in scoring, 3rd in assists and 9th in WS/48.

His ball dominance is WAY down, his dribbling is down he’s 11th in fast break points per game.

TS% and eFG% are at a Houston career high. Free throw rate is above his Houston career average.

Can we get some more quitters on the team please?

His defense has been bad though.

 

I hope more players are loyal to their teams and more teams are loyal to their players. It's refreshing to see a guy only play for one team his entire career.

 

Lets don't get to excited this year on stats as a very small sample size. Last couple games not good. But for his career your obsoletely right. But during his career, been times he has become disinterested. He doesn't want to be here, at some point cut your loses.

 

^This a million times over

 

I think the alternatives are clear. This team, with these players, is not going anywhere. If we are not going to incorporate fundamental pieces, the best thing is to trade Harden and build the future. Fans are obviously getting tired of Harden's attitudes.