I think a part of that is because of the success the team had last year so the expectations were far higher. If the team was 3 games above .500 instead of below I would expect things to be the same. Last year they were 24-11 after 35 games despite having numerous injuries and a roster full of changes. Now James Harden is the team's best player (and its not even close) and so a lot of the praise/blame will fall on him. Add on top of that James has been pretty open talking about his leadership skills and how much he has improved in that area over the last season plus. To me one thing that convinced me that Harden was "the real deal" was that he had improved some sort of aspect of his game every season he has been a Rocket until this year. This year, despite what the stats say he has regressed. His defensive awareness is ridiculously poor and back to what it was (maybe worse) from the 2013-2014 season. Offensively he still attacks but he is going more and more back to holding the ball and then making a pass last second to a teammate to take a contested shot against the shot clock. Last season he didnt do that nearly as much as he did the season prior. He would use his spin-step back a lot which was lethal. I hardly seen him do that this season. He hasn't "stirred the pot" at all this year not sure if he decided to drop that celebration, but it became a part of him. There is just something that just is not there. His focus and desire just plummeted compared to last season. So yes being critical of him is more than justified because we know what he is capable of and what he has done and what he can still do. The team should not be 3 games below .500 if he played with the same focus as he did last year. It would be one thing if he had surgery during the off season which could have effected his physical abilities, but he didn't. Honestly in some ways its more frustrating to me when compared to McGrady - McGrady had some major injuries that he had to battle back from that contributed greatly to his decline (though his effort to rehab was questionable at best). Prior to the injuries imo McGrady was a better player on both ends compared to Harden. Harden though so far has been blessed with better durability and can easily surpass TMac in that sense, but he is exhibiting the same qualities that killed TMac in the end -- his desire. I mean even last season I felt that Harden lacked intensity and focus in PLAYOFF games (which was a knock on him in the Portland series) - despite not winning a series that was one thing I could never knock TMac on. He always brought it during the playoffs - unfortunately it was never enough. So this is beyond worrisome for the long time Rockets fan because we went through something like this before. A superstar with issues on his focus, a center whose body is starting to fail him. The window is closing fast, much faster than originally though, with this team. It sucks but its the truth, but the I still liked the Rockets chances against any team if the team is locked in, but it starts with your best player and i have yet to see that this year. but going to your original post -- shouldnt all the issues from the previous years be enough to keep motivating you? Shouldnt losing the MVP race in (IMO) dramatic fashion motivate you? I mean Steph Curry took the "players MVP" slight and is killing it this year compared to last year. Curry's ridiculously amazing shooting ability is the one thing he has an enormous advantage over Harden (and everyone else) in the NBA. Harden should be a better player in literally every other aspect, but he is not. Losing shouldn't be the reason why someone needs to look in the mirror and improve (though it hasn't helped so far this season) I think that should be the last reason because the team experienced success last season and this is how Harden reacted. Imagine if they won a championship would he just retire or just stop trying all together? If this team ever gets to that point they wont be a repeat champion thats for sure - or at least make the finals again the following year.
Not true at all. They could be down 15 in the 4th, make a late run, and then lose by "only" 4-5 points.
More like Rockets - 94 Jazz - 95 Rockets get down by 15-20 points only to bring it to a one or two possession game and then go Harden ISO to lose in the final possession OR Rockets - 95 Jazz - 115 Rockets keep it fairly even until half time and then get blown out in the 3rd quarter and that is pretty much game.
This would be a good game to start Ty and see what he can do in the starting line up now that he has gotten his rhythm back. What do we have to lose?
Hmm, wouldn't it be awesome if this was all part of some miracle title run we're about to undergo? From the pits of the league, to the top. Nobody anticipated this turn around. It all starts tonight...or maybe the night after....or you know next week, perhaps.
I think Ty is better off the bench. He is the only other guy who can really create his own shot other than Harden. We need his playmaking w/ the second unit to balance the team. I think, if DMo is available, he needs to go into the starting lineup. Would balance the whole team, imo. Depending on the opposing PG, for defensive purposes, Ty should probably close the game to give us two playmakers. That way we aren't forced to give it to Harden for some dumb#$@ ISO step-back 3-pointer.
gonna watch netflix with the wife and check on the score in the 4th to see if its worth watching.. because lately they havent been worth watching..
I haven't been this indifferent about a Rockets game in a long time. I could watch it, but do I WANT to? I stop thinking about the Rockets because every time I do it pisses me off.
Exactly. There's no positive in being .500 team. You either win every game or lose every game. There is no inbetween. Go Jazz
