There in lies the problem. Lack of interest, lack of fun. Can beat the Warriors and Denver but lay a turd vs others. Money can't buy happiness....at least with some knukle heads. There's no crying in baseball....and no fun in basketball.
Our players aren't having fun, but hey, who out there wants to take this near FULL MLE we hung onto and play for H-Tine?
This team is broken folks. Spirit is broken. Confidence is broken. Question now is how and in what direction do u take a 0.500 mediocre team?
It is irritating that it's coming from Eric Gordon - the guy pissing away the 3rd most shot attempts and averaging a career low in assists - but I get what he's saying. Harden and Paul are in slow ISO mode too often. It's overused, and late in games teams have had 3 non-stop quarters of practice with it. Other players start feeling like they're being told "just shut up and shoot, either I score or I spoon-feed you" which no genuine competitor would be ok with hearing unless they don't believe in their own ability to move themselves, move the ball and create some good shots. No one but our 3 guards is good at creating points, but they are also not the worst in the world at moving the ball and themselves, which is how they're being treated. It doesn't help that Ariza was also not happy with the way leaders and role players are dichotomized on the team. That kind of stuff must have been discussed among friends and role players during and after last season. It starts festering. I must stress though: it CAN work for Harden not to do anything off the ball whatsoever, just because Harden is a historically good points creator. But the only way that's possible is if everyone is on board with it. If they're not, then it's on the leader(s) to get them to buy in. Otherwise you have to ship them out, and we are not in position to make good deals and downgrade our talent slightly just to make examples of people who don't like what we're doing. Harden and Paul are stubborn but last season showing they can play on the same team was a sign of growth. There's another growth step to take here, which is they have to look around and understand that we are not adding a star. They have to give (in how they participate in the offense) and take (effort out of the players in exchange for that). It's not on them to make us a 65-win team, but even with this roster it's their responsibility to get us to 50+.
I remember when the Rockets went to the WCF and then Morey kept the team the exact same and the next season was DREADFUL. Now they went to the WCF and he brought in some new guys, including CP3's best friend, and this season has been DREADFUL. Neither way works, it seems.
It's all the iso/sticky ball crap that pisses guys off - or chucking 3s without trying for a better % shot... when its successful then guys can shake it off and be happy with the win... when it just leads to turnovers and bricks - it burns yer biscuits... Guys want to be involved - at least touch the ball every few trips down court.... The last game actually had a good shot disbursement - but the horse is already outta the barn at this point... MDA has sold his soul to Moreyball. This is not an MDA offense. An MDA offense is fast paced with constant ball movement - not plodding, dribbling the air out of the ball, no passes before chucking up a shot or 1 pass and shoot... Hell, if thats the offense we're gonna run - then we might as well bring in JVG and at least get the benefit of the defensive focus... lol Everyone keeps saying we're not doing this cause we're old - thats why you run a deeper rotation - to keep guys fresh and energized...
The team gave up last night. I really wanted MDA to clear the bench after the turd we laid in the 2nd Qtr and then again in the third. No one wants to watch that sh_t or be a part of that kind of team. MDA, Harden and CP3 need to step up and lead or go. I can't stand quitters and that's what we looked like last night. Go Texans!
It's weird because the team has generally been very resilient during Harden's era. Losing streaks have been rare, but now they're happening every other week.
Don't worry, those comments will never make big news as no one cares about us anymore. Too bad @KellyUnchained gets a juicy exclusive interview/comment and other media outlets probably won't pick it up, versus had Klay Thompson said it, or Gordon Hayward.
Why did Eric only get 8 shots. . . did anyone tell him don't shoot? Same with PJ? Is it the defense running you off shots? If the defense is too much . . WORK ON YOUR F*CKING OFFENSE Rocket River
Maybe another trip to the Bahamas is in order so they can have fun again Or maybe give him Ariza’s spot in the State Farm commercials and let him sing some Backstreet Boys lines.
