What you describe with Hakeem is exactly what I said, "mentality". You may have thought about being "mental", it's two different things. I also didn't say Robinson "was a failure".
maybe im misremebering... i thought they were talking that noise by the middle of the second quarter... when the gameplan was running well... Dwight i think can still be a monster if properly utilized (as evidence by the first half) - which he isn't... couple that with the fact that harden seems winded quite often (resulting in the slow bringing the ball up and turnovers) and I dont know why they cant find the proper balance to maximize the efficiency of both... The concern I have with D12 and the budget isn't this year or even next, but what about years 3 and 4 of any new contract...? I think Whiteside is a better gamble...imo jb sucks... on so many levels... i'll spare you that tirade - lol
if you want to say hakeem had criticisms for why he didn't win the championship with dirk and harden, you have to factor in that dirk and harden didn't lead his team to the NBA Finals in his second year. The question wasn't his mentality on the court. He didn't trust his teammates after the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th best player on that team went down to injury or drugs. Hakeem was never criticized for not playing in the post (Dirk) or not playing defense (Harden) he didn't trust his players and didn't pass the ball. but that changed when Patterson made moves to get Kenny Smith, Maxwell and Thorpe as well as have a coach he likes , Rudy T Harden definitely has way more issues, but the talent and results are not in question
I don't think you have to have a perfect attitude to be a championship leader. But one thing you MUST have and all those who have won have that in common: the burning desire to win it all by keeping on making himself and the team better. Yes, even the "soft" Nowitzki had that before he won a ring.
Harden isn't missing s**t. First year we got him we made the playoffs when we were expected to be a lottery team. Three years later were in the conference finals. His defense isn't there and therefore there are a handful of players that deserve more praise (curry, durant, James and a couple more). Tmac didn't play complete seasons and injuries were only half the reason. Idiots on this board who think a guy like Cousins can compare when they don't even acknowledge the simple fact that he hasn't led his team to even an eighth seed yet, and probably won't again this year nor next.
Harden has improved every year he has been here up until this one. And this year isn't over yet. He is the type of talent that can run off a half season stretch that will make most forget about how bad he started. We're not talking about a guy who from day 1 has just been content with who he was from the start. 30+ games in and I'd say only roughly 1/3 to 1/2 have been craptacular. He's played really, really well mixed in with the bad games. I just can't look at the entirety of his time here and come to the conclusion that this is the type of guy who doesn't work to improve his game.
Yes his defense is totally sucking. But that doesn't mean he sucks. This guy wants to play every game. Considering how much contact he draws, that is rare. Harden has balls. Tmac was a p***y.
It goes to show how important character and will power are, sadly those are the things we question about Harden.
Frankly I don't really know what's going on with Harden. He clearly has enormous talent to be one of the best ever. If I have to guess, I would say that his improvement thus far came from his ability to learn from experience (as opposed to working hard on improving his game). He has the talent to do just that. His defensive problem has been there since he became a full-time starter. Every offseason he said that he would improve and, apart from the first half of last season, turned out to be just lip service. He appeared to want to be the best last season, so the fuss about the MVP thing. Maybe this year, with the early success of Curry and his own struggle, he sort of felt that he would never catch up with Curry to be the best in his generation, let alone the more established guys like LeBron and Durant. I don't know. Maybe he just gave up wanting to be the best. To me, the offensive struggle (not hitting shots) is not a big deal. Harden has never been a consistent shooter, but he is still a great offensive player in many other aspects. The defensive problem is what most critics pointing at. Guys like Curry and Nash are not good defenders by any stretch. But you don't hear them criticized to be lazy or lack of desire to win. Why does Harden give people that impression?
I'm worried about his offense. He's posting the worst efficiency since his rookie year. His defense has plumbed new depths, making a lineup with Dwight, Ariza, Capela, and Bev horrible defensively.
The Rockets and many fans were accusing Olajuwan of faking an injury and giving less than 100% just before they made their championship runs.
You all clearly overestimate Harden's talent. One of the best ever? LOL He is not Lebron, he is not Kobe, heck he is not even Steph Curry He is who he is. Our best player with several weaknesses but he is far from the best ever even in terms of talent
Either his talent is overrated or he just doesn't work hard enough to build on his talent. I am guessing (hoping?) it's the latter. I think most fans are. That's what his criticism comes from. Compared to our former failed stars: Steve Francis: plays with passion but overrated talent Tracy McGrady: great talent but lack mental fortitude You are saying that he is more like Francis than McGrady? I think the opposite. But we all hope he is neither.
Harden gave up on plays just like how MerGady gave up in Toronto. Honestly Harden should have a lot of making up before he deserves the fans' support again. I still would rather have a healthy MerGady come playoffs time than Harden. The former played hard on both ends at least. But Harden is who we got now and we have to live with it. We can only hope he realizes how important defense is before the All Star break.
