i dont doubt he works hard at his game. that shouldn't be questioned. and hou is really going to need him to be the mvp harden tomorrow and if needed monday which will be the toughest games in his career to date
Sometimes the laser-focus is highly damaging. Yes, it makes sense to shoot 3's if you're hitting them at 40%. No, it makes absolutely no sense to shoot 3's when you're hitting them at 4%. It is so obvious and so painful to watch when you know there is no way they are going to start going in. I get that to change the mindset, everyone has to buy in to the philosophy, but the philosophy has a hole in it.
imo he still has only one major flaw that he has to "fix" and that is his energy level and engagement will drop if he feels targeted or disrespected by the officials. i get it and i understand it, it's facked up to play a certain way for 6 months and then all of a sudden the league, the refs just throw it all out window. but he gotta do a better job of dealing with that disrespect with a i'll show you attitude vs a self pity attitude. i saw signs last night of him going down that dark path but also saw signs of him dealing with it. also saw cp3 trying to pull him from the ledge if you well and thank goodness we have that leadership. it's a work in progress but he can do it, i know he will do it!! -edit- regarding his shooting struggles, would love to see mda put him in the post for a few possessions against curry. harden has done it before and he's a playmaker. just mix it up and try to get his shot going.
Harden is not a super athlete with an endless pool of stamina, in fact quite the opposite. His stalky body, low center of gravity, heavily muscle mass is going to wear him out quickly having to play both sides of the ball. The simple reality is, you get one or the other. Ability to go all out on defense, or lift on the jumper. Which one do you want?
Exactly! That is my biggest fear. Our over relying on poor quality 3 point shots may end up hurting us big time. Mix it up, and the jumpers will fall.
Trust the process... while winning! Judging from his play and last night's post-game, Harden to me is actually trying to adjust his game in way he believes is the only way to defeat GSW... which is to actually commit to the defense, and trust that his offense will eventually follow. In a sense, he's doing what Kenny said... do something that makes you uncomfortable, and we're seeing how it's affected his offensive game but also has yielded great results to win the game (doubling KD on his shot at the end and contesting Steph despite getting beat off the dribble). In his post-game comment, he said he's just trying to put it all out there on the defensive side of the ball, in response to the question about his missing shots. To me, there's definitely evolution in his game that we're seeing NOT in the offseason but midway in the most important series of his career thus far! This is the reason we got CP3! CP3 has stepped up offensively just enough to make up for the adjustment James has to make to his game. This is why I'm concerned going forward if CP3 misses any significant time. Even if he plays, he's not going to be 100% to compensate for James' lack of scoring. Game 6/7, James will have to go back to getting into his scoring groove. His footwork on offense was jittery and I attribute that to the energy he expends on D. But he'll need to score a whole lot more even with Cp3 playing. I'll be watching to see if he'll be able to keep up the focus on D while getting his swag back on O.
He's probably really rusty from that mid range step back at this point considering he hasn't done it consistently since MDA took over. This off season they should look at adding it back to his game along with a post game.
I'll be honest, I've been disappointed at times with Harden's decisions. The step back 3s while struggling when he's had a mismatch are head scratchers. BUT, when he came back in the 4th and got to the line multiple times while also playing good to great defense, that was just as important as him him having a strong offensive outing. Not to mention drawing the defense in and finding Gordon to set him up perfectly. In no way was it a "great" game for James but he contributed in crunch time to help get us a W and that I'm happy with.
i think hes missing shots due to a combination of being flustered/frustrated bc hes not getting calls he wants and thinking a bit much in the moment. hes still continuing to play for fouls and by now he should of realized, he can't rely on them to bail him out. he allows the refs to affect his play way too much. he has the ability to impose his will on the game. where the criticism comes from is hes not doing that. I like that hes still trying to stay aggressive and all but he put himself up to these mvp standards. hou is going to need everything hes got in the biggest games of his career tomorrow and if monday. i don't think it should be one or the other. as bad as hes playing offensively, i believe hes got to be due. i thought it would happen when he checked back in last night but thankfully hou held on.
Right now, it's not a question of either or. We need a fair amount of both of it. I do agree with your assessment about James' physical limitations though. Attack the basket and dish it/ post up if all else fails. Don't let the refs get into your head, James.
