LOL what did I deflect? A pick and roll, opens the variables bucket again and the last thing you want is a strip on the way to the hoop for an easy fast break. This wasn't about scoring points, its about managing the clock.
They were denying the ball to Harden. The goal is to have him have the ball at the point, the best way to me is just to have him bring it up and let him be creative. He has to learn and evolve. This loss is fantastic and a small price.
Harden is a big reason the Rockets came back in the 3rd quarter. What's troubling though is only 7 assists for him tonight. He's missing those 5 lobs to Capela. Get well soon Clint!
That logic doesn't hold up. We didn't get to a 13 point lead by playing hero ball, did we? We got it by good movement and passing to mitigate the missed shots. Logically, we should've continued THAT.
He does it every game in the last 2 minutes. Watch any game tape, and you will see how he waits too long to get a shot off, so either takes a horrible shot or passes it off last second to someone before they can do anything with it.
Harden played well tonight, not great, but well. Again, to say that he made some mistakes doesn't mean the entire game can be blamed on him... I think when he watches the game tape he's going to feel the same way. I get that people are trying to find positives and silver lining. We played well enough to win this game, which is why it's worth discussing how to improve next time. Some people need to grab a big bowl of chill, and ironically it's the people who don't want to criticize.
Maybe I would, is it the right call for the scenario? Did it prevent some points scored? Nah, most of them are just idiot armchair coaches, who don't really understand the game. There is nothing to learn, because he is doing what he is supposed to be doing.
Far too often Harden is just too careless and plays with low iq down the stretch. Those are not traits you want in your leader if you're trying to be a real contender. It's turning out that the Rox are one of the better teams in the league this year which is a pleasant surprise but it's hard to see Harden with his careless traits not ultimately disappointing in the playoffs. He has to get better in that area.
That's true. He only does what the coach allows him to do. I blame the coach for letting him do that every game at the last couple minutes.
Basketball is a team game, not an isolation game. We didn't get to 100 points by playing heroball the whole game. Do you look at what you type first, before you post a reply? Serious question. napalm was right, two posts up; we should have kept going with solid play, not with the game devolving to Harden holding the ball for a majority of the clock.
Harden may have to learn to play off the ball. Other teams crowd him and create turnovers because he dribbles into traffic too much especially at the end of games.
The worst part of the game/night was when he ran away from the ball when Ariza passed it to him, after playing solid defense on Kawhi that forced him to miss a layup, and it ended up in Patty Mills' hands. You are the point guard why are you not coming back to the ball? That pissed me off more than anything. Good game overall though. Missing our starting center and didnt shoot particularly well from 3 and still BLEW chances to remain on top to win the game.
Harden was brilliant for 43 minutes. The final 5 minutes simply cannot happen. I am confident that they won't, but this is a loss that costs you come seeding time.
Did you even watch the 4th though? Was it Harden's hero ball that caused Ariza to turn the ball over twice in like the last minute? Was it his fault when he got the offensive rebound and a fresh shot clock, passed it to Gordon who bricked a 3 with a solid 22 seconds left on the shot clock instead of milking the clock? I'm just sick of people on here who love to celebrate a team win when sh*ts going well but put all the blame on Harden when we lose.
The Op was specifically talking about the way his play changes at the end of quarters, and specifically at the end of the 4th.
Not Sure that was his fault. Ariza shouldn't have been so careless with the ball that late. That played killed us though
http://www.nbaminer.com/nbaminer_nb...=eexcel&partitionpage=&partition2page=&page=1 For someone who's supposed to be our "closer" he's pretty shitty at it.
