That was the whole point of the Lawson signing, having a number 2 to Harden. The key learnings of that failed experiment is to look at players who have a history of playing well as a #2. Not a #1 on a bad team that you just assume can become a #2 on a good team. That means NO to Rudy Gay. Seeing how well Dragic plays next to Wade (when Bosh is injured) makes me wish we could have got him back. Players who are proven #2 are guys like him or either of the Atlanta PG's. Maybe Beal, however I don't like that injurty history. The real problem however, is trying to find a 2-way player as the #2 since we can't afford to have a bad defender next to Harden. Another ex-Rocket, Lowry kind of fits the bill, however he's never played well next to a ball dominant player.
******* you're stupid Howard was easily the best player his 1st year here, and best player in the playoffs in prolly every year beside this
I get were ur coming from I really do but I honestly think we as fans get to in depth with that line of thinking more than what the reality is. Harden is friends with a lot of the NBA superstars more so than curry I would even say. He def has his peers respect I mean just 10 months ago they voted him the mvp. He's been on National teams with the best players in the game they know his personality and work ethic. This season sucked but I think we as fans think that is going to have a bigger impact on FA/allstars wanting to play in Houston with Harden than his past encounters with these guys in a team setting. Harden for all his warts is still one of the elite at worst top 10 talents in the league he's still young locked into a deal and plays in a big city that happens to have enough cap room to sign a player to a max deal and add more pieces. That imo is bigger than what happened this season when most FA I believe are going to blame the rockets woes on dwight Howard who already has a negative rep around the league. Like you said we will see but I don't think this season had as much of an impact on FA decisions as a lot here believe. Guys want money and a chance to play with another superstar/Allstar guy. Not many teams have both we do that will go further than this horrible season did.
But James Harden just wants to be the #1 and for everybody else to be role players. Successfully made Dwight a role player (don't argue against this, Harden had the ball in his hands all 40 min a night as the PG, if he wanted to force feed Dwight he could have), and successfully made Lawson worth around $3m/season for his next contract, and successfully turned every PG that's played next to him a spot up 3pt shooter at the corner. The question is ... does James Harden really want a #2?
Dwight was not a role player when he first came here, and even in last year's playoffs he was a valuable #2 option. Dwgiht and Lawson sucked this year regardless of Harden, just look at how Lawson is doing over at Indy or how our team plays when Harden sits on the bench. Short answer : not very good. Harden was a #3 when he was at OKC, had no problem playing with other 2 superstars. Even Parsons was pretty good when he played with Harden in Houston. We are one of the least talented team in the league besides Harden, our offense drops to pathetic 76ers level when Harden is not on the floor, while our defense is just as bad.
Most #2's are playing as #1's on other teams, and most of the time, you cannot get them as #2's unless they failed as a #1 or you are willing to break the bank. The other way to get them is the draft.
I wouldnt disagree with you, but what was the reason for almost ever player on the team to have dropped off so much? We played below our talent, not the other way around. Lawson sucke in Indiana, but basketball is a confidence game. his confidence was totally shot in his time with the Rockets. Lawson had never sucked so bad, even when he had alcohol issues, than he did this year. And Dwight wasnt as bad even in LA when he was reportedly even less healthy.
Everyone including Harden had a down year, and most of the blame falls on lack of system and coaching. Good teams find out a way to win even when individual players go through slumps. We had a good run last year not because our overall talent level was high, but due to Harden having a MVP-caliber season. He failed to do that this year, but if your team's fate depends that much on one player's performance, that says more about the team's overall talent level than that one specific player. Again, all you have to do is look at how we performed when Harden was not on the floor. We fared much worse, not better. Offense dropped to one of the league worst, while defense stayed just about the same. Dwight was a solid player even up to last year, I don't get how Harden suddenly influenced him to play like crap this season. Dwight's game mostly depends on his athletic ability, and as he ages his game will decline very rapidly no matter what, just like Steve Francis. History of suffering multiple injuries don't help either. Even McHale admitted Dwight was not the same player, regardless of Harden. Ty Lawson might have had his confidence broken, but he also played like crap in Houston when Harden was not sharing the floor with him. Remember, he was let go from Denver after having a solid season, at least numbers wise. Why would they do that if there weren't any major psychological of lifestyle related problems? Denver just flat out gave up on him, and we took a chance. It didn't work out, but he definitely had issues before coming to Houston.
McHale on Dwight's decline : "Lot of people say throw him the ball more... but I'm like 'throw him the ball more?.' First of all, if he gets really close they foul him, and he has tough time making free throws... if he gets in a bad rut, he gets off balance and (commits) a lot of turnovers that come from throwing that ball to the low post, and you're playing tight playoff games... it's hard to throw the guy the ball, when you're not sure what he's gonna do with it...so, that's the kind of Dwight after coaching him for couple of years"
Before Ty Lawson texted James Harden with a plea – “Man, get me over there” – he had studied the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in the Western Conference Finals and come to a conclusion: Half the time, Steph Curry was coasting. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/refres...teph-curry-and-the-nba-s-elite-221658404.html
Thread should have said James Harden doesn't have a #2 since he don't want one. James wants role players.
McHale on Dwight's decline : "Lot of people say throw him the ball more... but I'm like 'throw him the ball more?.' First of all, if he gets really close they foul him, and he has tough time making free throws... if he gets in a bad rut, he gets off balance and (commits) a lot of turnovers that come from throwing that ball to the low post, and you're playing tight playoff games... it's hard to throw the guy the ball, when you're not sure what he's gonna do with it...so, that's the kind of Dwight after coaching him for couple of years"
By the way Durant is not a ball handler. He's another high-turnover player like Harden. Great player. But g he's not a ball-handler. If we do acquire him by some miracle, having a playmaking distributor at the 1 becomes even more important if we want to win a championship.
