I prefer to think its for the 35th anniversary of the shuttle Challenger disaster. I hate the fact that we are pandering to the Titans and Bud Adams if this is an ode to the Oilers.
I have never lost as much respect for a poster as I have for you during this pandemic. The hate in some of ya'lls heart. SMDH.
Pandering to the Titans? That makes zero sense and Bud Adams is dead. People of a certain age remember the Oilers very fondly and it's a great homage to that time and it's a great color.
It's hard to believe this isn't a sarcastic post. James Harden may be a bit spoiled and whiny lately but he's never shown me anything that makes me think he's soft. Plays every game, doesn't sit out like other stars for rest (Kawhi). Doesn't get injured and then sit out the whole season cause he knows they'll be bad (Curry). Goes to the line more than any other player. Doesn't complain much (until this offseason). I don't get it. You can say he's temperamental (not more than any other star), that he wants to leave the Rockets (yes, he does), or that he doesn't like the team (probably more like he doesn't like the owner which totally makes sense, Tilly is sht). But I don't see soft in there anywhere.
Shams (along with MacMahon and Woj) has come out with some pretty weak and sometimes pure BS "news" these past few months. Fights/verbal altercations are commonplace at practices at all levels of sports. This is a ridiculous story, almost desperate to slander Rockets and especially James Harden. But if push comes to shove, Tate is out of here before Harden. Is that Shams' goal, to portray Harden as a poor teammate? Or is this a sign that Harden is ready to challenge his teammates to attain championship caliber a la MJ and Kobe?
I dont want to be labeled a Harden hater but we all know Harden doesnt always give his all in playoff games. He tends to shy under pressure compare that to the way Butler looked in the playoffs. Does Harden ever look like that in late playoffs games? If you say yes youre lying to yourself. My eyes have been opened about Harden lately.
Harden is his own worst enemy in this regard. The bad games that he has had are incredibly bad. As a fan, it is truly gut wrenching to watch, so it's natural why some people are upset at him specifically, after all he is the best player in the team and he is the franchise. I don't blame every playoff loss on him, but I certainly understand why people dislike Harden's game. Ultimately though, I don't like how criminally underrated he has been judged based on the teams he has lost which is mostly the ****ing Warriors. He certainly deserves criticism and it makes a lot of sense to leave him out of the top echelon of players of all time based on not winning the ultimate prize. With that said, the criticism does go overboard and it can be stupid sometimes.
I don't think I'm lying to myself. I think he plays extremely hard in the playoffs. He has pretty bad games sometimes but I don't think it's because he's not trying or he's soft. I think he has a bad game or he's tired from being double teamed every game more than any player in the league. He's not phoning in any games. The playoffs are harder because they left fouls go more than during the regular season and he gets fouled a lot. If Harden averaged what Butler averaged in any of his playoff seasons then he might be considered soft. Harden's stats are so much better than most players that an off game by him looks horrible.
I just don't see how's its him being tired. It's always late in the series when the series is on the line. Even against the Clippers in the miracle come back game we won he was mysteriosly "sick" and sitting on the bench.