When I watched that live, I immediately felt embarrassed and awkward. Dwight looked disgusted. Maybe he was frustrated about the flow of the play calling and not neccessarily that one play. But he definitely looked like he wasn't feeling it. Dwight's been strangely put off in his demeanor this season. Lack of effort for sure. He's just so physically gifted that he could alter games when he chooses. 60% Dwight can get you a double double. Harden has also been careless with the ball on top of the apparent lack of interest in the game, especially when he's not getting calls and when the play doesn't involve him as the primary option. I definitely think Harden and Howard have come to a boiling point with each other. There is no McHale to handle these personalities (McHale's best quality and likely reason for being hired). It's evident. No pick and rolls between H&H. But capela can run it? The Harden post fed by Dwight play is probably something JB called. They abandoned it even after it worked great. Both Harden and Howard have so much going on in the spot light off the court. Non basketball related. Their focus is not entirely on the season, and it's a shame. Talented, but the drive is not there. That play in the OP, Howard walked off. Even if it didn't get stolen, that's not how you run a play. Taking yourself out of the play means one less read for the defense. Harden does this all the time. In fact, he had a couple of plays that validate concerns of his effort. This play, he saw the ball was in jeopardy and didn't even flinch. He didn't even chase the break. On another play, he just watched a missed fast break layup and allowed a late trailer to grab the offensive board, gather and put the ball back in for 2. Pathetic. It's hard to watch right now with the obvious turmoil within the team. We need Thibs ASAP. Coach K. Any coach with success in handling personalities.
Hmmm...was Dwight supposed to be happy!..and why the negativity , ..its just players on court communicating . I give Harden credit for not giving up on his teammate , if I was him, I would NOT pass to Ariza, Jones,TY, PB and Brewer
You're right. I forgot OP's initial comment. Weird how Harden pointing to Lawson for Howard to give the ball to could be something Howard would be disgusted with.
Harden is looking for Howard. The whole team is. The BBS has already debunked this. Also, JB has started to do something different. He is sometimes putting Harden and Howard on opposite sides, so he has first options on both strong side and weak side. When Howard posts, Harden is usually on the weak-side. And their PnRs are getting clogged. Whereas Capela is not guarded as tightly, so he seems to get open on rolls better. The Howard PnR appears to be done better by keeping Harden as a option, not the dribbler. And that's what many of us have be crying for. Let the PGs do their thing and make Harden an shoot and catch/drive option. But no, we ask for that, but when we see it, the board is so hell-bent on this H & H conspiracy that we don't see JB is trying to inject what we want. Since when is Harden supposed to be the only guy running PnRs? Pops rarely had Ginobody do that with Duncan. That was the PGs job.
Im tempted to agree with you about people on here looking for a H&H conspiracy/fallout and I'm not one of those bull$hit Bill Simmons body language experts but man listen, I noticed something at the Sixers game last Friday. At some point in the 4th when both were on the court at the same time, I can't remember what play or what minute both Harden decided to just go iso and Dwight had a look on his face that I wouldn't hesitate to call disgust. I've only been to one game so far this season so I don't have a large sample size to use but it seemed like something was brewing. Hopefully I'm wrong and those on here that think there's an issue between both, are wrong as well.
Further proof that players on the team believe the ball moves better when Ty calls the plays and runs them.
Maybe Harden isn't impressed and/or disgusted with Howards laughing and crying on the court along with his butter fingers while complaining about his accumulation of stupid falls every night that leaves us with scratching our heads and probably Harden doing the same thing. I mean seriously. Howard can go 10 pts 10-15 rebounds without trying...but for him to be the Max Player Elite again, I think he should re-focus his energy and concentrate on what matters most when he's on the court with Harden. Then I bet we'd see more chemistry between these two along with Harden's ISO play declining as a result. To me it goes both hand and hand like a see-saw or balance scale. They may never be happy since they both have big egos. However, I'll this rumored FRICTION if true will either cause the team to implode even more or it will be a positive catalyst as they sort this out which would impact their play and team chemistry producing positive results for both of them as well as the team overall...just my take on things...and yeah, I can venture and believe the rumor because I also so Thornton do the same thing with Harden to the point where they were arguing on the court. I can't recall which game it was but this is kinda the stuff that happens when everyone is pissed off trying to get thier GAME back on track. All good to me. I'll take this versus the Rox not giving a damn
ok I gotta re-type this one up...way too many typos...muliti taking over here...here goes again: Maybe Harden isn't impressed and/or disgusted with Howards laughing and crying on the court along with his butter fingers while complaining to refs about his accumulation of stupid fouls every night that leaves us with scratching our heads and probably Harden doing the same thing. I mean seriously. Howard can go 10 pts 10-15 rebounds without trying...but for him to be the Max Player Elite again, I think he should re-focus his energy and concentrate on what matters most when he's on the court with Harden. Then I bet we'd see more chemistry and less frustration between these two along with Harden's ISO play declining as a result. To me it goes both hand and hand like a see-saw or balance scale. They may never be happy since they both have big egos. However, If this rumored FRICTION is true then it will either cause the team to implode even more or it will be a positive catalyst towards better play and team chemistry producing positive results for both of them as well as the team overall in games. Just my take on things...and yeah, I can venture and believe this Howard/Harden rumor because I also saw Thornton do the and Harden go at it to the point where they were arguing on the court in a previous game. I can't recall which game it was but this is the kinda stuff that happens when everyone is pissed off trying to get their GAME/Team Chemistry back on track. As we know it starts and ends with Howard and Harden as to how far this team goes. All good to me. I'll take this versus the Rox not giving a damn
Kinda funny... Each team's fastbreak points was displayed on the screen (above the score), then, DET immediately adds to their total.
Thibs had a positive effect on James effort on D last season, why not bring in the man even if just a dang consultant. What could it friggin hurt?? The team is desperate for leadership, so if not available on the floor why not from the sidelines??
