Actually I think Harden will try to pass a lot more for few games before going back to his old self again.
Pop would handle Harden the same way he handles Duncan and Parker. His players wouldn't be making statements like this either. They would do exactly what Jackson and McGrady did, lol wait until they are not on the team anymore.
Those stats have been posted in this forum. You can believe whatever you want though. OF course don't ignore the fact that there are times at the end of the period or when holding on to a lead that Harden should hold and dominate the ball becuase that's smart basketball.
Interesting quote. I have only read the first and last page of the thread, but to me, instead of talking or sending a message to Harden, maybe Parson (and Howard previously) are trying to SEND a message to McHale. The biggest difference in these games is not how many minutes Lin gets to play, but when he is asked to run the PG position, the team gets better shots by his PnR, penetration, shot attempts or assists. So maybe Parsons and Howard are subtly trying to tell McHale that he screwed up benching Lin and that he should not only start, but that he should be playing consistent 38 minutes per game, and ALSO running the PG position on a regular basis; instead of having Harden run the point 85% of the time. McHale needs to learn his lesson and start/play Jeremy 38 plus minutes a game, even if he has a bad game, while having him and Harden take turns running the offense so that it keeps defensive teams off balance and under attack. Maybe this is why Parsons said it publicly, to get the message to McHale....not Harden.
What I have observed over the last 10-15 games is that Harden is dishing out more. My believe is that he knows that his ISO won't help the team and he is doing as much as he can to involve others. He still needs to find the balance, when to attack alone and when to trust his teammates. These two last games will open his eyes further. I wouldn't be surprised to see him play even better and less ISO.
We run our sets and get the best shot available Would have been okay if he hadn't mentioned this. Now it clearly sounds like Harden waits till 2 seconds on the shot clock and passes it off to a teammate for a bad shot rather than look for the best.. oh wait. Parsons needs to keep his mouth shut.
Riiiiight I like Harden a lot but I'm not going to hate on Parsons for telling the absolute truth. Let the man be a man.
Some people here like some 2013-14 members want to believe that These players aren't friends and don't already talk about their on court issues with each other after practice, during games. They want to believe players say things to the media they don't already talk about when watching film together and the such. They want a make believe WWE storyline. Guess what 2013-14ers? I fart gold coins out of my ass, care to follow me out of Taco Bell?
Does anyone remember that the same discussion took place when T-Mac got hurt and the Rockets ball movement magically improved? And how optimistically people prognosticated this team could be if T-Mac would come back and play off the ball more? It just isn't going to happen, because that's not what Harden does best. These guys know that the team plays better when the ball moves quickly and doesn't sit in one guy's lap the whoe shot clock, but everyone ultimately reverts to what they do best, especially when the going gets tough. It's a dilemma since guys like T-Mac and Harden are too good not to play, but they're at their best when they have the ball in their hands.
