PBev says Harden will be MVP, Rockets in Finals

Os Trigonum · Aug 24, 2016

Didn't see this posted although I was sure I'd read it here first. PBev says Harden will be MVP and that the Rockets will make it to the Finals. Bleacher Report:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2659481-patrick-beverley-says-james-harden-will-win-mvp-lead-rockets-to-nba-finals

Patrick Beverley Says James Harden Will Win MVP, Lead Rockets to NBA Finals

By Rob Goldberg , Featured Columnist Aug 23, 2016

James Harden might have his doubters, but his Houston Rockets teammates have plenty of faith in him.

Patrick Beverley knows firsthand how good Harden can be after spending the last four years playing alongside him in the backcourt. When Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders asked him what to expect from the superstar shooting guard during the 2016-17 season, Beverley responded, "MVP and leading us to the Finals. Simple."

"James is like a brother to me," Beverley added. "So I've seen him improve each year in [regards to] him being a leader."

It would take quite a bit of leadership to help guide a team to the Finals a year after finishing eighth in the Western Conference with a 41-41 record.
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more at the link. Here's the meme summary:

cheke64 · Aug 24, 2016

I can see us beating Golden State.

-Ryan Lochte

krnxsnoopy · Aug 24, 2016

Players MVP or regular MVP?

tamericus · Aug 24, 2016

Well if Patrick said it, it must be true.

TMac'n · Aug 24, 2016

He'll be saying the same thing about Boogie & the Kings when we trade him for Rudy Gay

ROXTXIA · Aug 24, 2016

Unless Patrick knows something we don't as far as roster moves, I'd chalk this up to bravado.

I guess he didn't want to say, "PSSHHHHHHAW, you think any team other than Golden State will make it out of the West?"

heypartner · Aug 24, 2016

I prefer the "Book it: Harden leading us to Finals" meme more.

hakeemthagreat · Aug 24, 2016

TMac'n said: ↑

He'll be saying the same thing about Boogie & the Kings when we trade him for Rudy Gay
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If we did that, Harden will be forced to play D & have his worst season as a Rocket. Nice trade

Houstunna · Aug 24, 2016

Patrick pities the next teams to play us

vstexas09 · Aug 24, 2016

yes, let the hate flow through you, the rest of the world...

Snow Villiers · Aug 24, 2016

Harden gets injured in preseason. Thanks a lot Bev.

J.R. · Aug 24, 2016

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=10667747&postcount=47

J.R. said: ↑

http://tinyurl.com/HardenRockets

The Houston Rockets had a relatively disappointing 2015-16 season. Coming off of a trip to the Western Conference Finals, the team entered the year with very high expectations. But Houston got off to a slow start right away, dropping seven of their first 11 games. This resulted in head coach Kevin McHale being fired, which was just the beginning of a somewhat tumultuous campaign.

Fair or not, a lot of criticism and negative attention was directed at James Harden since he’s the team’s go-to player. However, there was plenty of blame to go around for the Rockets’ struggles. Injuries and egos played a big part in last season’s underwhelming results. Dwight Howard later admitted he was unhappy, Ty Lawson struggled to return to form so he was waived 53 games into the season and key contributors like Patrick Beverley, Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas missed a combined 88 games due to injuries.

All things considered, it’s pretty impressive that Houston was even able to make the playoffs in the Western Conference. After losing 4-1 in the first round against the Golden State Warriors, Houston decided to make some big changes. These moves included hiring head coach Mike D’Antoni, signing Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson and giving Harden a four-year maximum contract extension. It’s clear that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is shaping their team around Harden and D’Antoni moving forward.

On paper, the Rockets look good and Morey has done a wonderful job retooling the roster to create a nice blend of offensive talent. But it remains to be seen whether a D’Antoni-coached team can combine their potent offense with enough defense to compete at a high level.

One thing is clear: Houston will only go as far as Harden takes them.

When asked what he expects from Harden in the upcoming season, Beverley told Basketball Insiders: “MVP and leading us to the Finals. Simple.”

Harden may be one of the most criticized players in the league because of his inconsistent defense, but there’s no question that he’s an All-NBA talent and one of the best offensive players in game today. While people like to point to his mistakes, there’s less focus on the fact that he averaged 29 points, 7.5 assists, 6.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals last season.

He led all NBA players in total points and minutes, while finishing sixth in total assists (and first among non-point-guards). His 10.7 offensive win shares ranked third in the NBA behind only Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. His 6.9 value over replacement player ranked fourth, trailing only Curry, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James.

“He’s only a polarizing figure to people who don’t watch,” Morey told Basketball Insiders. “Players voted him MVP [in 2014-15] for a reason. He’s had a winning team every season of his career, with multiple Conference Finals appearances.”

Harden’s offense should benefit from D’Antoni, but whether he steps up on the defensive end and continues to grow as a leader will likely determine how well Houston does this season. Judging by his most recent comments and offseason work, it certainly seems like he understands this.

Appearing in the Drew League this offseason, Harden has impressed founder Dino Smiley.

“He’s much more assertive with his leadership and he’s getting his team more involved,” Smiley told Basketball Insiders.

Smiley has seen Harden play in the Drew League almost every offseason since he came into the league.

“I must say, he’s changed for the better,” Smiley said. “He’s much more approachable and smiling more than ever. He’s taking every possession seriously, and I mean on the defensive end as well. You can tell he’s really working hard to improve the defensive parts of his game.”

Beverley also said that Harden’s mentality and approach seems to have changed since last season.

“Yes it has,” Beverley said. “James is like a brother to me, so I’ve seen him improve each year in [regards to] him being a leader.”

Since his incredible 2014-15 campaign, when Harden had career-highs in win shares (16.4), PER (26.7), steal percentage (2.6%) and defensive plus-minus (+1), Harden dropped off a bit last season – going from a positive to negative defensive plus-minus and seeing his win shares decrease by more than three. Most frustrating for Harden and Co. was the fact that the Rockets lost 15 more games than the previous season.

Taking some plays off, becoming frustrated and flopping at times has led to Harden getting a bad rap, but he’s hoping to silence his doubters this season. He is also embracing the underdog mentality since Houston is being viewed as a longshot to compete in the West due to last season’s struggles.

“People are definitely overlooking us and we kind of have the underdog mindset, which is fine for us because we’re going to work that much harder, come together even tighter and we’re all going to be on the same page,” Harden said. “We’ll let the chips fall where they may, but starting with this summer and into training camp, we’re going to be all-in. We’re going to have the same goal, and that’s to win. We’ll do whatever it takes.”

Regardless of what outsiders think of the team, Morey has high expectations.

“The goal is to get home court advantage in the first round, advancing deep in the playoffs from there,” Morey said.

In order to make that happen, Harden will need to continue his offensive dominance, get his teammates involved and, most importantly, step up defensively. A lot rests on his shoulders (aside from the beard), and the Rockets need their star to lead them.

Morey believes that Harden will do that, while benefiting from the D’Antoni hire.

“I think the fit is excellent,” Morey said of D’Antoni and Harden working together. “They had a strong relationship from USA Basketball and their basketball philosophies mesh very well.”

In Harden’s press conference after agreeing to his extension, he mentioned that he has been watching Steve Nash and wants to emulate the point guard’s game. That’s certainly something to keep an eye on this season, as it would make Harden even more of a facilitator. Nash obviously thrived under D’Antoni in Phoenix and Harden hopes to duplicate that success.

“He had his own pace of the game,” Harden said of Nash. “You could never speed him up, you could never slow him down. That’s what I took away from Nash.”

In addition to his excellent play on the court, Nash was responsible for building a very strong, winning culture in Phoenix. If Harden can do the same thing in Houston, erasing the turmoil from last year, that would be great for the Rockets moving forward.

Typically, star players take time to mature and reach their full potential. It’s worth noting that Harden is still just 26 years old, so he’s right in his prime and his best basketball could still be ahead of him – especially if the Harden-D’Antoni marriage is as perfect as Morey predicts.
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Rockets34Legend · Aug 24, 2016

Pat Bev after he said that ****....

http://www.thecannabist.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/jamaica-mar1juana-laws-800x452.jpg

coachbadlee · Aug 24, 2016

Cocaine is a helluva drug.

choujie · Aug 24, 2016

krnxsnoopy said: ↑

Players MVP or regular MVP?
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Team MVP.

tochiee22 · Aug 24, 2016

If hardens production is the same as last year, maybe a bit better, and he plays defense
he will be the MVP. Now hay Howard is out the media won't hate us as much. Plus if he can take Houston pelican to the playoffs, maybe conference finals, no one would doubt he the MVP

don grahamleone · Aug 24, 2016

cheke64 said: ↑

I can see us beating Golden State.

-Ryan Lochte
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Really? You're worried about the runner-up? Gotta beat Cleveland. They proved they were the best and GS just went small in the offseason. Permanently.

rocketsballin · Aug 24, 2016

big if true

HardenTime · Aug 24, 2016

honestly if the league wasnt scripted/RIGGED James Harden would have accomplished both those things in 2015. For whatever reason according to adam silver Harden is just not as marketable to young kids as steph curry( i wont go into why I think that is).

But in 2015 the western conference finals was RIGGED, in favor of the warriors.

Thefabman · Aug 24, 2016

Fiction can be fun

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