According to Harden in that recent E:60 special, Brooks offered him the opportunity to start after some time. He turned it down b/c he felt like coming off the bench was best for the team. I'm eagerly awaiting your response to the posts about exactly who he should have been giving the ball up to.
Both Harden and Scott Brooks claim he was happy with his 6th man role. RE: cashing in In that same video above, Harden claims he only had 1 hour to mull over OKC's contract extension offer. Shortly thereafter, he was traded to the Rockets. Woj article back then:
Since you ask... Everybody keeps making a fuss about how we don't have another "star" for harden to give the ball up too... IT'S A TEAM SPORT, FOLKS! It's not supposed to be 1 guys iso's, then he stands back and let's the next guy iso, etc.... it's about TEAM play! EVERYBODY moving, the ball moving around - inside/outside, around the perimeter, etc... til somebody gets a mismatch or a defensive breakdown that can be exploited - it's basketball not hero ball! Look at how well the good teams move the ball around - Golden state, Spurs... we don't do that.... On this team, if you can't hit from the perimeter, then you're worthless... whatever happened to driving to the rim - for an actual bucket, not just to throw your arms up, flail and try to draw the foul.... It's fundamental basketball that we are sorely lacking at! Whether that's cause JBB is an idiot (which he is), because Morey is all about the 3ball or because James monopolizes the ball to such an extent... idc... it needs to change, cause obviously THIS ain't working. Look at the championship Pistons team from a few years back... very little star appeal, not great role players, but they played as a team! No, it's not sexy, it's not gonna win anybody an MVP, isn't gonna make for a lot of highlight film reels... but it's how the game is SUPPOSED to be played.
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Nice job on the quotes! If harden was happy to do what was best for the team - kudos to him! I'd like to have THAT guy on this team. When Harden got here, he seemed like a great team player... right down to the whole little pregame routine that he, Parsons and Lin used to do... but, over time something changed... Whether success went to his head, the trappings of being a "star" or whatever... he has grown increasing aloof and the chemistry has been on a downward spiral all season... but hey, "those that matter don't mind and that mind don't matter..."
I'm sorry, but if A) You don't think what I'm saying makes sense... try to read a little slower, it may help with your comprehension - but no guarantees... B) If you think we play anything resembling teamball... then I'll just stop wasting my key strokes now...
You literally did everything in your power not to answer her question, and we are all dumber for reading your response. May God have mercy on your soul.
Like 99 percent of this has nothing to do with James Harden You are what we think you are. . . . Rocket River
the question was who should he give the ball up to... answer was - he's not giving it up to a particular person... get the ball moving around the perimeter and see where the opportunity exists.... Get guys involved as more than spot up jumpshooters....
James is the primary ballhandler for the vast majority of our possessions but he has nothing to do with the lack of ball movement... ok, man, whatever....
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/15/sports/rockets-discuss-drug-temptation.html No, he was too busy trying to get them (dealers, hangers on) to leave his a$$ alone! Robert Reid, an obscure player. LMAO! In the 1981 playoffs Reid was the third leading scorer, rebounder, and second in assists for the Rockets. Robert was the key to us getting by the Magic led Show Time Lakers. Mr. Reid always took the best scorer on the other team and always held Majic. He looked forward to it, as he knew the importance of defending Majic if you wanted to beat LA. In the '81 finals he held Bird, twice to a total of 8 points... I am surprised he had something negative to say about Harden, but if anyone should, he has the defensive pedigree to say it.
Maybe James is doing exactly what the coaching staff is telling him to do... JBB is one of the worst coaches I've ever seen - so it is possible - lol. After a season of holding the ball too long that it results in a turnover or trying to throw a bounce pass between to defenders that results in a turnover... I'd like to see us get some of those easy defensive breakdown buckets that other teams get on us! and just for the record... it's not about # of shots. Harden should get the lion's share of attempts. I simply believe for our future success we have to get everyone involved and engaged - which was not the case this year. Better ball movement will lead to better shot opportunities and get the whole team engaged. I'm not talking about making a pass so you will get the assist. I'm talking about moving the ball around to get easy buckets - regardless of whether it shows up on the stat line.
I think in the long run this stuff will be good for Harden. He cares about his brand, and his brand took a huge hit this season. His leadership and his defense. Harden is a smart guy. I think last summer he got caught up in all the hype of being the players MVP, a big ad-deal, dating a Kardashian, and slacked a bit. I doubt he makes the same mistake twice. I am willing to give Harden the opportunity to grow. People saying we should trade him are just insane though.
So all we do is iso and Golden State would never do that? Let's see: We run ISO on 19% of our possessions. So that's all the time? We run ISO on 21.2 possessions per game. Golden State runs ISO on 19.5 possessions per game. So that 1.1 extra ISOs per game is a huge thing? No star appeal and not great role players? Are we not considering 3 time all-star Richard Hamilton? How about 4 time all-star Rasheed Wallace? Maybe 4 time all-star and 4 time defensive player of the year Ben Wallace? Not even 5 time all-star Chauncy Billups? Those aren't stars? Not even great role players? You either have really high standards or you are clueless. Who exactly defined how the game is suppose to be played? I guess that everyone didn't get the memo that there's only 1 way to play because Miami certainly won the title with Lebron and Wade going heavy ISO.
Harden has his warts, but damn these guys are just piling on now. Paul George is out of the playoffs Chrissy Paul has never been to a WCF Damian Lillard isn't stellar defensively & is about to go home Blake Griffin is out after getting into a public fight with his "dinner buddy" (nothing said), John Wall missed the playoffs Anthony Davis missed the playoffs Andre Drummond swept out of the playoffs. Yet no one criticizes these gentlemen with the tenacity they attack James. It's gotten ridiculous. He needs a better coach and a better roster before being judged.