It has been discussed before but with Harden's style of play paired with not a lot of ball movement and very few offensive sets, do you still enjoy watching Rockets games? I have to say, it's a lot less entertaining than years prior. At least when we had Kevin Martin, who also relied a lot on referees, we had Rick Adelman's offense and an unselfish style of play. Now, there's only a handful games I could maybe re-watch but it's a rare time when Harden gets hot and does not need his silly acting skills or when his game his off and other guys dominate. The Pacers game is the only game where he dominated and it was fun to watch. When we had Olajuwon, we had a guy who demanded the ball a lot but we started winning when he understood the concept of passing the ball and trusting his teammates. That will probably come with time for Harden and Howard, if we keep the same team together and get a coach who understands offense. That being said, the biggest problem for me is Harden. The guy is talented enough to get a lot of points and does not need to flail his arms, throw his elbow into somebody, bump into players or throw his head back to get calls. Unfortunately, that's what he does and most of the time it seems he's not even trying to score. So while the talent is there, he's not maximizing it and the quality of games suffers along with it. I've tried to watch team USA games and root for our guy Harden, but everytime he gets the ball and dribbles a few times, it's just waiting on an outside shot you hope goes in or him driving into the paint where you also hope he actually tries to make the shot. It's so frustrating and just not entertaining to watch. I think that's why people hate him as well and find Curry's game so appealing, because it's basically Beauty and the Bearded Beast. Anybody else finding Rockets' games hard to watch?
I think the "Harden only draws fouls" narrative is a little overblown. He was still top 20 in the league in made field goals, above allegedly elite attacking scorers like Lillard, Monta Ellis, Paul George, or Dragic. He's a nice shooter off the dribble and an exceptional finisher when he has space to finish. As a whole, I like watching Harden play. The fast pace the team played made them moderately enjoyable to watch for me; but the lack of execution and muddled freewheeling system on both ends put them far behind, say, the '09 Rockets.
Rockets games are fun. Fast breaks, alley oops, dunks, bombing away from 3, Dwight and Jones swatting shots, etc. The half court offense could improve which would make it more enjoyable, but their overall style of play is fun.
I am a lifelong Rockets fan and watching with Harden and Howard is among the best BB I have the pleasure to see. But again I am a Rockets fan so maybe the OP is not.
"shrug* I love watching the Rockets in any incarnation.. you didn't give us your thoughts on the Steve Francis, Tmac or Yao Ming eras. I rated this thread 1 star due to fan sacrilege perpetrated by the OP.
This is the most entertaining team since 90's and the attendance numbers and national TV coverage support that statement.
Although I take the time to post on a Rockets fans forum, I do not enjoy watching them play. I was so bored last season, that I didn't watch the play offs.
Yeah, watching a 2 guard score at will with beautiful euro steps and lethal step backs and a nearly 7 foot monster man dunk on everyone is so boring!
I think most fans would watch the Rockets no matter who they threw out there (but that made for some pretty painful watching at times), but this team is ridiculously fun to watch. I don't get what OP has against Harden - his game is so dynamic and part of the reason he is so valuable is his high FTR from the fouls he draws. It might not always be pretty to watch him get fouled/flail his arms, but he definitely has his share of "wow" moves, and there isn't a prettier Eurostep in the league right now. This current incarnation is a lot of fun to watch. At times, it looks more like a gangly Frankenstein monster than a well oiled machine, but the talent is there, the pace is a blast, and eventually the other parts will come together. The time to be wondering if the Rox are fun to watch would have been in the limbo years post-Yao/pre-Harden, or post-Olajuwon/pre-Yao (or really, pre-McGrady).
I'm a Rockets fan, so it's fun to watch the Rockets win. It's not fun to watch them lose. Style only matters in it's impact on winning.
Apparently it's more aesthetically pleasing to lose using the corner offense than it is to win with star players.
I'm guessing you didn't watch the Rockets during the JVG era. If you think THIS iteration of Rockets basketball is unwatchable, you would probably rather have watched paint dry than watch THOSE Rockets. This team has great athletes (Howard, Jones), great finishers (Harden), and just overall fun players (Beverley) to watch. Is it Spurs basketball with all of the ball movement, and off-ball screens? No. But it's certainly not boring either. I think you need to adjust your expectations and appreciate what we have, because there are FAR less entertaining teams out there.