Exactly right. Which leads me back to coaching. Either James isn't listening to mchale or mchale isn't telling him to stop. Either one are no good. Doesn't absolve Harden at all though.
"we" should be thankful? speak only for yourself, please. and even if you only speak for yourself, that "harden has balls" statement is ridiculous. harden has balls? where? sure he has the ball on the court all the time. other than that, in b/w the legs, i never see any.
Come on, this is not the game that Harden has lost the city of Houston. Let's not knee-jerk please. Take a deep breath, and realize he's here for 3 more years and we went to the WCF last year. ****, I am actually so glad there was not a bbs during the '92 season. Would have tarnished Hakeem's legacy with trash like this. Which is something that has been used when talking about playoff series, unfortunately. But his numbers weren't that bad against the Clippers... Ironically, Harden is the 2nd leading scorer this season.
Wow go somewhere else with That non sense.... So hardrn didn't put a triple double that series? He didn't play fantastic in the close out game 7? hardem has thing she needs to work on but acting like he's just a role player or 6th man? Really showing your lack of knowledge of the game or your just a troll. Hardens a stud who needs better coaching and to mature than it. His talent is undeniable he just avg 40 ppg last week leading us to a 4-0 record beating two western conference contenders and he's just a role player. Guy put up 27/6/7 last year and he's just a 6th man ? Seriously ppl Like you is why I'm slowly drifting away from this once great website.
This site is still great, you defeat evil and it will be great again. Anyone who says James Harden is a role player is obviously trolling.
[QUOTE Ironically, Harden is the 2nd leading scorer this season.[/QUOTE] out of how many attempts, and shooting percentage?? Harden regressed on defense and shooting percentage since last season. Lack of effort or just not focused for whatever reason?
I was not a Jeremy Lin's fan, although I did feel the mockery and criticisms he received from Houston fans were not always justified. The timing of his arrival was just bad. He signed that big contract thinking he was going to run the show here, and then boom, days later we traded for Harden. Ever since then Lin was pretty much in a no win situation because his skillset overlaps that with Harden, except worse, thus making them two difficult to co-exist on the court. Is anyone at all surprised that Lawson is even less effective as Harden's running mate than Lin? Is Lawson not one of the better PGs in the league? Or is Harden just too selfish in his game that he can't share the ball with even an all star level teammate? At the moment, would we be better off having Lawson as the primary ball handler or leave that role to Harden?
In what way? There is a long list of better PGs isn't there? Curry, Westbrook, Paul, Lillard, Wall, Teague, Schroder, Bledsoe, Lowry, Walker, Knight, Parker, Dragic, Conley, Irving (these are in no particular order). Surely I've forgotten some as well? Is Ty better than Reggie Jackson? About the same? middle of the pack guys.
I don't think Harden has lost the City of Houston, at all. Yes, we are pissed at his effort level and play so far. But sometimes players tune out their coach. Unless somehow Morey could trade Harden for a top in MVP voting player, we shouldn't give up on him. But it is easier (actually not hard at all) to fire McHale and find a competent coach that connects better with Harden or has a better set of strategy / X&Os. Should go down that route first. And if Harden still doesn't respond, then let that be the problem then.
Harden ABSOLUTELY has what it takes to bring us a championship. And that is coming from someone who is furious with his effort so far. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Harden is mature enough, yet, to be self-motivated. Just look at what Harden became with less than one summer of good coaching with Coach K and Thibs with Team USA. I remember seeing some quote from Coach K saying Harden was one of the best leaders he had ever seen...considering who Coach K has coached with Team USA, that is quite the statement. We saw how that Team USA experience transitioned into the season for Harden. He was playing inspired on both offense and defense, even in the preseason. As the season went on though, his effort slowly tailed off. He NEEDS a coach who can hold him accountable throughout the entire season. McHale simply isn't that guy. While this case isn't ideal, Harden is still completely capable of turning this team into a legitimate contender. When he is on his game, we are a completely different team. We just need someone to bring the best out of him.
I can't compare James Harden 2 the real superstars of the league because of his inconsistency and the fact they can only score from the free throw line or a three pointer. What I will say is when Howard leaves he is all we will have and that's not a very good thing
Lets all remember here that Harden is only 26 years old. Players don't necessarily peak until they reach 28 from what I've learned over the years of watching basketball (atleast b the way he plays, considering he doesn't necessarily rely on athleticism and more on skill and strength) Let the kid develop. Hire a new coach and let them mesh. have Lawson come off the bench until this is fixed. We have nobody who can create coming off the bench. When Harden goes out we're ****ed. Lawson isn't Lawson because he has another ball dominant guard next to him. The closest he's had to another ball dominant player next to him was old Billups, Iguodala and Gallinari (who are both off ball players) Just chill guys....
Totally forgot about Melo in that last comment^ But Lawson was buried in the rotation at that point in his career
dwight is 29, eh? did his peak come when he's 28 or -ish? there's no formula or a # preset in stone as to what age a player will reach his peak. "hire a new coach and let them mesh"? who is this new coach and what guarantees they will "mesh"? if harden cant "mesh" with a "players' coach" in mchale, what makes you think he necessarily will with another coach? lawson off the bench? what does that achieve? he's already on the court when harden sits, and ppls dont see any big diff. from when he's playing alongside harden. so "just chill, guys"?
Percentages have dropped while minutes have gone up. It was supposed to be the exact opposite! http://espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3992/james-harden
tbh that's really no longer an excuse. he's pretty much had the experience of everything you need to be successful in the league. at this point people should still not be questioning what is still being brought up as of late. It's pretty much on him to fix it but there's not going to be some dramatic "development" from someone who has already shown the ability to establish himself as a mvp caliber player.
That's ridiculous. This is Harden's 4th year as the centerpiece of his own team, and he lead the Rockets to the WCFs just five months ago. He's not stepping up, and he needs to be called out.
