Its true that Harden has yet to have an extraordinary post season, what is the exact reason? maybe he needs some help from a secondary playmaker, maybe the coaching strategy does not help him, maybe he is not mature enough yet, or maybe he just doesn't have it in him, only time will tell, but lets not lose perspective about something, we wouldn't even be in the playoffs without him, he is a superstar in my book, and you know the series is far from over, isn't it?.
He responds well after tough games, but he's only played well a couple of times against the Clippers since he became a Rocket. So it's hard to say how he'll play in game two.
Round 1 he was better than he was in the regular season. The last two playoffs he has had some great games. That list of players you mentioned all had something in common. Freak athletes with a distinct advantage. Shay had power no one could stop, Hakeem killed you with athleticism that no one could match. Durant is stretch Armstrong and can shoot over anyone at any time. You can go on and on. Harden doesn't have that kind of trait. Not trying to make him out to be a slouch athlete but he doesn't have one of those glaring advantages. He dominates more with skill and smarts than his athletic advantages over his opponents. People are setting the bar too high. We all know he isn't a top 20 player of all time, yet it seems that's the type of player people keep bringing when talking about Harden should perform. Harden is an amazing player. Semantically if Lebron, Hakeem, Kobe and the like are super stars then Harden doesn't belong, but nevertheless if the league did a redraft he would undoubtedly go top 10 and likely closer to 5. Hard for me to be disappointed with that kind of player being on your team on what will be a steal of a deal the next few years.
You can say "it's one game" in the regular season-- the season is long, you might be playing the 4th game in 5 nights, at the end of the day all you are fighting for is seeding and location of playoff games, etc. Teams like the Spurs even make guys take games off in order to manage the wear and tear. But this is the playoffs-- one game makes a big difference in a best of 7 series. You can't take a game off and come out lifeless and lazy, especially not after a 5 day rest vs. a tired and injured opponent, not when you are an elite player.
Needs to get past all the gimmicks...the running into people, clearing them out...the more he relies on that, the less control he has. Just play ball. Like that big layup he made against the Cavs, when he landed on his ass. Just go. Stop thinking so much about whether you need to be passive first and then takeover or anything else. Just play the game.
Harden isn't even the highest paid player or most experienced star on the team and he is being blamed for everything that goes wrong with this team. To me DWIGHT HOWARD needs to shoulder some more of the load. Your man insists on zoning Harden, and you are playing minutes with big baby and hedo turkoglu on your back. SCORE 40! 24 million dollars and this guy is given a pass because why? He is old? He's 29! He can't shoot free throws. He's not even trying to get to the line. I see so much room for improvement in his game AT THE AGE OF 29! Harden is 25 and not a dominant physical specimen. Do not get me wrong, he has to play at an elite level for us to win, and he has done it before and he has failed before, but Dwight gets a pass way too often. This is our "superstar". He rested all year to be healthy in the playoffs and he is not even trying to take over. 13 shots.
Dwight is overpaid, he's more of a De Andre...shouldn't be seen as a great two way player...he could be, but he needs to improve movement first and that doesn't happen over night or because you force things in a game. He's not going up against Robin Lopez this series.
Demeanor says a lot. And, its easier to tame a lion than it is to motivate a house cat. There was no sense of urgency, fire, drive or anything...even after being shamed like that.
I just want him to play with a bit more edge. I wanna see fire in his eyes like the way MJ and Kobe eyes are like. I know he has it in him
I'm starting to believe this ... McGrady wanted it and drove hard and never settled... He didn't worry about percentages he had that Westbrook attitude. Yeah Westbrook misses a lot but he goes for it
I'll say it again. Harden is not a superstar yet. He still has a way to go if he's ever to reach that status