Theory: Defense was so bad last season specifically b/c of Dwight and his impact on others.

Don't kid yourself, Orlando Dwight is a superstar, the version that just left Houston for Atlanta is not.

 

No ****. Did I imply that? The point was Harden could have given Howard another 2 shots per game to stroke his ego to play better on D, and the OP said everything started due to Howard, and I'm looking back to the start of the season when Harden was a zero on offense and a negative on defense. There were even calls on this site to make Harden the 6th man, or to bench him on every missed defensive assignment until he wakes up, and everybody was questioning why he wasn't taking the ball hard to the hoop but instead trying to find his rhythm by clanking 3 after 3 or going in to draw fouls as opposed to completing the play.

The OP said it all degenerated from Dwight, but Harden was the worst from the start of the season while Dwight was continuing his decline but not in such a dramatic way

 

Biggest issue with Dwight's d was he never stepped out on pick and roll which kills you in this era of basketball

 

Hardens March stats were similar to his beginning of year stats

 

^Its a bad point.

Howard is not a 62% "Scorer"

Howard is a lob / wide open dunker and put back guy.

Howard shoots 62% by NOT giving him the ball. This was the correct choice, whether Dwight likes it or not.

 

Besides Dwight, I also blame the shooters missing wide open threes and not getting back in transition. Easy fast break points for the opponent all season long. Dwight could have stopped a couple fast breaks by getting some offensive rebs, but he didnt.

 

Which is a better scenario for the Rockets?

1. Wasting a handful of offensive possessions (Dwight post-ups) and having a motivated defensive Dwight.

2. Relying more on Harden's hero-ball (denying Dwight post-ups) and having an unmotivated defensive Dwight.

 

Howard improved his rebounding year over year and his orb% was as good as two years ago

 

It's all Dwight's fault.
It's all Harden's fault.
It's all McHale's fault.
It's all JBB's fault.
It's all Morey's fault.

The fact is, this team had no leader who could set the tone of the team culture.

 

LMFBO :grin:

 

He wasn't getting as many of those opportunities either.

Less penetrating by harden + more turnovers by harden= fewer easy shots for Dwight

 

As I said, 2

 

3) harden being in shape and playing like he did in 2014-15

 

That's the wrong answer. A motivated defensive Dwight blocks shots and gets rebounds. He prevents opponents from scoring baskets that an unmotivated Dwight would allow.

 

LOL no.

Lets go ahead and give Josh Smith and Brewer 5 3pointers a game so they plays good defense. And lets have Beverley have some PnR plays, so he plays good defense as well, why not.

If players aren't doing what they are paid to do, they need to gtfo.

 

Nobody was motivated watching harden waddle around turnover the ball and shooting more bad 3s instead of getting into the paint.

Which is why no star wanted to be here

 

We just signed two players who wanted to be here?

Enough with your dumbass narratives.

 

Lol none of the post was a narrative.

Fact 1: harden was fat
Fact 2: harden turned it over more
Fact 3: harden got into the paint less and shot more 3s at a lower %
Fact 4: no star wanted to come here (Anderson and Gordon are not stars)

Even Nate Duncan , very respected guy, said guys were probably scared to come join Harden because of what happened last year.

I mean, we actually LOST a star because Dwight engaged is a star

 

Stop being a douche.

You stringing together random occurrences into correlated cause and effect conclusions, just because you don't like Harden, is weak as hell.

This thread was about Dwight and you continually try and make it about Harden. We get it, you don't like Harden.

 

The problem with your logic is that Smith, Brewer, and Beverley don't play game-changing defense. Howard does. Star players are treated differently than role players.

Also, when Dwight signed with us, it was understood that he was going to get post touches. Why is it so contemptible that Dwight hold the Rockets to their word?