https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...-quarter-is-so-on-brand-its-painful-to-watch/ “Harden has told us who he is: A star who dims in the spotlight, a Most Valuable Player in the regular season, who during playoff fourth-quarter showdowns turns into the Most Vanished Player.”
The article is right. We are not able rely on our star players to deliver when it matters but the truely great and elite players delivers. This is the difference between winning and losing in playoffs. Also our team doesnt have "it" to win. We had the tenasity, grit and determinion as a team few years back when we were up 3-2 against GSW and that team overcame Haden's weakness for the series but it was on display with 27 missed 3s. This team just exposes our weakness and we are not able to adapt on the fly and adjust that is needed to win.
The series is not over yet, but.... I will say that Harden (and especially Westbrook... lets not forget about him too... HE WAS AN MVP just a couple years ago too) are earning the media narrative that they are going to be given. Will I still root for this team? Hell yes Do I want to trade Harden? No... but he might demand a trade soon so.... Do I want to blame the coach? In this case I really don't blame MDA too much. I actually think he was really good in the bubble league Do I want to blame Morey? A bit. I think there have been some franchise altering trades that were unnecessary, and too much reliance on bargain bin vet min players Do I want to blame Tillman? Yes.... because I can But as big of a fan as I am of the Rockets, and how much I love Harden, the narrative is going to be there, and he's going to have to deal with it. The only thing that can happen is Harden will have to come back again next year and take it personal. He has to have a playoff run that is otherworldly that rewrites the narrative. Because the narrative is going to be there whether he wants it, whether I want it, and no matter how many times we whine about the media and ESPN as fans.
Say what you will of notorious Celtics honk Bill Simmons but I think he's dead-on in describing Harden's career trajectory like Karl Malone's... insane regular season productivity, but a properly-coached and -motivated playoff team will scheme to foil his strengths and his will to overcome. Harden isn't really motivated by the will to win. The sybaritic trappings of being a super-max salary slot are enough for a guy like him who grew up with squat. Can't help but think that if Russ had Harden's shooting % behind the 3, he would routinely impose his will without feeling the need to lead the Charge of the Light Brigade into a packed paint. A D'Aaron Fox here would be intriguing...
Series is over and Harden is who he is at this point. They’ve pretty much given him everything he’s wanted...the coach he wants...the offense he wants...the star player next to him he wants... He’s not completely at fault, but hes definitely got a large part of the blame. Peel the bandaid off and let that wound start healing. Keeping this group together is delaying the inevitable.
The article complains about Harden's play in the 4th quarter....... but he played well in the 9 minutes he played in the 4th quarter...... He had 6 points with 2 assists, two rebounds, two blocks, a steal and 0 turnovers......
And how many years have we been waiting for him to make this transcendent playoff run? The stats are always good, but the optics tell a different story. I'm not anti-Harden, but I'm honestly not optimistic that he'll ever get over this hump.
I am by no means a Harden hater. We would never be in this position without him on the roster. We'd be a .500 team at best, even with WB. That being said, every year there are excuses by many in our fan base, after the playoffs... 2014 - ridiculous game winner by Lillard, and Aldridge absolutely dominating us 2015 - out played by an obviously better GS team 2016 - underachieving season, lost to GS 2017 - Harden was gassed, Spurs blow us out in game 6 without Leonard 2018 - Lost CP3 at the end of game 5, lost 6/7 (and double digit leads in both games) 2019 - "Let's run it back" - Durant injured, still can't overcome GS 2020 - ..... Harden is immensely talented, but this team can't get it done with this "3s and layups" scheme. Any good coach over a 7 game series can pick it apart. It works during the regular season, as most teams don't even run full practices between games. Mostly shoot arounds and watch some film, but nothing in depth enough to try to shut Harden down for just one game. The system has obviously not worked, we've tried many different reiterations, with different personnel, different superstars. Also, our approach is to "play our game". Never any adjustments, just we can do what we do better next time. But where has it gotten us? Where I do put some blame on Harden is he just hasn't had a series where he takes over. Even a 4th quarter where he absolutely dominates, scores 15 points and hits a huge shot to win the game, as many of the greats have. Just once, James. We need it. If you notice his huge games in the playoffs, he does most of the damage in the first half (or first 3 quarters). I recognize his greatness and we are spoiled with his 30+ PPG, but there is always an excuse for the playoffs. They need to look into rebuilding this team, or changing the coach and philosophy, let James get back into the step back 17 footer and get a big man. We've done this dance for a while now.
Completely agree. The likelihood of him having this breakthrough postseason next year is slim to none. He's shown since the Miami Heat Vs OKC finals that in the playoffs when a team is reliant on him to create in isolation or pick and roll, it is achievable to neutralize his abilities. In the regular season it's a bit harder to do so, and he has the ability to adjust on the fly. In the playoffs... IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT PLAYERS... you can beat a Harden centric team. And when you have to face 4 high level opponents for best of 7 series', you are likely to face at least one team that has the personnel to match up with a Harden centric team, and neutralize that offense. MAYBE... next year the team gets a break in the postseason with matchups and there is a sliver of a chance that they make it through to a deep playoff run. In that case, I 100% want to have that ability to do that. It's great fun either way, and if you have a chance, you should keep a team together. That being said, next season you are still going to have the Lakers, and the Clippers in the Western Conference. The likelihood of facing either one of those teams or both is very very high, and you'll have Golden State back again next year which makes the West that much more difficult. The Lakers and Clippers have the type of team that can match down with the Rockets in small ball, but with highly effective scorers to put the ball in the hole. I love Harden, and I think he'll go down as one of the all time great Rockets, but in this era of the NBA in this conference, I just don't think he can be effective in the post season with a team like the one we have. I think if he wants to win a championship, I think he's going to look at a team like Brooklyn to play with a KD, or maybe Golden State with Curry/Klay. Hard to see him winning here with just Westbrick and the bargain bin of the NBA.
Yep. The perfect situation would be to have a two-star team where the other (non-Harden) star requires the full attention of the opponent. That unleashes the world's most dangerous ISO player to wreak havoc against a reacting defense. As it is, defenses key on stopping Harden and we sink like the Andrea Doria. We had that during CP3's first year with us, at least during the healthy parts. Russ doesn't present that same threat, and neither did Dwert. I'm not sure there's anything Morey can do to get there, either. Russ is even more untradeable than CP3 was, and we'll never have a high-enough draft pick to bring in a star, at least not while Harden's still around. The best (and probably only) hope is to trade for a superstar-to-be, like he did when we landed Harden in the first place. The likelihood of that happening gives me little reason for optimism.
His 'team' is falling apart. MDA is as good as gone, Daryl's job is not safe at all. WB could be had for the right pieces. I am not sure what's left, what's keeping him here other than his brand. The Harden Only Fans? Reality sets in gradually that he isn't the second GM of this team no more, well, he shouldn't be. It's extremely hard for him to get out this conundrum.
the guy averaging 29 ppg/8 apg on 66 TS% is clearly the problem. we should trade him for one of the guys who puts up 29 ppg on 66 TS% and who also dominates the 4th while being trapped a lot. like uhh, lebron, do the lakers still want him? or kawhi, he's getting older clippers. or uhh, that other guy, uhh... you know the one...that guy who i can't think of for some reason.
Called it and it's not just this article, hit pieces are popping up everywhere today about Harden I already knew this series loss was going to cement Harden as an all-time playoff choker status, don't think Harden cares though because he never changes. Harden should've just gone to form a superteam, would've been way better for his legacy. Even after KD snaked out and joined the Warriors, media are still labeling him as the best player in the league. That's what winning rings will do for you, no matter how you win it.
To my eyes Harden is mostly playing pretty well in the playoffs this year. It's just that the Lakers have figured out the Rockets' offense and defense and for some reason no one's adjusting to that. It's a failure of the team office and coaching, not Harden's fault. Somehow, all these years later, we're still stuck on McHale's "come on, guys, play harder!" philosophy.