6-0 everything is clicking, playing defense, H2o look great together and it's all good so far. This quote should then of course not surprise anybody. It's great to hear, but when we lose a few, you could easily get a quote that they are still like last year and need to learn to win games you're not supposed to lose or whatever. However, during the game Reggie Miller said that somebody told him from the Rockets organisation, I believe it was Harden himself, that last year there was no chemistry between Harden and Howard. They were just trying to figure stuff out and that this year that has changed. Not totally surprising, especially during the play-offs when you saw some irritation between the two and Howard came out saying this year everybody needs to be on the same page etc. I am not saying this quote is all about their relationship and not saying that Howard's words were about Harden. What I am trying to discuss is, if A) you guys see and believe this year the chemistry between Harden and Howard is really better or is that just because we are winning? and B) are we really that much of a different team or is that also just because of being 6-0, playing mostly bad teams and the whole 9? I think both are still to be determined, but I do believe regardless of what happened or was going on last year, that Harden and Howard are on the same page and it's showing. I also do believe we are a different team in terms of defensive focus, which is not just an individual thing but a team mindset.
Hell yeah it's different. Best thing about it is that he's leading by example, and really stepping it up in every aspect of his game.
Howard said it during the training camp. Harden took the POR series loss very hard. It became the impetus for the two of them to get together and talk. They agreed to push each other to succeed. Howard's maturity shone through. Last year, I think Harden didn't get Howard's goofy persona. Parsons probably kept getting in the way too. I think the POR loss became a blessing in disguise for both of them to have a meeting of minds, and that they are on the same side, with the same goals. So "Swag Champs"? That's Howard tipping his hat to Harden.
Of course it is different. It is almost as if they grew up. With Parsons and Lin it was a fun loving Group that only wants to do offense - Beverly as an exception, and to an extent Howard. Now they seem focused - and they want to dominate on both ends of the floor. I am not saying we are better than last year (so I'd like to think we are) - I think we are missing 1-2 majory pieces off the bench. But the mind set has definetly changed.
Yea its scary the level james is playing at right now. 25-7-7 1 stl 1 blk... and his shot is falling for him yet. sheesh. if he pace up hes really top 3 in the game. because those are literally lebron numbers. I wasnt sure if Dwight and Harden had finally clicked in the first few games, but the spurs game showed it for me. mainly because they FINALLY started running pick n roll together consistenly. idk what took them so long , its damn near unstoppable. With dwight and harden working together now im confident in their leadership. my only worry is depth. but we are def a diff team from last year. mainly because our D is clearly improved. and not only are we 6-0 . but all our wins havent been close. The only game people can dig up questions about is the spurs game , because of who sat . even with that said we havent been battled tested against elite teams. was supposed to be the spurs but pop sent the d league team. Saturday , even if the rockets lose , will show us if we are forreal.
That was Orlando Dwight out there, he's trying to establish early post position, if his player stops him he moves out and sets a screen into a pnr, then re-establish post position, rinse repeat, he's basically forcing them to beat him strength/speed wise for post position and if they get set he forces them into matching him athletically. No one in the league can beat him both ways.
The Rockets have slowed their pace down and have stopped running up and down the court like their on a freakin track team. Harden isn't built for that... It's hard for any player to be effective on both sides of the ball playing like that...
And he's shooting like crap. Wait until his shot starts falling. You will start seeing some sick numbers.
When people like yourself say we are missing one to two pieces on the bench I don't agree with the understanding that Lin was that piece... Asik was a good piece but he didn't want to be here. We have a better team right now for the playoffs but overall I feel we were missing championship pieces on the bench last year moreso then this year but even right now we can use some better players off the bench at the 4 and 5 definitely. Most of the young guards on this team like Canaan and Daniels just need a full season to develop even Papanikolaou. I believe in this year's team more than last year's even when it comes to the role players.
Yes sir, I knew last season the chemistry wasn't fully there yet. Harden was still running a lot of Iso's. And we all know Howard wants the ball down low ( remember his Orlando day's). Plus Harden was freelancing on defense. Now McHale has made a priority to put more focus on defense. And through 6 games we have seen a vast improvement, especially from Harden. Now both of them are playing team basketball on both sides of the court. Lets hope they continue to play like this for the remainder of the season.
This is a very different team with a much better attitude. That dunk on Baynes was nice. I like the little neck roll thing he did after it lol
those are some very t-mac-esque numbers. if he can keep putting up t-mac stat lines, i don't see how harden won't be the MVP.
Differences I've noticed in the young season: -Harden giving effort on defense and being successful at it -Harden not forcing his shot as much when he drives -Team defense has been good for longer stretches. Credit Cannan for this. His on-ball defense was underrated last year and again this year. Very pesky. Bev definitely influenced his defensive style and effort. -Three point shooters are actually shooting when set up. Last year, there were a lot of pump fakes. -Basically, what Parsons and Lin were asked to do is actually happening. They are playmakers, and they tried that affecting the flow of the offense. With players like Ariza and Terry who have accepted their roles already, they don't mind taking a shot that was set up by someone else. -DMo has regressed. He really needs to be the focal point of an offense to be effective.
They do seem like a more mature team. Granted, we're only 6 games in, but this year they aren't blowing leads, they aren't taking crappy opponents lightly, and they're playing hard on defense for 48 minutes. About the only area that hasn't improved from last season is the turnovers, but part of that is integrating new players and relying on young'uns like Canaan, Daniels, and Papa to play key minutes(well that and Dwight being turnover-prone in the post).
Am I the only one that thinks Howard and Harden have yet to click? Yeah last night had a lot of alley oops, but that's thanks to whoever spurs had at center. I think we're playing so well despite Howard and Harden not gelling which is really exciting. There is still room to improve with Harden feeding Howard the ball better and both of em running the pick and roll more often.
The amount of PnR that Howard/Harden did last night was very encouraging. Hopefully it becomes a trend and not a one time deal.
Harden and Howard have done a lot of PnR this season, but Spurs tried to defend PnR differently than say Miami. Against Miami, center showed hard on Harden, but instead of forcing his way to basket, he went more parallel with the basket dragging center away from Howard and keeping SG behind him. Miami's PF picked up Dwight who rolled to basket. With three guys on him and Howard, Harden passed to the open guy. Open guy had either center hopelessly rotating or a guy rotating off a three pointer shooter in the corner. This doesn't always look like a PnR because the pass isn't going to Dwight and Dwight is more trying to get position on PF than receiving a pass as he goes towards the basket. The Spurs center didn't show hard (or effectively if he was trying to show hard) against Harden. Harden took ball to basket since center didn't direct him away. Bad things proceeded to happen to Spurs defense. I expect most teams will opt to defend the PnR like the Heat especially when Jones or DMo is the PF.
When we our offense was floundering a bit in the second quarter we started giving the spurs heavy doses of the harden Howard pick and roll. To no one'a surprise, it was unstoppable!!! If we incorporate that more, we will be very dangerous
