Trust is the issue this team has, particularly it's star player. Harden doesn't trust his teamates to make a play late in the game, he doesn't trust D'Antoni's system enough to push the ball up the court consistently. This happens to a lot of superstar players, and sometimes it can take YEARS before they trust their teamates, Jordan had it, Hakeem had it, all of the great players that are scorers have to learn to trust the system/teamates to win in crucial games. Think of all the big shots in Rockets history. Kenny's 3 against the Magic Sam's 3 against the Knicks Elie's 3 against the Suns Horry's numerous big shots Max's big shots. We don't have those big shots on this team because it is still Harden or bust, and he is not totally bought in on the system nor the team. Unfortunately it usually takes years of losing in the playoffs to sink in, hell, Hakeem didn't find it until he got injured one year and the team went on a double digit win streak without him, he realized the team could play and came back a different player. So, we will need to be patient as we wait for our current superstar to work through his trust issues.......and that is a painful process. DD
It's almost like you didn't even watch the game. Trust isn't the issue. More than once Harden tried to defer. As many have already pointed out in various threads on the BBS, most of those possessions just ended with those teammates passing the ball back to Harden 40 feet from the basket. I am happy to bash Harden. Because there are obvious issues. Like basically just standing there and letting your teammates try and go 4 on 4 (though, in fairness, this might be a decent strategy if you figure Harden is being guarded tight by the team's best defender). Like WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY too many dribble step back threes. Like defense. All those ahead of Harden's trust. Then other things ahead of Harden's trust, too. The biggest issue last night was MDA messing with the rotation so drastically when it wasn't necessary, and only playing 7 guys. Harden isn't Lebron. NO ONE is Lebron. Harden's usage in these games is incredible... and oh, btw, since we are going supremely small, Harden is guarding Gasol, Kawhi or Aldridge most of the game. Have you ever tried to guard a guy much bigger than you, over and over again? **** tires you out. I've never ben a fan of Harden's I'm too tired to play defense excuse in general. Because typically he wasn't playing defense. But this year, and last night, he was actively involved defensively every play, and in an extremely tiring way. Same can be said of Ariza, who sucked offensively, likely again because of MDAs rotation which had Ariza playing too much PF, and just different rotations overall. I pray MDA goes back to his original starting lineup and adds Trez and Dekker for 10 minutes a piece. I doubt it will happen, so feel free to harp on Harden's "trust" issues, lol.
you forgot Troy Daniels Spoiler: tinman don't look at this http://houston.culturemap.com/news/...o-go-legend-shocks-LaMarcus_Aldridge/#slide=0
It is not just Harden's issue, the rest of the team does rely too much on him as well - it is a team trust issue - focused on Harden - who does not trust the system or players enough - especially late. DD
You're missing the main point here. Harden doesn't trust Morey and MDA enough to allow them to build a true championship contender that still features him as our lead player but puts him in a different role that requires him to play off the ball some and actually contribute defensively. And the real issue probably isn't trust. It's selfishness and lack of humility. Harden wants to win HIS WAY instead of just win. That's what separates him from guys like Kawhi, Steph, and Lebron. Those guys are all immersed in true team situations where they all give up some of what they would like to do for the betterment of the team.
Look I'm not saying the offense looks great in 4th quarters. It obviously doesn't. And aside from the abnormality of the Thunder series, it has been a theme the second half of the season. I just think it a bit reactionary here to point to it is the "real issue". It's an issue. Coincidentally it's an issue against the Spurs, the #1 rated DRtg team in the league. Hmmmmm.... Harden was gassed, and the Simmons matchup on him worked. Simmons is a real solid, bigger defender. It isn't completely out of the blue. Harden's outside shot wasn't working. He tried to drive, but had poor ball control and being gassed that led to turnovers. So neither outside or drives were working. The Rockets offense is Harden creating. Earlier in the game they noted how the Rockets were shooting like high 60s on points by Harden - either himself or created by him. They were in the 20's percentage otherwise. Beyond trust... one can look to teammates talent level. Unfortunately because of Reggie Miller exclaiming every time someone other than Harden does anything positive offensively that "see, he does have help!" I think people think Harden is surrounded by great talent or something. Nevermind the fact that Patty Mills played better than any of that help, that a 39 year old Manu Ginobili played better than any of that help and that Jonathan Simmons played better than any of that help - no he won't mention all the talent on the Spurs. The reality is, MJ trusted his teammates better when they were Scottie, Rodman, Kukoc, Kerr filling a role, BJ Armstrong filling a role, etc. Lebron began to trust his teammates more when they were Wade, Bosh, Kyrie, Love, etc. Hakeem is a good example, especially that first year, where he did trust the system. The Spurs are a good example, where they've always trusted the system - though DRob, Duncan, Parker, Manu, Kawhi... pretty stacked talent wise. I am happy to harp on Harden's trust. I'd rather the team STILL get better talent around him than see how his trust issues look. Cause at the end of the day he can pass the ball to Gordon or Bev over and over and over again in clutch moments, but every time we see them defer. I mean how many times do we have to see Eric Gordon lose his dribble and ball in clutch moments now to know its not going to work? It doesn't always work with Harden, either, but it also does sometimes. Back to MDA. Beyond the rotation, I think as everyone else has noted, for an offensive genius the guy seems to be struggling this series to free up the offense. The Spurs defense has been working when they are overguarding Harden with these big, SF sized, quick defenders, or Patty Mills, who is Bev esque defensively. The Spurs defense doesn't work when Harden can get anyone else switched onto him. Unfortunately for the Rockets, sometimes they struggle to get that switch. Which is understandable... the Spurs are smart, disciplined defensive team. But when you are running the same pick and roll over and over again, its easier for a smart disciplined defensive team to adjust and learn. MIX A ****ING PLAY IN THERE MDA. You want to know what a play is? See Pop calling a timeout with 15 seconds left in the third, with 4 seconds on the shot clock, to get Kawhi a wide open layup. A wide freaking open layup. Which they then added a 3 on top of because of course the Rockets had no play. So the Spurs closed out the final 15 seconds of the 3rd up 5-0... in a game tied at the end of regulation. You want to know what a great coach does when he calls a play and his team doesn't run it. He gets freaking pissed off... see Pop. How about this... use a FREAKING TIMEOUT MDA. He is the most reluctant timeout user I think I've ever seen. This is both when the other team is going on runs... AND when there is a situation in the game where a timeout should obviously be used. There were 2 instances in overtime where as a coach I would have been yelling for timeout. One, the Bev almost falling out of bound play. Two, and more crazy, after the jump ball. Frankly I was yelling at the tv to call a timeout after the jump before the ref even tossed it up. I get MDA likes these "scramble" situations... so fine, don't do immediately. But Anderson got the ball and was already confused by the time Harden got it and got double teamed. Call a FREAKING TIMEOUT. Maybe the inability to draw up an out of bound clean looking 3 point shot plays into his reluctance to call a timeout?? Which is weird, because often during the regular season I found myself thinking... "Aha!! Finally a guy that can draw up an out of bounds play". So, you see I've rambled on... and have done so because trust at the moment, while an issue, reeks of McHale coaching. "move the ball, swing the ball, play harder, clap, clap, clap"
I don't think Harden trusts MDA's system completely yet, and in times of pressure he reverts to what is comfortable. DD
He doesn't. And MDA gave up on Harden trusting the system in training camp. MDA knows Harden isn't efficient enough as the sole playmaker and he needs another one but Harden won't let it happen. That has to get fixed this summer. This organization has to convince Harden to play with another playmaker and share the basketball. Gordon and Lou aren't playmakers. They're scorers. And Bev and Ariza for sure ain't playmakers. Ariza can barely dribble and chew gum at the same time and he's a horrible passer with no court vision. Bev is a great 3&D player who can dribble around in circles and guard the basketball but can't make plays with it. He has limited vision and passing ability. Gotta get another playmaker. Gotta get another playmaker. Gotta get another playmaker. Gotta get another playmaker. Gotta get another playmaker. Gotta get another playmaker. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I think we're talking about something important here that DD and basketballholic have really picked up on. Both are pointing to the fact that Harden doesn't quite trust the system in the crunch and that makes sense to me. In fact, the whole team doesn't quite believe in the system, and it doesn't take much to devolve into ISO-hero-ball-bad habits that we've endured for years. But to MDA's credit, he trusts his players to figure it out. These are pros we're talking about, and it's up to them to figure out how to win together. Pro coaches don't like to call timeouts because they have to trust when the players think they need to regroup. This is not high school or college where the players look with doe-eyes to a coach to do their thinking for them. While I don't agree with MDA only playing 7, the reality is that he's throwing this small cluster of guys into the fire and they're logging lots of time on the court. If you think about it, this Rockets team hasn't been together long, especially compared to how long the Spurs have been together. It's remarkable that the games have been this close. . . I hate losing a game that we should have won, but the biggest takeaway that we get is that this tight core of players fought through all of that. MDA is trusting that having that experience together is more important than rest. Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that this core group could be 2 possessions and one game out of the Western Conference finals? At the end of last season, I was skeptical whether this Rockets group would have enough professionalism to win even half of its games. Now, we have a winning culture, a roster that needs work but that is deceptively good, and a group that has proven that it can do more than simply score points. Teams no longer look past us; they realize that they have to play well every quarter or we'll simply run away from them. Watching our players struggle through endings like last night is hard to do, but I do think Harden and the rest of the team will get it. Here's hoping that MDA's gamble of leaving players together on the court will pay off sooner rather than later.
I trust threads made by original members of Clutchfans The 99ers There are some extremely stupid ones out there
Same thing, he trusts himself more than others or the system - it takes great players awhile sometimes to figure out that the team is better when you play team ball even in crunch time. DD
and harden trusted gordon with that shot with 45 seconds left. he just bricked it. this thread is knee jerk yes harden played terribly, was gassed down the stretch, and this loss is on him. But i wouldn't go as far to say harden doesn't trust his teammates. he kicked out to anderson, and bev for big 3s there. gordon just no showed and harden collapsed. it is what it is
Harden probably got tired of watching soooo many open 3's turning into bricks from his supporting cast of teammates throughout the game....they shot over 45 3's and made 16 I think...hopefully this summer Rox can get another baller that can create off the dribble and be a bit more consistent hitting open 3's THEN they should be good to go and easily get past teams like the Spurs and OCK in the playoffs I'm thinkin....if anything this series shows they truly do need 1 more star to compliment Harden. GSW/CLE even the Celtics got more than one star player so when comparing teams the Rox are overachieving and I suppose the Spurs are too For example, if the Rox had a player like Gordon Hayward or a player similar this series would've been over AND they prolly would've swept OKC. This summer gonna be interesting as to IF the Rox can grab one more baller for Harden
How does a guy that leads the NBA in assists and accounts for probably 85% of his teammates shot attempts, not trust his teammates?... He's trying to make plays and lead them in the clutch... That's EXACTLY what I would want as a franchise player offensively... Now defensively as we know, is another story... The bearded prima donna was just gassed.. His stubborn ass HC has a damn 7 man rotation against a big SA frontline... Simple as that!
