That was pretty disappointing regarding Harden. Is it Harden's fault of lack of running plays? Regardless, i still feel good about these playoffs.
I didn't get to watch the 2 Spurs games closely. Was it more the case of Harden missing shots he usually makes? Or was he the Harden in the Blazer's playoff series last year?
we probably have a better chance of winning the lottery with NOP's #14 pick than winning the title with mchale at the helm
That team had the greatest center of all time at his peak, another future hall-of-famer who greatly contributed to that miraculous run, and Rudy T as coach. We have the best player in the league, a great but unfortunately semi-hobbled center, and Kevin McHale as our coach. Both teams had/have some great role players, but I think the former team has the edge over the current team, and that 20-yr-old team was the only team in history to ever do what they did. If things seed out nicely today, we may still have a decent shot at getting to the WCF with our current, still-very-injured team. That would be impressive for this year.
I have a hunch that when Harden can tell the team is going to lose, he stops trying altogether. He has done it in several games I can think of this year including the most recent Jazz and Suns games. He stops drives to the basket and becomes a three point chucker, just defers and passes off whenever he touches the ball. The season he is having statistically is incredible when you consider what he looks like on his off nights.
Point is this team is better prepared to win in the playoffs. Harden played poorly and with a limited dwight we still almost beat the team playing the best ball in the league. Harden's impact this year goes beyond his statistics. He is finally taking the steps to be a leader of this team and with the help of vets like jet and ariza get the mentality right. As everyone knows playoff games come down to the final 4 minutes. Give me a lineup of Brewer, Harden, Ariza, Smith, and Howard and I'll take my chances against anyone.
One can argue that Rudy T was not good with the X's and O's. He and McHale are much alike and that is a players coach.
SI gave us an A on the season: http://www.si.com/nba/2015/04/15/nba-season-grades-cavaliers-warriors-thunder-knicks-spurs?page=2&devicetype=default
That lineup of Brewer, Harden, Ariza, Smith & Howard definitely has strengths (especially defensively). However having Smith & Howard on the court at crunch time has one HUGE disadvantage, and we all know what that is. THEY CAN'T MAKE THEIR FREAKIN FREE THROWS!!!!! I'm sure any team we face in the playoffs will trade these guys making 1 of 2 free throws per possession with less than four minutes to go. I hope I'm wrong, but don't have a good feeling about it at all.
Yes the free throw shooting is an issue but we don't have a lot of other options. Plus can't intentionally foul away from the ball in last 2 minutes right??
Perhaps. Maybe it takes a mental toll on a person like Harden that shoulders a pretty massive load in the regular season. I'm not defending Harden (if what you are saying is true), but just saying every now and then during the long regular season, even stars need a "break". However, the playoffs are a severely truncated "season". I do believe a super star should go all out in the playoffs EVERY GAME. The only time it'd be "acceptable" for a superstar to "give up" is if the team in any given playoff game was getting blown out by 30 by the end of the 3rd quarter. That's just mentally draining I guess...
Agreed. Harden is a phenomenal player, and while people hate McGrady, he ALWAYS brought his A game in the playoffs and did not go down without a fight. That's the one thing separating Harden from greatness is a great playoff series as the alpha dog in Houston. When the going gets tough, can he stay at his high level of play?
Well, considering we already have a thread saying we'll lose in the first round of the playoffs, this jinx should cancel out, right guys?
u god daam right im mad. we get dwight back and lose dmo and bev. coaches dont wanna put brewer at starting pg so go with two old pg rotation in pg heavy west. only one of them should be out there for 15-20mpg and thats priggs. terry should be backing up sg. they have no choice but to change the rotation and they dont wanna do it. harden is burned out carrying this team all season long. ariza avg'd nearly 40mpg in nov-dec, killing his shooting effiency. this team is goign into the playoffs dead tired and injured. i hope they change the rotation first game int he playoffs so teams have less time to prepare.
McGrady was a much more consistent scorer, more explosive, and more talented. People are going to hate on McGrady because of his injuries and the public relations fallout from his injuries but that dude demanded attention at any level. There was a superstar aura about T-Mac that Harden does not have and not sure if his optimal game will ascend to that level. Harden depends on free throws and if they do not call a foul, his game and mentality seems to take a hit. This year he has cried less to the refs but there are times of apparent whining. When T-Mac was 25, he was a stud. His defense was decent but his offense was amazing and the reason why he never caught flack, My optimism is that we have a better bench, better defense, and willing teammates.
Changes will be coming if we don't start the playoffs with a favorable outcome. I am with you, I would just insert Brewer in to defend a starting pg, because if we play the Blazers in the first round, Lillard will run around like it is practice or something. Brew looks like the type who can play 40 minutes
