This. If I were a betting man I'd bet just like us when we don't have Dwight or Omer in, the Blazers defense goes to crap when their bench guys are in. The playoffs start and your bench shortens quite a bit, so their better defenders are out there more. We aren't getting the luxury of getting some quality Myers Leonard and Freeland minutes that was happening in the regular season. No doubt Memphis is a better defense, but by that same token Durant is a better offensive weapon than Harden. Seems odd to me that some would give the MVP a pass, but not Harden. Whatever it is what it is.
How come Harden scored 30+ against them in the regular season and shot well over 50% against both Matthews and Batum? Them boys IMO just taking on the challenge to stopping him and making him work on defense.
Don't disagree with that... I think it's a combination of the two. I just don't think we can pin our hopes of him suddenly busting out of whatever slump he's in.
No excuses. He's played poorly, but 99% of the folks here are failing to even mention the context of why he's been playing poorly, and having a rational discussion about it. And no "James Going to the Strip Club" or "having a pot belly" is not a rational discussion.
I think that's because the team attack offensively was so reliant on McGrady to do everything that in the final quarter it looked very much like Harden looks now in this series when the defense tightened up.. except McGrady hardly ever had a player like Yao/Dwight to run the offense through when the defense tightened up. Also keep in mind that McGrady was guarding Dirk down the stretch often in the Dallas series. That's just too much for one guy to have to carry in one series. When your second best scorer is David Wesley(06) or Rafer/Battier(08), it becomes really tough for your team to score in a tight playoff basketball game when those guys aren't getting super easy looks created by your star player. I disagree that McGrady not having big 4th quarters is the reason why some of the fans around here have a disdain for McGrady. Maybe a few around here do, but I think its not all about his 4th quarters in the playoffs. IMO its more about his Exodus, and the perceived way he threw his teammates under the bus, but to each his own. However, look at how McGrady gets mostly cheers now when he sits court-side next to Les to watch & observe games.... fans are quick to blame the star of the team when if they think about it years later realized they didn't know how good they had it till that guy is gone. Pace. The game is being played at a much slower pace which makes their half court defense much more effective on Harden and our entire team attack. On the other end, they are going at James offensively which is really having an effect on wearing him out. That's not really something they did in the regular season. Its coaching, preparation, playoff schemes, and those two guys taking their game to another level defensively.
I was not refuting your point, merely adding on to it. If someone is making a fool out of me on one end, I'm going out of my way to do the same to him on the other end. Matthews is, as you said, sticking to Harden like a cheap suit, should Harden not do the same to him? Yes, he is stopping your offense, then stop his; don't just try to beat him on one end, you'll just hurt your team.
Boy they aren't giving him that much of a pass today in Oklahoma. http://tracking.si.com/2014/05/01/kevin-durant-unreliable-oklahoman-thunder-grizzlies-nba/ Westbrook and Durant are two overwhelmingly talented players, but I just really hate the way they are used in their system, and the balance they have with supporting players. Memphis has imposed their game on the Thunder and not the other way around. That usually is going to decide the series right there especially when the team is as deceptively good as the Grizz are. With a healthy Gasol, and the key additions they made this year (Lee, Miller, & Kufos), I think they are just as good as anyone in the West and league for that matter. The truth is, they are beating the Thunder fair and square. KD and Westbrook aren't just not trying just as Harden isn't apparently "not trying". Even though they will get blamed as if they are purposefully throwing games. Its silly.
Trust me I remember those games like they were yesterday. The game is still going at a fast pace IMO, both teams are putting up 105+ a game. McHale needs to find other ways to getting Harden more involved. Dude is standing around the perimeter looking disinterested and acting like he don't want the ball. I don't know what it is but this is not the same Harden we seen throughout the season.
He's played much worse than in the regular season sure. Not denying that. However its not like he's gone full Hibbert or anything which should be a positive for Rockets fans looking past this year (I know its hard to though). He's still doing a good job at setting up Dwight in the post, and has had moments that show that he's still wanting to help the team win. I think he's just allowed Batum and Matthews to get in his head and mess with his confidence a lot. If it were the regular season, I'm sure he'd bounce right back with a 40 Pt game. Its not like the Harden that we saw all season long isn't going to come back at some point. He's just too good to be held back that long.... unfortunately the Rockets aren't playing in a best of 9 series... they have squandered a bunch of opportunities to win despite not playing their game, Harden being off, & having poor execution. I know Rockets fans want fire and brimstone right now, but the fact is this is the first of what we are hoping are going to be more than a few playoff runs. An incomplete roster, youth, bad coaching, first year being together, and being hit by a buzz saw contending team in Portland, and it being in the first round makes this feel much worse than it really is in context. The Rockets still have a bright future with Harden & Howard regardless of what happens Friday and possibly Sunday... and Harden is probably going to end up being one of the better Rockets guards players of all time when its said and done... just going to need the team & our core guys to learn and improve from this experience.
Sorry.... too much positivity... I'll shut up now.... BURN HAREN AT THE STAKE!!!! FIRE MILK HAIR FIRE MURRAY CHEAP A#$ LE$ ...... feel better guys????
Well you know how that word EXPECTATION goes to the everyday fan. When that expectation is not met, then the bashing begins. To make matters worse, Hardens demeanor, his laziness and disinterest in the game becomes the main target. Yes sir, we have a bright future ahead of us. Morey will tighten up our bench, we might get another coach. We will be a force to reckon with for years to come. I knew we wasn't going to go far but I did expect us to get past the 1st round.
I think all playoff defenses are going to be tight and shadowing. We have all seen how each possession is hotly contested. Harden's go to shots are the step back 3s and euro-step rim attack which often ends up in refs calling foul shots. Unfortunately, with the refs not calling fouls as much in playoff basketball to give him easy points from the charity stripe, and with opponent bigs plugging the paint, he will have to rely on step back 3s. But don't kidd ourselves. He is not that high% in 3s as Daniels and his step back is so predictable that the opponent guards are stick very close to him, making it often a contested shot, hence his low FG %. There isn't going to be any magic to his playoff offense unless he develop more variety of go-to shots. Both him and the coach better know this and make adjustments, such as having him doing more playmaking than shooting and have more pnr or screen to get easier shots. If he keeps on bricking with low % shots and ineffective ISOs, and McHale does not limit his touches, we are going no where with that type of offensive scheme as a team and should stop talking about contending for a championship.
If your opponent "blankets" your top player, somebody else is more open. Switches can't occur instantly. We nullify LMA, then Lillard and even Matthews start gunning. It should be the same for the Rockets.
That might be true if he draw the double team, but most of the time, he either took a challenged 3pt, or through a prayer & begging the ref to call a foul. The most frustrating thing with Harden is that he always dribble the clock down to a few seconds before make a move, or pass. It's just so dumb.
