I think it's Harden. It's all on him if we lose or win. If he is not engaged, plays lethargic or seems out of it on the offense the team struggles. If he is playing well defending at least keeping his man close and playing okay offense we win. Every game we have lost u can see it mostly surrounds Harden. He keeps shooting if he is not hot but when he is playing well he passes the ball even when he is cold and not just last second shots but drives and he throws it out.
I usually get mad when people say "so and so role player is not the best player but is the most valuable" That makes no sense to me But in this case, I really thnk chandler has been as important as james. Chandler is a calming presence on the court and counteracts some of James's selfishness. I think they need each other to really be effective
I have a feeling Parson will end up in L.A, u cant watch a single game without a commintator saying oh wow he got incredible game
You guys are kidding me right? Parsons is the man but y'all can't possibly be forreal sating that he's better or more important than James harden. The amount if disrespect this fan base has for its youngest true superstar is crazy. Harden is 24 he's going to a rocket for the next 10 years. Parsons is a nice young player with interesting versatility but he's not a complete game changer like harden is. Tell me one time you have seem chandler real off 10 plus point in a row by himself? I'll be waiting. Honestly to compare the to is insane. Parsons is a nice player but nowhere near harden talent or impact on the game plan. Look what parsons does not game planned for now look what harden did not game planed for 37 points 45 points nuff said. James put up 26 6 and 5 last yr on 60% true shooting while getting to the line 10x a game. He got us Dwight and now all of a sudden with expectations high for the team and harden hurt through the first 28 games I might add we're 18-10 ppl act like he's hurting the team. Give the man his due he's a perennial all star and the most talented player we have on the roster and he's still 2-3 yrs away from his prime.
One more thing I don't want to make this a harden vs parsons thing because IMO harden and parsons have great chemistry on the court, it's like Jordan and pippin out their when their running and gunning. I agree harden is open for criticism, but to act like him and Dwight arnt the most important pieces on the team then your either a) delusional or b) a fan of another player. This is about the team and with harden locked in with the way parsons and Howard are playing right now IMO theirs not a team that can beat us. If anything we should be happy that harden is the one slumping out of the big 3 because he has the most talent to turn it around quicker. I really think we have potential to be a better version of the pacers all that's missing is a legit David west type pf and I think he's attainable his name is Paul milsap. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and I think he's the missing link. When we had the winning streak a few weeks back it was tjones who was the X factor. He was avg 15 and 10 and making the defense pay for doubling Howard and harden. Now face forward to now with jones looking more like a young 21 yr old 2nd yr player the offense seems to have lost that extra gear. I mean we were scoring 30+ and getting big leads through the 1st quarter. Paul milsap can be that 16-18 ppg with 8-10 rebounds and Nasty tough guy play. Of course I would love to have LMA or Love but that's not attainable unless you want to drop parsons which IMO would be a big mistake. Look at how this team looks with just a asik for milsap swap. Bev Harden Parsons Milsap Howard Bench Lin Jones Casppi Garcia Smith That's a championship squad right their and capable of stopping any team.
Harden has the biggest impact on the game. He's the best player on the Rockets and by quite a large margin. Sometimes Lin can take up the slack when Harden is out. That reflects well on the Rockets depth, but doesn't mean Harden isn't a huge impact player and the most needed. Parsons doesn't have a Lin-caliber backup, so his value for what he does becomes higher. But it doesn't mean Parsons is better or has a bigger impact on wins. And lately, Dwight is catching up to Harden for impact on the team and to be honest, he does it on both ends where Harden tends to do it mostly one one end.
It has to do with backup players. When Harden is out Lin can drop 30+ two games in a row. There isn't an adequate backup for Parsons at SF.
I am shocked that people do not see what Harden brings to the Rockets offense. Hardens mere presence causes defenses to throw a conniption fit. Parsons cannot do that simply because he is not such a threat off of the dribble drive. Harden opens up his teammates for easy shots. So I thought I would lay it out in easy to understand images. Here the OKC defense is flexing towards a breaking point. Lin's man is halfway between Lin and Harden. If number 2 takes one step closer to Harden Lin will be unguarded for a wide open 3. Note how misshapen the defense is, with everyone shading towards Harden. Of course Harden then splits the defenders easily for a lay up. Spoiler Here you can again see the misshapen defense where everyone is seriously shading in Hardens direction. Who exactly is that forward guarding? Harden nails the three pointer because his defender had backed off so far in fear of the dribble penetration that Harden is basically unguarded. Spoiler Harden has set up inside the 3 point line. What you see here is Harden doing a jab step towards the basket. His defender immediately pulls back fearing the drive and Harden hits a long 2 point shot. Spoiler Anyway I could go on and on. There are hundreds of examples. Hope this helps.
Yeah. People really do not understand what makes a NBA superstar. Pathetic at times, otherwise just sad. We would get the same response speaking wisdom to a rock.
I can understand criticism on Harden's defense, and even his offensive decision making at times.. but to actually say teams don't respect him on offense is seriously dumb!
Dumbest thread ever. Harden is the heart of this team, if he goes down we plummet to the bottom half of the West easily. The team can learn to play without Parson, but if Harden is out for a long stretch then the Rockets would become like chickens with their heads cut off.
Without Harden scoring we won't be as good as we are today. Not to take anything away from Parsons though. He's also an important piece to this team.
