James, read this plzKthx: Use your first step and your hesitation to get semi-clean looks from 12-18 feet. Step into the mid-range shot and take it on balance and in rhythm. Please stop flailing, looking for foul calls. Dude you get your **** swatted about 8 times a game, seems like lol, just pull up, it'll bring the bigs out to you and away from the basket which equals buckets and AND!'s...the HARDEN way Once you make a conscious effort to make the mid-range jumper, the game will be easy again. AND play some ****ing defense geez.
McFail thinks the players can just keep running and never run out of energy. At the same time he keeps riding Harden. That's not going to work, reminds me of how D'Antoni ran JLin to the ground and injuries.
I just want him to get healthy and really prepare for this series. You can tell that he has some sort of nagging injury. He hasn't been euro stepping rather just charging his way to the basket. His midrange game fell off a cliff for the most part. He is settling. I do have to marvel at what he have accomplished this year though. No training camp really with all our pieces together, only 1 person coming back in Chandler, and we make the playoffs. I love this team, so fun to watch. I can't wait to see how they build on this for next year with the time to grow together and learn together.
The title of the thread caught me off guard, I thought this wasn't going to be a serious/legit thread but it is, so apologies. Harden is going to keep closing out games the way that he does until the Coach holds him accountable. I don't think Harden wants to play this way. When you're not shown how to do something better or held accountable, you're not going to play a different way.
Harden is their best offensive player and their go to guy, no doubt about it. But Mchale has to ease his burden throughout the game by involving others and making his offense less predictable. It's really on Mchale to set this tone. What's happening now is Harden is tasked to become the focus of almost every offensive possession, he is usually the last one to take a rest, and is usually the first among the starters to come back in. By the 4th qtr/end game, he is too gassed to be th go to guy on offense, and too gassed to play any defense. Check out how he let Jodie Meeks drive the baseline for a crucial dunk against the Lakers. In fact, Harden knows how much of an offensive burden the coaching staff heaps on him, which is maybe why he paces himself on defense throughout the game.
who knows where this dude's head is at. I'm anticipating he'll score a lot thanks to the volume of shots and people around here say he showed up even though the Rockets would be better off if he turned it over less and played more D even if it meant scoring less. Expect Thabo or whoever he guards to get his. I mean he had freaking andew gouldelock (however it's spelled) on him vs the lakers a buncha times and he was freaking taking step back jumpers and contested 3's.
