Harden has game. He has the skills, the athleticism, the brain. He's going to make big plays and create down the stretch. A coach will always take his chances with a guy like this iso'ing compared to running plays amongst a bunch of scrubs on a high. And that's fine. Kobe, MJ, LeBron... these guys have missed a ton of shots down the stretch. They've failed over, and over, and over again. But the raw tools were always there so coaches (HOF coaches) never gave them **** about shooting 40% for certain games. Now look at where they are. He's not the guy who needs to be scrutinized, considering iso'ing was the result of a coach not calling any plays or not catering to player strengths after ... 5 whole games together. There will be adjustments. Linsanity, on the other hand, took off because he wasn't scouted. He was playing with D'Antoni in a pickup offense. Now we're going to deal with the linreality of how slow he is, how weak of a shooter he is (not a confidence thing - just who he is), and how he doesn't have the fast twitch muscle fibers or bball brain (but he went to harvard .. and Kobe didn't go to college) of a Chauncey Billups or Deron williams. Finishing in the open court means little when you can't finish in traffic. Just doesn't translate at the highest level, and the sooner the Rockets stop playing the affirmative action card, the better they'll be in the future. A lot of you have never played and read into the wrong things so much, so just thought I'd set things straight. Really not a loss to be angry or sad over. Very good play from harden, asik and parsons. Morris and Patterson, one of them has to become consistent sooner or later. This is a nice, young core that needs a new PG, a max summer signing, and they'll be good to compete against the best. That's all you can ask for.
5 stars for trying so hard harden made a mistake, we have the right to be upset. we arent saying he sucks; were saying he made a bone headed play excessively long original post is excessively long
Ahh he's got no brain - this I'm sure of...... Which player with an IQ sbotages a coaches drawn up play to dribble out a clock and hero ball over a bigger and taller defneder?
Bone headed plays are a part of the process. Initially you just want the effort and the raw tools, and the IQ + chemistry comes with time. Criticizing each and every one (after 5 games with a new team) makes you out of touch with how the game works, unless you expect to have 5 Tim Duncan's on the court. If you don't get it now.. you'll probably never get it.
Lol, this board is so funny. One thread is "Lin's a Joke" and another is "You can't blame Harden" ...what?
man Harden is awesome and just 23 yo. Lin is a great PG and just 24 yo, PG is a playmaker and facilitator and not scorers.
My lord this guy is in the GARM too? Is it a coincidence he's been more active since Jopat's death?(did he die?) I think it might be Tinman.
lol thats what I just said; he made a bone-headed play that was dumb. I didnt say he sucked overall, i just said he made a bad play. Saying that it was a bad play does not equal HARDEN SUCKS.
Someone with a lot of ability mixed and a lot of self belief. That's what you want to see from Harden. He'll have games like this once in a while, so what. He'll have more games where he does what's best for the team because his game has a high ceiling. The Harvard grad played a lot of "brainy" ball; that's translated to a streak of wide open airballs and the worst FG% in the league. Context is everything.
You're saying guys have missed shots down the stretch and that's why we shouldn't hate on Harden, but should hate on Lin? Interesting logic.
Instilling confidence in Harden as a "hero" is important at this stage in his Rockets career, because of his high ceiling. Let him take the crazy shots, let him boost his confidence, let him test the waters of being the #1 guy for the first time in his life. It takes time to find your niche. They aren't realistically going anywhere this season, and there's no point trying to micromanage it. Let them play.
It's amazing how much pressure did Westbrook took out of Harden last year. And even more how Lin takes absolutely none. Rockets are playoff team with reliable point guard, because Harden is a star.
Ain't nobody got time for that! Spoiler <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/po3jPq5LT0g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Well the names you use are kobe, Jordan, lebron, etc, all are proven superstars. Obviously Harden isn't in that category and not even sure if he's in the lower tier category. Melo, Amare, Gasol, tmac, etc, get scrutinized all the time.
I think you guys missed what he said about Lin though. He pretty much states that Lin is trash. Granted he hasn't shot well, he has run the offense well and has been playing great perimeter defense. In fact, our teams ability to wreck havoc on the defensive end for 3 3/4 quarters was key in controlling the tempo. I know you say that he took the league by storm because he wasn't scouted, and I'm sure you were thinking that his numbers are a product of a PG centric offense, but look at how are team is designed now. The offense is currently designed for Harden to have free reign on the offensive end which leads to him having better stats production. I'm not sure why you have to hate on him on that. Now to reply to your comment here: I'm not sure how him being "slow", which he definitely isn't, is a problem??? Being fast or slow really only matters if it melds well with your style of play and defense. Nash isn't the fastest person in the world, but the reason why he is so effective is because he can always get to where he wants on the floor. You can tell that Jeremy tends to get to where he wants in the open floor and passes it off once the defense collapses. If not that, he's just standing in the corner because of Harden ball. Jeremy definitely isn't having an issue on defense at all. I agree with you partially on shooting though. Shooting the three isnt his strength, yet we constantly patrol him around there. Oh, and the people you mention ran offenses that are tailored to their style of play. Currently, the offense is tailored to Hardens offensive skillset, not Lin's.
