uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no. its all on harden. no excuses no bullsht stop giving your golden boy a free pass. he cant lead a team to a 'ship he can ride the coattails of a durant or lebron, but they aint wasting their last good years on this sorry ass team and yes, i do think we can get equal value for harden
Three people ruined James Harden 1. Kevin mcFail This dude let Harden do whatever the **** he wanted on the court. He did not hold him accountable. He didn't teach the ropes to a young 23 year old potential superstar. Harden learned so many bad habits under Milk Hair pathetic coaching with no repercussions. He was allowed to get away with ISO, no defense etc. Everything Mchale did was to please Harden at the expense of teaching him like a Coach K or Thibs 2. Dary Morey This dude put Harden on a pedestal. Harden has Mauray and as a result this organization by the balls. Murray constantly battling for Harden got to Harden's head. Most embarassing was Maury putting out and twitting that "harden defense" video. Guess what Murry, Harden's defense has regressed to the worst in his career and that is saying something. Also his stupid insistence that coaching doesn t matter and persistence with the garbage McIdiot 3. Harden himself - Too many distractions like Khloe, his marketing brand, the fame etc.
Harden was already ruined when he came to Houston. Brooks and McHale are only coaches he had in NBA. Both terrible.
First time I heard of a 26 year old All star player considered ruined after 3 months off play. I guess it was milkhairs fault that he was considered by most experts as the MVP last year.
Despite this roster filled with no shooters and crappy bigs, the Rockets have one of the most efficient offenses in the league. I guess this fact has eluded the simpletons who insist the Rockets only lack a 'system'. Imagine how good "Harden iso-ball" would look with actual shooters to pass to, a competent PF, and a max center that was actually consistently available. Do people know that Chris Finch is the one responsible for the Rockets' offense and not McHale or JB? You know, the guy who was previously thought of as a brilliant young coaching mind? Like he could have been fired from the Cavs instead of Blatt and then CF would be all in a tizzy about how he should be the next Rockets HC. That guy is basically the offensive coordinator for the Rockets. Maybe he 'ruined' Harden and not McHale?
The premise that the Olympic coaches were somehow responsible for Harden's ascension last year is so unbelievably stupid. So being on the world stage, representing the country, hanging around the best in the league, getting embarrassed about his lack of defense beforehand.....that was all irrelevant. What changed everything was the 'structure and discipline' provided by Coach K and Thibs.
Do you realize only one player, Chris Paul, has averaged 20+ points and 10+ assists in a season in the last 25 years? There are things one could pick on Harden about, such as defense and turnovers, but I think Harden's ridiculously good year last season has spoiled people here. It is possible that Harden may never have a better year than last season, and that doesn't mean he's "trash" and should be traded. It means he is a very good NBA player who needs a more consistent supporting cast to complement his talents. One doesn't have to be LeBron James or Michael Jordan in order to be considered an NBA star. Harden has flaws, but he is still the most successful and most durable star the Rockets have had since Olajuwon-Drexler-Barkley. You don't just throw that away because the team got off to an average start this year. As frustrating as the season has been so far, there is no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
I think there's some truth (maybe a lot of truth) to this idea. Not sure what's up with all the 1 star hate. It's an interesting discussion at least. Harden needs a coach that will hold him accountable. The fact is that for his world-class talent, he has tendencies that will lose NBA games. No reason why a player - any player - can't continue to learn throughout his career.
A good coach with a good system (and a good team culture) could definitely help any player. I agree with the OP in that Harden is one of those players who needs that extra push. Of course the more he gives defensively, the more his offense may suffer. Anyone who has balled knows it's far easier to play offense when you give the bare minimum on defense. This is where a good offensive system not so reliant on Harden iso's would come into play...
This along with a 'system' appear to be the catch-all for fixing everything wrong with the Rockets. If the NBA/Rockets had a Fox News, they would be cramming "hold them accountable!" and "there's no system!" down our throats 24/7. Spoiler
Only person who can change Harden is Harden... If Harden wants to change he will accept what the coach is trying to tell and teach him... Right now it just seems as if he wants to do his thing and really doesn't care what anybody else says or does. T_Man
He's on a world stage now with his $200m Adidas contract, certainly was on that stage in the Western Conference Finals last year. He routinely players against the best players in the world, like that guy Curry or something. Has been embarrassed going on the entire season defensively now. But yeah, he just played so much better last year because he was embarrassed to play so scrubby in the summer with his Olympic team. Now that he's playing oh... the entire league full of superstars he has no problem being embarrassed. Just a series of excellent points. Good job, good effort.
