Idk man. You seem like the type of person to read anything off the Internet and wholeheartedly believe it if it fits your agenda. I mean you just did it earlier on this page when you thought I was really talking about Harden. Like foreal. A sheep. Someone who doesn't think for his or herself. You believe in the propaganda or you're just a contrarian. I don't get how you can still be so anti something even with all the facts laid out for you. Because Harden doesn't have much accomplishments? This can't be the reason. There has to be something else going on. Then you act condescending like it helps prove your point, but it just kinda makes you look corny. Who hurt you?
You're an absolute joke of a poster. You reference Game 6 vs Clippers and not Game 5 and 7? Lol, pathetic. Cherry pick much? He's the only non-scrub on this roster and yet carried them to the playoffs and the team had a top 10 offense pretty much all thanks to him, despite horrendous coaching in his time here. You want to talk about his inefficiency? Look at his supporting cast! And then you want to deflect the "Harden has no help" argument? Pathetic
Harden's Jeremy Lin level inconsistent in the playoffs he ****s the bed harder than any star player I remember in the post season on the subject of Lillard vs Harden, it's stupid, Lillard isn't in the same tier as Harden in terms of impact, I don't care about intangibles and leadership and cheerleading and texting team mates. You shove Lillard into this lineup for Harden we'd still be dis functional basketball team. I can't believe in this day and age people still harp on this "leadership/motivator" bs. That's just fluff imo, we see time and time again great systems create great teams like GSW or Spurs, or you can just shove a whole bunch of talented players on a team like the Heat, or Cavs or OKC and you still contend every year no matter what. these conversations about intangibles are meaningless. No amount of motivation is going to get Brewer and Ariza to not brick layups and every three pointer. 1. Talent 2. Coaching/system 3. great motivator
I was waiting for this post lol, and when it happened I promise you it wasn't nearly as entertaining for you as it was for me. If you're going to try and be sarcastic, don't do it with the subtlety of a baboon. And if someone is kind enough to play along, show some gratitude. You are right I never verified anything you posted. You see, there's a pattern with the people that have their head up Morey's rectum. They see Harden in there. I'm sorry you spent most of your day defending Morey's failed plans in the GARM and trying a pseudo intellectual post to defend Harden in the same way. If you don't remember, we actually spent sometime debating this just the other day. So, if your premise rests on the fact that I'm a sheep and believed you plucked yourself from the aformentioned bowels---then sure man. Did I make your day by playing along?
Well, I guess I was partially wrong oogie boogie. The irony is that the only people you seem to have caught are the ones that share your line of thinking---and level of intellect too it seems.
Lillard is shooting 37% in the playoffs but he's a great leader? Guys like McCollum and Aminu is saving his ass from getting embarrassed on national TV these days, that doesn't seem like a typically good leader to me. This notion that somehow Lillard is elevating his teammates is a total myth and fabrication. Harden carried 2014-2015 Houston Rockets where he led the league in win shares. That's when you know one guy is doing most of the heavy-lifting for his team. Lillard is not even top 10 and barely makes top 20 in win shares this season, because he has gotten a lot of support from guys like McCollum, Plumlee, Aminu and Ed Davis. They ALL contributed to Portland's wins, not just Lillard. McCollum is a borderline allstar player with great offensive talent. Plumlee is a Team USA Center and a solid rebounding and passing big man with good defense. Aminu has been absolutely amazing as of late. Ed Davis is referred to as the little Deandre Jordan. These are far from cast of nobodys. Just because some NBA analysts completely underestimated Portland's talent before the season, that doesn't mean they were essentially bad players or did not have the potential to be good. There's a clear difference between underestimating talent but in reality pretty good, and actually out-performing your talent with bunch of scrubs. Portland fall into the former, not the latter. And those same analysts completely overestimated our overall talent just going by the name value, most notably Dwight Howard, which led to unreasonably high expectations and goals that were never attainable in the first place. This narrative that somehow we should've done significantly better than our final record is complete BS given Dwight's huge decline as a player and lack of offensive talent/coaching on this team. I will say this again : our second most used offensive option in terms of FGA is Trevor Arzia. Let that marinate in your brain. And Harden making guys around him worse? How is Ty Lawson doing in Indiana? or Marcus Thorton in Detroit? Chandler Parsons in Dallas? How well did Josh Smith do once he got traded to LAC after last season? What about Jeremy Lin during the Lakers days? I don't recall any of these players doing 'better' once they left Houston. In fact, most of them got significantly worse. Also, all of our current players' production goes down once Harden leaves the court and post better numbers playing with Harden, including Dwight Howard. As usual, typical wishful-thinking, counterfactual babble from Lillard homers.
There's some all or nothing thinking here, and then definitions of what you think is a "leader' or a "good player" etc. If people made that clear from the outset, I'd probably not even bother arguing. Actually looking back in this thread, you guys define things by stats, which is ass backwards. Stats were meant to narrow things down so we have a good idea of where to do further research, doesn't really tell you "why", just that "this thing happened". I'm not familiar with the Blazers system or what plays Stotts likes to run or whatever, so I can't comment on the game and the decisions they made. But I do know that there's guys like Mo Harkless, Aminu, Plumlee, Crabbe, and Gerald Henderson putting up a fight against "The best team in history", playing balls out, even when Lillard and McCollum take the majority of the shots. You don't do that if you don't believe in your team and the face of the team, Lillard. Then there's all that stuff he did in the offseason to create a culture, do some research. He gives a ****. He's not perfect, but he's putting a lot of effort and it's consistent with how his teammates play on the court. So whether or not Harden is a good leader is up to the what the person thinks a leader is. All I know is they quit a ton of games this season and barely made the playoffs with a roster that is 10x better than the Blazers on paper.
Well if one of your definitions of leadership is based on shooting %, then we'll never see eye to eye. And I'd be directing a lot of what you said the genius GM Daryl Morey.
Again with your total BS. Portland has more talent than Houston, not less. Give me one guy in Houston besides Harden who can flat out score like Mccoluum. Aminu has been absolutely amazing in the playoffs where as Ariza has totally sh** the bed. Plumlee is a better team defender and much better passer than Dwight at this point in his career. Portland is not putting up any fight against the greatest team in NBA history. They barely won one game against Curry-less GSW. They almost got swept by LAC in the first round before CP3 & Blake got injured. And let me remind you Lillard did not play very well either against LAC either. The dude is shooting 37% in the playoffs and you're worshipping his ass like he's carrying the team, when in reality the other guys have bailed his ass time and time again. Stop with his nonsence. Portland is a young, talented team with an excellent coach. They SHOULD do better than basically 1 superstar and bunch of role players. And yes, I include declining Dwight in that category.
It's not based on just %. It's based on the fact that Lillard is playing like sh** in the playoffs, only shooting 4% better than disastrous Kyle Lowry, but his team is still winning. It's based on observing guys like McCollum, Aminu and Plumlee are much better than most people given them credit forand have really stepped up their game, regardless of Lillard's influence. It's based on the fact that they have a great coach and better bench then ours. And yes our bench has been one of the worst in the league the whole year. It's based on all of that.
And speaking of Kyle Lowry, are Lowry and DeRozan leading Toronto's playoff run this year? they are both playing historically bad, but the Raptors are in the 2nd round nonetheless. why no praise for intangibles or leadership quality for these guys? The narrative surrounding Lillard this year is just ridiculous, it's like he can't be touched no matter what. Westbrook was killed after 10/31 shooting night. Lillard goes 9/30 and crickets in the media. That's when you know things are not exactly fair and balanced.
I have zero idea of what you're talking about. I guess we did engage a conversation the other day? If you say so. I don't recall. I forgot about it. I don't spend much time on CF. I guess you do. But what did anything you said right now have to do with anything other than baboon balls or whatever? Daryl Morey eats the groceries? What? You're not making sense. If anything my original post on the previous paged just shows that this entire forum is filled with a bunch of weirdos lol. Harden's Beard is the only person who actually responded in an intelligent way and even I think he's a little weird because who'd want to be Harden's beard? Then again you got people like PollosHermanos who fantasize being up Morey's ass, but eh to each his/her own I guess. Just a bunch of weirdos on this board.
Well re-direct your frustration to the GM then. He thought they were good enough and did not make any moves this year to address the supposed lack of talent. So leadership is based on how well your individual play is. Ok.
I wonder how this question would be perceived in reverse in a TrailBlazer's forum. Fans outside the Houston bubble HATE Harden and not because they 'jelly' of his success. Far from it. They just think his game is ugly and heavily dependent on the refs along with all the fair or unfair spotlight on Harden's defense. So I doubt many team forums would want to give away their best player for Harden. We are talking about fans here. Who knows. GMs might have a higher opinion of him than your normal NBA fan. And let's hope they do in case some time down the future before his contract expires, the Rockets can trade him for some worthwhile pieces instead of just letting him go through free agency and not getting anything in return.
