Harden aggressively lost us the game. He was indecisive, dribbled around too much, etc. What chance did he "give" us?? I'm not calling for a trade or anything stupid like that...but let's be real. He did NOT show up tonight. He was TERRIBLE.
They're both better than the low IQ, turnover prone, mental midget Lin GTFO with your agenda. Harden is not who made Lin redundant. Lin's garbage production on the court made Lin redundant.
Here's the all-time list of the highest amount of turnovers in a playoff game. How many of those guys on the list do you think should be playing off the ball too? Especially that Lebron James guy who'll you'll see on the list 8 times. Two games of 10 turnovers, 1 game of 9 turnovers and 7 games with 8 turnovers? Why is that guy still handling the ball? http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/tov_game_p.html
Unfortunately, it's the truth. Defensively, teams did not give him anything he hasn't seen before. How does he go from possibly his best game as a Rocket in Game 4 is possibly his worst game in Game 5? Did GS do anything drastically different? Throw Iggy on him? A few traps? Is there any one guy who can guard him 1-on-1? We all know what Harden is capable of, so it's all just so baffling. We saw it in his body language and demeanor all playoffs long - he's rattled easily. Seriously, the CROWD? Have you EVER heard Kobe and Lebron say the crowd was too much for them? OH but MVP SEASON! WOULDN'T BE HERE WITHOUT HIM! - Truth. But we need to acknowledge his fatal flaws which are concerning. It's not going to cut it if we're serious about a title. Some of you are denial.
What an embarrassing and disappointing way to end a fantastic season for him, the team and the fans. He will only get better next season. He needs some help back there. Bev, the PG gramps and Brewer are not going to cut it.
People out there making a case he was point shaving. Didn't watch the game, is this a thing? I dismissed it, but 13 is a lot for him.
Him and Jet smoked something the night before the game or few hours before the game. Jet's sudden high dribble turnovers were something I've never seen from Jason Terry.
Except he's not the MVP, and with games like the one we just saw, its difficult to argue that he should be MVP... but you're right, it is inexcusable. I think he should have stayed on the bench in the 4th after it became clear to everyone, except for McHale apparently, that Harden wasn't able to get it going.
But the question is, must he play that way all the time? The offense becomes so predictable that the defense just needs somebody who can stick with him while in perimeter and another to shadow him once he penetrates. The Warriors just gambled on leaving somebody in the perimeter and that's it. Once they had frustrated Harden enough, everything followed through since he's the primary offense maker of the Rockets.
He obviously choked a bit here. Some of those turnovers were just silly at the end. Did Harden cost us the game? I think a case could be made. He killed rallies and man you think about it - we lost by 14 with his 13 turnovers and horrible shooting. IF he shoots 45% and has 6 turnovers - we might win that game. That's what's scary. But what can you do - without Harden we'd never even be here. Might not even be in the playoffs for that matter. For those who rail against him, just a simple question - would you rather be a lottery team or lose in the WCF? Seems like an easy choice to me. He's 25. There's still hope. In fact, there's more than hope - there's expectation.
Since a lot of people might not click on your actual link, here's the stats shown: Most turnovers in a single playoff game: 1. James Harden - 13 (5/27/2015) 2. James Harden - 10 (4/29/2013) 3. LeBron James - 10 (5/6/2008) 4. LeBron James - 10 (4/25/2006) Hmm... Funny how LeBron's high turnovers happened in his first stint in Cleveland where his faux PG was a spot shooting Mo Williams and the Cavs didn't come close to sniffing a ring. LeBron then ends up playingmaking with Wade and sharing offensive duties with both Wade and Bosh and goes on to win 2 rings. He plays with another ball handler with Kyrie this year and once again has no issue playing off-ball. Adding a guy like Kyrie, Wall, Lilliard, even Lawson would do wonders for the Rockets offense, would result in less turnovers, AND would allow Harden to save more energy for consistent defense.
How much does LeBron play off the ball? Please, this should be funny. Having another ballhandler helps, but LeBron is still the primary ballhandler, just like James Harden always will (2nd place MVP, led us to Western Conference Finals)
How do you not remember watching LeBron dominate in the post in the past three final runs of his? Sure we can say LeBron is the "primary" ball-handler. That is far different than what Harden is doing. Harden is essentially the ONLY ball-handler, or should we say the ONLY guy creating offense via defense penetration. LeBron has had waaaay more help in that department. Durant has it with Westbrook. The Spurs and to a lesser degree, Warriors and Hawks don't need it due to superior coaching. But we're not getting a replacement for McHale anytime soon, so the next best option is to get Harden playmaking help.