He's not going to say it and MDA knows better than to put words out there. James is not 100 percent. Notice his hesitation to go to the rim. Contact hurts right now. He'll be fine, but he's not feeling loose at all.
Not a doctor, but have heard bits and pieces of James being a bit hurt. I was told to watch his mid range floater to see the change in technique. Apparently, he's protecting his back and groin area. I don't recall seeing him pull anything, but he has taken so many damn KNEES to his groin/jewels that the refs ignore. Also, his elevation improves after playing longer minutes, but it's not about his legs as much as his back. He constantly cringes after layups when he stops himself from flying into the cameras. Back? I don't know...just a chirp I'm pretty sure this happened when he took a hard fall driving to the basket and landed on his back. It looks like the lower back mainly. He'll be ready come playoff time.
Also Harden seems to have gotten his shot blocked way more than usual. Another sign he isn't getting quite the lift or burst in his shot.
Getting obvious that he is playing with an injury. Compared to earlier this season... Explosiveness isnt there. Speed is lacking. And his timing is just off. Cant sit him out for extended period of time or else Rockets get in danger of not even making the playoffs. What you get when your roster, barring 3 or 4 players, is made up of mostly scrubs.
Looked to bad lately to be not gassed or injured, and gassed at this point of the season wasn't likely i guess.
Thanks for the confirmation. Unlike some dumbass posters who called it “excuses” we all knew something was up.
Playing the rest of the game tonight after clearly being hurt was plain stupidity on part of the Rockets medical staff, Mike, and Harden. If I am the owner, I am seeing all three right after the game. Not only was it a risk for further injury but he was garbage on the court as well and wasnt helping anyways...neither on defense, nor on offense.
It is officially time to sit him down. This is no longer just a slump. This is officially a problem. Now...we have MDA, so we’ll instead run him into the ground, but he *should* be benched.
...and the idiot played him the rest of the game anyways. I dont care if Harden wanted to play. You get paid to make these decisions for the team during the game. Dumbass.
MDA is not even cautious with his best player. When was the last time Harden used a bike to warm up? MDA put Harden's ass right back out there to play the whole 4th quarter like nothing happened after a squad ran the lead up to 10 pts. What was the reason? What is this dude trying to do? How you going to work your way out of a knee injury playing 35 minutes? MDA must be stopped.
