Can someone take that gif in the Fact Checker thread and turn D'Antoni into Harden's Beard for full animation. Maybe with that famous Ooooo face of Harden
Stop talking about this..FAKE hustlin all moving around but not doin nuthin FRAUD D as** fool. Yeah just "on-ball' D, what's that even DO with all the GOOD guards in the league now?! *SMH...*
Why would a Rockets fan (prolific thread starter) not be on this board during a 5 game winning streak and miss all the DMo threads? Suspicious
Watch him come back if we hit a hurdle. People that value making a point over team success are toxic. I rarely go after people but he spent 10 pages calling people fools while Beverley made him look a fool.
We're focusing a lot on the OP, but that's looking kind of pointless since he apparently decided to run away and hide. Same for that @And1redux guy, whose 15 total posts were all in this thread. Perhaps we should direct our mockery towards those who were whole-heartedly agreeing with the thread starter earlier on, and have since disappeared.
I have to admit that I voted that Beverly was "overrated" for his defense. And in some way I still think it's true but there are certain moments that you can't deny what he brings to our team. As much as I don't want to say anything positive about Draymond, Beverly's intangibles are similar but in a point guard form. His one-on-one defense I think, just like Draymond's can be overblown (though lately, both of them are making a case to shut me up), but there are moments where Bev's defense looks ELITE, something we as Rockets fans saw him due for a short tenure since he's been with us. I wasn't able to catch the whole game tonight but that one-on-one with Russ was him at that elite level (though it shouldn't be ignored that Russ has never been a stellar one-on-one player/it's not his game) but what we saw with Bev was him full of aggression, but not out of control ... extremely focused and smart, making Westbrook actually look uncomfortable ... which is quite a feat to do on Russ. So props to Bev tonight for his defense and all the intangibles that helped secure a lose-able game. I'd change my vote if he could keep up this level of D far more than I've seen the past 2 years. If he can even get a semblance of that, I think he significantly takes the Rockets another step closer to that next level.
ESPN just praised his defense on Westbrook the leading candidate for MVP. Maybe this will stop the creation of stupid threads like this.
Or maybe you are not as smart as you think are. Or I would take Chauncey Billup's opinion over yours because, unlike you, he has accomplished something as a defensive PG in the NBA. So I wouldnt criticized "reading comprehension" if I were you.
I do think Bev is overrated in REP as certified elite lockdown stopper. He has great moments and some shaky ones too. So saying he's good to very good occasionally great is enough. I do NOT think his defense is a FRAUD, like its a smoke and mirrors lie that has no value. That word is as much hyperbole the other way as saying Bev is all-world. Bev brings defense period. Bev's overall value is total mixture of D, loose ball recovery, rebounding, efficient 3pt low turnovers offense, and bringing tough feisty identity to the team. (Oddly metrics favor Bev's OFFENSE now more than D.) Bev is hungry again and is making sure everyone buys into it too. So it can be an extra possession or 2 in a game that his teammates work to make a defensive stop that they normally wouldnt. That's what turns a 2 pt loss to OKC to a 3 pt win
WTF how is Harden not the leading MVP candidate at this point? OKC is struggling to be in the playoff race and WB's triple doubles come at the expense of his team losing because he hogs all the shots night after night.
you make great points, couldn't agree more. I guess I just don't buy into how the media paints things about certain players without getting to really sit and watch and study what they're making blanket statements about. Yes, Beverly is a good defender and can occassionally have those great moments but he's not freakin Kawhi Leonard for pgs. Having said that, the utility he brings is what I've been noticing in him since his return and I do feel more confident with him out there sheerly because of how each of the little things he does can translate to wins. Glad he's healthy, and though I've probably been overly harsh on him in the past, I hope he keeps this up and proves me wrong by how valuable he really is to our success.
What some people don't understand is that with the way guards get calls these days, and with there now being a higher volume of scoring guards, there are no elite defensive PG's in the mold they used to be. The old eye test doesn't work. A good defensive PG these days plays different defense and has different success/failure than they did. It's a bit of a different game. Guarding the 3pt line is more important than it used to be and defenders are having to stick closer to their man. He's a good defensive PG and a good 3pt shooter. Even if he had no skills at all, Bev has a role in this team but he brings those two things as bonuses on top of his hustle, attitude, commitment, selflessness. He was 1 of 8 this game but still racked up 12 boards and 5 assists/0 turnovers and Westbrook had 27 points on 25 shots, along with 10asst/8to's. For the Rockets you can't ask for better results in that matchup. His contract is incredible too, you can get 5 Beverley's at the price of a Westbrook. Bev is easily worth $10m in this market. These types of players are necessary for any contender. I would not replace Bev with a slightly more talented guard. They would have to either match his intangibles and have superior skills, or be SIGNIFICANTLY more skilled to bring the impact he does.
