[ESPN/MacMahon] 'There's too much damn turmoil': An unsettling vibe surrounds these Rockets

I need to place 100$ on the Rockets to win the Championship

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I think he’s conserving stamina because he knows he’s the only player that can consistently beat his man off the dribble. Not saying it’s the right answer but it is what it is.

 

Or , third option, Harden is fine with moving around as long as his other teammates can get past their primary defenders.

 

CP3's and DH's track record of teammate harmony outside of the Rockets isn't exactly sterling, though.

 

Also let’s not forget that Paul has a reputation as an “a**hole” with his teammates. Look at that tension between Paul and Griffin.

 

That doesn't make any sense. In your effort to shift MORE blame to MDA and CP3 while not holding Harden accountable for much of anything, you aren't making sense. Movement in the offense means the focus isn't always about beating your man off the dribble. Why do you think CP3 who can't ISO effectively anymore was asking, pleading, begging, for more movement from Harden?

Come on now I know you have played basketball before.

 

I didn’t read anything after this point because it’s is categorically false. In this thread, and in others, I’ve mentioned that Harden shares a portion of the blame here. So for you to suggest that I’m somehow trying to absolve Harden of any responsibility is just disingenuous.

 

Read past that part then get and back to me. Your main angle is that Harden is too coachable and if MDA was a better coach none of this would be a problem. You think CP3 is stone washed with bleach and is more to blame than Harden. I'm not being disingenuous, this is your position in all these threads. You think MDA and CP3 are more to blame than Harden.

You just said Harden would move around more if CP3 could get by his man.. CP3 can't get by his man.. now what? Harden is absolved in your scenario.

 

Every era where Hardhead leads will be the same.

 

Lulz at firing all the assistants then having them leak everything to ESPN. Karma.

CP3/Harden feud - It's a legitimate philosophical issue with merit on both sides. Both players want to win. I think the relationship is salvageable. They can overcome this problem (but not CP3's age). Mending the relationship and addressing the style of play seems like the most efficient short term solution to me. But you might need to get a coach with some balls in here. Dantoni's passive attitude no longer fits.

The issue I'm not so sure we can overcome -- ownership. The more Fertita talks Rockets, the more he comes off as an out-of-touch child. This will be a BIG year for him. He needs to do something right for once.

 

Very true, Morey knows he can't do anything. This star stuff is BS.

 

You might need to go review my position in the other threads. You are correct that I do blame MDA and Paul (also Morey) more than Harden but coaching alone won’t fix everything. We have a talent problem, Mike can’t fix that. Paul is quickly turning into CP0, Mike can’t fix that but better coaching could hide some of that (but that’s as likely as a pig flying with Mike). Morey’s over reliance on analytics is a problem. As far as Harden goes, I think his main problem is that he won’t rock the ship enough. But yes Harden does need to play off ball more, we need more ball movement (I think we’ve all been saying that). Nobody is absolving Harden is anything

 

Harden might move off the ball, from time to time if a better player than him is added to the team.
He didn't have problems with Chris taking over before he pulled his hamstring unfortunately.
The possibility of adding another star is almost zero.

 

This is all not that big a deal if everyone acts like and adult and engages with a little empathy or individualization.

James Harden is a ****ing offensive savant, like one of the 5 best ever in the league and maybe the best under 6'7" offensive player ever (yes better than MJ offensively- I said it and it's true).
James Harden is probably somewhere on the spectrum- at a minimum he is extremely introverted and doesn't trust easily.
Chris Paul is one of the scrappiest players the NBA has ever seen that's a super star, and he's an all timer at point guard (top 10 easily, maybe top 5). He's a little washed and not as good as he used to be- but still really valuable. Gordon, Tucker and Capella make good pieces around those two.
MDA is a really good coach and manager of people and positive voice that revolutionized offense in the league. He's plenty good enough to win a title with the right defensive guy.

Everyone just needs to chill the hell out a little bit- see the other guys perspective and shrug your shoulders and say- it's all good. Tension only need be toxic if you make it so- creative tension in groups and teams can raise the level of performance for everyone if channeled the right way.

Run it back, invest in some counseling or something, get a couple pieces and give it a shot. If you want to tear the son of a b**** down at the all star break b/c it's not working then sure- no problem.

It's really not that big a deal. It's sure not insurmountable. It just needs to be done right in a way that respects everyone who is involved. I think Fertita is literally the exact wrong guy for this, as he is a blowhard douchebag, but Morey I'm pretty sure, gets it.

 

It all requires just a bit of empathy, compromise, sacrifice and self awareness. It's much much harder than you think.

 

Well if history is any indicator, Rockets should win 70 games this season. Every time people think they’re going to suck, they don’t, and every time they expect great things, they suck.

 

Naw it requires a coach and then implementing the system.