Howard did not want to play with Bryant because the latter was too driven. Harden is talented but not as suffocating. In time though, Howard will wear out his welcome with him and Houston.
Yep. I actually gained a modicum of respect back for Harden this season. He tried a little harder defensively and he streamlined his game. He's more capable with his right hand now than he was before. I still hate the way the media/NBA has propped him up artificially, but he's a talented young man. Being chained to Harden could potentially ruin his career and that's no exaggeration. If Harden had a better running mate, he could be a contender. Now he's fighting to be so good he wins despite Howard.
Cherry picked the legit statements from the article: "…poorly equipped to understand the past and learn from mistakes, which is the foremost reason his game hasn't grown over the years. Howard just isn't a legit weapon on offense Howard trying to do too much in the post. Howard can't finish touch shots, and he can't create shots for others. it's not going to be Howard." Issues we all know too well and any NBA savvy fan does too... All that stuff during pre-game? What is this? Kindergarden?
I feel so guilty...the power of positive thinking should not be dismissed. To quote Stuart Smalley "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, people like me." Side note: Bette Midler's cool. She did an amazing cover of "Beast Of Burden"... Real talk.
Harden definitely is talented. He has improved every single season in the league, but the issue I have with him is his flopping. The refs gift him too many free throws. Blake Griffin stopped his flopping and has gained most people's respect so maybe Harden will do the same. I know Colin Cowherd is a joke, but still, he made a good point earlier today. People tried stopping Kobe and Jordan for years. Both of them have faced all kinds of defenses, and teams have gameplanned for them for 15+ years, but it didn't matter. Those two had something in their arsenal against any type of defense. When LeBron is held from scoring, he can still make the right pass and play defense (usually). Harden needs to expand his game to reach that level. Unfortunately for Harden, he will have to keep improving since Dwight isn't going to get any better. Even then, it's no guarantee that they will win anything.
Harden relies on "tricks" to initiate contact and exaggerate the play afterwards. Kerr instructed his defensive assignment to get up on him as he is dancing on the perimeter and Rivers had his pull their hands away when he is on the move. The latter tactic throws Harden off his game so instead of finishing the shot, he is expending more effort trying to get the call for the free throws. Howard's game is the same. Primitive and devoid of any fluidity. Reminds me of schoolyard play I've seen...when I was four.
^The Laker management tried but Howard did not want to...so I'm GLAD he didn't. Dodged a big 'ole bullet.
two things: 1. this article is exactly why I thought Dwight was stupid to go to Houston. they weren't going to win a title, and when they lost, he'd get the blame. 2. relatedly, the harden apologists are in full force. no surprise, though I'm a bit upset my brethren here are already buying it hook, line, and sinker. howard's despicable, but he was Houston's most consistent, valuable player in the postseason, imo. harden's ref-baiting game can't always be counted upon, and his performance is crazily uneven because he has no right hand (sorry real, it still sucks hard) and no consistent midrange game. he also has trouble finishing over shotblockers (instead opting for flailing and shooting FTs). he shouldn't be getting martyred right now just because he happened to find the one other "superstar" who's somehow less likable than him. when is someone in the press going to let harden have it? kobe might have actually been executed had he performed like this.
^Harden is a talented scorer but he does it with step backs, goes left exclusively and living off the charity stripe. Someone mentioned here that he averages an inordinate amount of free throws unlike Jordan and Bryant. I don't know if it is me but doesn't he dribble like two thirds of the time to create space? He has no eye popping lift on his drives and like you stated gets his shot blocked...twice last night as a matter of fact. No varied post up game with drop steps or a fade. Even with a for now "limited" repertoire, Harden has upped his scoring... Volume? Maybe he will work on varying it. Who knows... The Clippers did a very good job on him during the regular season and the playoffs doubling him on the move...force him to give it up to others. Howard? Agree to an extent. He was solid rebounding and contesting shots. Offensively, he was his usual worthless self. If I were to choose between he and Harden to defend, I'd single Howard...let him try take over. His clunky, time consuming post moves...inability to make precise passes to cutters and open shooters, let alone read defensive coverage...would be to my advantage. Looking back, their two best players who saved them were Brewer and Ariza. Terry to some degree as well.
in most of their big wins, josh smith went inexplicably bananas from three. that was fool's gold. I agree that I'd single-cover howard, as every team that has beaten a howard team has done. but again, the larger point was that the slant on the article was clearly anti-howard whilst propping up harden, who doesn't deserve the props right now.
Connor Grossman@connorgrossman 5h5 hours ago Draymond Green on @KNBR, reacting to Dwight Howard's quote about still being a champion in his mind: "Cool. That's the spirit."
You don't have to apologize to me about it. I still don't like Harden. I just acknowledged that he went to his right effectively more often in this series than I've seen his whole career. It might the last thing he needs to be an offensive monster. Sure he gets the lucky calls and all which is BS, but looking at it from a purely practical point of view: if it works then keep doing it.
CyberX is a guy from clutch fans (Rockets forum). His word is like law there. Nobody doubts him. He's kind of like their version of emplay...except he doesn't write any articles. He just posts on the forum with inside info that has usually been correct. Anyway, he posted before game 4 that there have been some issues with Harden and Dwight. These issues have been going on for a few months and got worse during the Warriors series. They no longer hang out together. Harden still hangs with the team, but Dwight not so much. Apparently, "they" keep feeling he is soft with no desire to win. (Note: I have no idea who "they" refers to). He said that Rockets fans better hope that this blows over, but obviously, tensions are high. During film session, Harden called out Dwight and said, "Why are you laughing when we are getting murdered out there?"
