84 replies to this topic

[timetodienow1234567]

I don't think Harden would like being a true SG on the offense. Jordan and Kobe were both PG/SG hybrids like Harden. True SGs are Allen, Miller, Thompson, Afflalo, Reddick, etc ... Guys that can score off catch and shoots, cuts, screens, runs a little PnR as the secondary playmaker, but that isn't their primary function.

[timetodienow1234567]

AI and Westbrook are also both PG/SG combos.

[Doug]

We scored more points per possession than any team in the league last year. We have a championship caliber offense. Our problem last year was our defense.

[rockets best fan]

@Doug

I both agree and disagree. we did have a problem with defense last year....agreed. thinking we didn't have problems on offense by looking at our per game averages can leave you deceived. our late game execution needed and still needs plenty of work.

[Doug]

RBF: Sure. We could have done better in close games late. But it makes little sense to talk about large, systematic changes to our offense (or needing to add a player) merely because we could have done a little better in close and late games. After all, our record in close games wasn't terrible. We won half of all close games, and their doesn't seem to be much consistency, from year to year, in who is great at winning close games.

We were a really, really good team last year. We will be a really, really good team this year. (In fact, I think we'll be better this year because I think Ariza will be an upgrade over Parsons, and our young players will continue to improve.) We were good enough to win a championship last year, and we'll be good enough to win it this year. Like all contenders, we'll just need a little bit of luck.

[rockets best fan]

@Doug

I will settle for a little less luck and more gamesmanship. we were good in close games to some degree, but not good in close games against top contenders. it doesn't matter how many times we beat Utah in close games......it matters how many time we beat the Clippers 0/4 OKC 1/3. our offense needs to work against the elite teams. bottom feeders aren't standing in our way. just the opposite. other contenders are. ignoring the problem because we have no problem blowing past average teams isn't going to win us anything. why do you think we have basically clean the bench off to bring in not only some defensive help, but give more opportunity to our young shooters. it's to not only fine tune the defense, but aid the offense as well. maybe if we get more in the middle game from our bench we won't end up in to many close games. I would have to disagree our offense needs work maybe not on par with the defense, but not that far behind either

[Buckko]

Well I expect our late game situations to be better due to the improve chemistry of H&H and the defense holding on to leads we would lose last year.

[rockets best fan]

@Buckko

I expect that too. however fixing our own execution could have won us just as many games. if we are lucky our additions will upgrade the defense as well as the offense. we relied heavily on our starters for scoring last year. giving them more rest may help our last game execution to some degree, but it wouldn't hurt to add a few crunch time plays to our effort.

[Buckko]

Agreed RBF and lots of PnR. I feel comfortable about a couple of bench players in late game situations too.

[miketheodio]

We scored more points per possession than any team in the league last year. We have a championship caliber offense. Our problem last year was our defense.

looking at the macro info doesn't tell the whole truth all of the time.

[rockets best fan]

@miketheodio

agreed mike..............I'm less concerned with our averages and more concerned with how we perform against other contenders. we don't have to worry about facing Utah in the playoffs. we have to learn how to beat the Clippers and OKC. both teams disrupted our offensive production, yet we were unable to disrupt theirs. defense will get us in the games, but offensive executions will win them. unless we improve to the level of elite defense our execution is going to have to be much better to beat either of these teams in a 7 games series. I can't remember which game it was exactly, but the one where we put up like 75 points in the first half of a TNT broadcast game and stunk in the 2nd half because OKC shut down the high ranking offense. averages aren't going to win us those games. learning how to adjust our top rank offense to better execute when the pressure mounts will, in addition to a better defensive presence.

Edited by rockets best fan, 17 August 2014 - 07:40 PM.

[bernardo]

http://hangtime.blog...-teams-falling/

Suprise! Ok, not so much. Basically everyone thinks that we will be the playoff team with the biggest drop-off from last season (they couldn't pick Indiana). I'm starting to feel that we're being underrated by the other media as they seem to believe that we will be much worse than last season. Yes, we lost Parsons, Lin and Asik. They seem to forget that Asik barely played in the regular season, Ariza will be a better fit with us than Parsons, and Lin was too inconsistent. The Rockets, I think, will end up with a similar record as last season and prove to them that we still have a really competitive team.

[thejohnnygold]

If we can allow for our nerdy obsession with basketball (and sports in general) to be labeled as "science"--making us, in a strange way, scientists--this flow chart sums up the situation pretty well.

 

 

It's a bit of a stretch for sure, but the point is obvious.  Most journalists are curious organic machines that transform facts into opinions in exchange for money.  Objective journalism just doesn't sell the way sensationalism does; hence, we live in a world where information is sold to us and we gravitate towards which perspective is most agreeable.

 

If the masses had their way, imagine what every news source would be like.  Does nobody wonder why this Rockets' Forum, despite being directly affiliated to the Mother Ship of Sports, ESPN, has the smallest member community (Clutchfans has 50,000+ members compared to our 769)?  Think about that....

 

Despite our disagreements and different perspectives we all share in a common desire for wisdom through knowledge and understanding (you know, since experience as a learning tool is kind of off the table for 99.9% of us who have no chance of playing in the NBA).  That, sadly, is far from the norm.

 

This is why--when guys like Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jeff Van Gundy, and even Charles Barkley speak--we listen.  Their perspective, agreed with or not, comes from direct experience and has a quality that we, as scientific observers of the game, cannot get directly.

 

Until the season ends, none of us know what our future holds.  There is a reason journalists do not get hired to run teams (unless you count Hollinger, but I don't, and he would be the exception that proves the rule).  This team, as it stands, is good enough to finish in first place if things go well and could wind up missing the playoffs entirely if things go poorly.  The odds are it will be somewhere in the middle.

 

I like what Morey has done with our roster.  The media will keep finding ways to negatively depict this team.  Whatever pays the bills--they're like pigeons in a park looking for whoever has the breadcrumbs.  The groups with the most bread are the ones the pigeons sing for.

 

Aw yissss (NSFW--F-bomb)

[Buckko]

We have 769 members  . Good points JG.

[rockets best fan]

@JG

basketball scientists? I like that  no doubt this forum has way more basketball knowledgeable members than just about any site I have read. sometimes bigger isn't better. so we give up a little size for quality of membership.........I can live with that.

[Buckko]

I'll go to TDS sometimes, I completly avoid clutch fans though. It's way too chaotic.

[thejohnnygold]

I'll go to TDS sometimes, I completly avoid clutch fans though. It's way too chaotic.

 

To clarify--I'm not saying there is a right or wrong here nor am I saying that we are better than anyone else.  Mostly, I'm saying that we represent a minority.  When we look at mass media we do not see a reflection of our own vision of reality.  Hence, it can seem like the world is against us when in actuality it is we who go against the world.

[timetodienow1234567]

But we are better....

Mainstream media is not mostly journalism(sorry Rahat). There are some journalists, but most mainstream sports media is narrative driven by what's popular. Many have lamented about ESPN becoming TMZ and they have a point. If you understand that the media will try to sensationalize events/stories and that most of it is facts skewed/slanted to fit the narrative, then you realize the truth. I've also noted that facts that don't fit the narrative are often ignored.

This process is also seen with political coverage on news networks. As long as Americans are fine with it and it's more successful than actual journalism, it will continue to happen. You just have to view everything you watch/see/ read/listen etc.... through a filter and try to understand what the reporter/company is trying to accomplish by reporting something.

[thejohnnygold]

@TTDN--that's what I was getting at.  It's a scratch my back and I'll scratch yours situation where readers are spoon fed what validates their beliefs and the media reaps the rewards of the almighty dollar.  Everybody wins and all it costs is the truth. 

 

....and then this happened....LINK

 

Scoop Jackson interviewed Harden.  I can't wait for the backlash from fans.  I enjoyed reading about 50 or so of the comments below the article--the majority of which were ignorance fueled hate.

 

Here is the transcript:

(sorry if the formatting is off--I just copy/pasted it.  The linked page is probably easier to read.)

 

Scoop: Bottom line, you are on this team and a lot of players aren't, but in your mind, who is the best basketball player alive right now?

Harden: Myself.

Scoop: That's what I was about to say, "including you." You made that sound like it was an easy answer.

Harden: It is. Myself.

 

James Harden says it's all about the team, not the individual, for the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

 

Scoop: Then here's the question: Are you where you want to be basketball-wise, even if you are the best?

Harden: Nowhere near close. I've got a long way to go, a lot of learning to do, improvements to make. Um, you know, as long as I'm listening and focused on the right things, I can reach my potential.

Scoop: So in your mind, you haven't reached [your potential] yet?

Harden: Not even close.

Scoop: Then how do you get there? Does that come from work? Is it mental? Does it happen during the NBA season? What?

Harden: It comes through everything. Work ethic. Being in the gym all of the time. In events like this, learning from the best coaches, Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski], [Tom] Thibodeau and Monty Williams. Watching film. Watching other people play. I mean, you just, it's a variety of things where I learn and better my game.

Scoop: When you were a kid, did you ever think about things like this? Like, did you say: "I'm going to start for USA," "I'm going to play on the Olympic team," "I can see myself as being one of the best players alive." I mean, was that where your mind was or was it just about hoopin'?

Harden: I was just hoopin'. I was just hoopin' and trying to get better every single day, you know. Never would I have thought that I'd be in the position I am now. But now that I am in it, I gotta take full advantage of it. I have to make sure I'm not taking any days off, make sure every day that I'm working hard to compete. Because, you know, there are always people out there working hard.

Scoop: Yeah, because [I believe if people enjoy] the process that comes with working hard, the end results will take care of themselves.

Harden: Right, right.

Scoop: So you can attest to that?

Harden: Man, I'm focused. Focused on the right things. That's how I got to this point thus far. You know, you focus on the right things, you're doing the right things, and great things will come in the end.

Scoop: Exactly.

Harden: And now I'm in the situation that I am now by hard work, my work ethic and focus.

Scoop: Has your confidence changed from, like, say, coming out of college?

Harden: Oh yeah, skyrocketed. Definitely. You know in college felt like I was, uh, a pretty good basketball player.

Scoop: That's what I'm trying to get to! I do know. I didn't mean to cut you off, but I remember you when you were in college and you played and you are still kinda, "I'm a badass. I still will get it in on anybody!"

Harden: Yeah, I was. But my confidence grows every year. From when I was a little kid to being the sixth man at OKC. Having that confidence, having that swag coming off the bench. And now my role with the Rockets to being on the USA team. You know, my confidence just keeps getting better. But I've always been confident because, as I said, of my work ethic. You put so much work in the gym; you know you've put those reps in with those moves. If you don't do that, you wouldn't have the confidence to go out there and do it at this high level.

Scoop: Do you come to practice every day with the mentality that, "OK, I need to show them that I'm the best player in here because I'm not going to really get a chance until maybe the Olympics or next year to prove to these guys that I am better than everyone else around me?"

Harden: No, it's more team. I'm not really focused on me individually. They don't really care about individual talents on this team. They just want to make sure everyone has the same mindset. The one goal to win the world championship. I think that's what's on everyone's minds.

Scoop: Best time of your life right now?

Harden: Yeah. Definitely. I'm enjoying this. Still trying to catch guys like LeBron, KD and Kobe. You know, just trying to catch those guys. That's something I get to look forward to every single day to motivate me.

Scoop: That's your motivation? Still those guys? Because you know you can still serve them on the court every now and then.

Harden: Listen [long pause], until I get rings I can't say anything.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A bit of a fluff piece.  I liked some of his comments about being team-oriented and focused on that; although, it does seem like being the "best" is important to him on an individual level.

[rockets best fan]

@JG

YEAH...........there will be backlash from that. I can see it now........."Harden disc KD and Lebron say he's best player" and the pundit will run with it. the reality is you can ask a dozen or so players in the league who will probably tell you they are the best. it doesn't mean they are, but they have the confidence they are. nobody will pay attention to the parts where he's talking about the need to get better or work hard in the gym. they will pick at the one or two sentences that can create headlines. in an age where social media in addition to the main stream media can pick every word, action and damn near thought of these athletes apart the only way to keep from saying something that can't be twisted is to say nothing at all. for example look at D-Mo's recent comments that were twisted so far to the left it became a different story. I hate to say it, but the mass majority of sport fans are lemmings to this process. being told what is good and bad through the eyes of the author. problem is usually only the negative stuff will generate headlines so rarely does the good outweigh the bad. I would hate to live in a bubble where peoples were following me around waiting to broadcast my every misstep, making every mole hill into a mountain.

 

that's the reason I like it here. I read a lot of Forums, but I'm only a member of one. the members here aren't lemmings to the process. there are other good sites.......problem is each thread eventually turns into a pissing contest that overpowers the intelligent conversation. here we talk with each other.......not at each other. yeah there's plenty of disagreement, but rarely does it degenerate to the gutter before some intervention takes place. I want to take a second to recognize our mods in their efforts to uphold that standard. you make the reading experience here pleasurable. without your steady hand we could easily slip below standards we all agree are necessary for intelligent conversation. I don't envy what you do. it's a real job handling some of the newbies and rookies until they either bring their thought process up to standard or leave. these last 2 years with the influx of Lin fans this task was more than a hand full I know. thanks for your dedication guys. your efforts do not go unnoticed. to the other members here.....you have enriched my basketball experience through having a place I can discuss basketball with others who understand the game also.