Report: Chris Paul, James Harden argued about Rockets’ offensive style

Making up what?

 

I hate to admit it but what they discussed is an issue that is 100% on Harden and MDA. Harden needs to be ready to do whatever it takes to win. If it means to run without the ball so be it. It should be all about whatever gives the team best chance to win and not what your best player wants. MDA needs to hold Harden accountable.

 

Yeah, I know Harden should have been a bit more aggressive in some parts of the games, but he also needs decent teammates. Capela and Paul didn't show up in the whole series.... I know Paul played well in game 6, but that wasn't enough. Gordon also didn't show up in games 5 and 6. If Harden had teammates who are consistent, we would now be in the finals. The only 2 players that can hold their head up high in the whole series/playoffs is Tucker and Harden.... and Gordon to some extent.

 

I’d take that video with a grain of salt. Other talking heads are reporting the complete opposite of Rose. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Regardless, we need a new system (offense and defense). I don’t think that happens with Mike in town, regardless of the personnel on the court. But we shall see.

 

Oh boy where to start.

First of all, in case you haven't noticed Harden takes possessions off. He always has. And especially since Paul has been here. Not just in the playoffs when we're losing but when we're winning in the regular season and playoffs especially.

Before we acquired Paul (and before the Warriors acquired KD) i told you we needed another playmaker that could take the ball and make plays at an elite level sans Harden. And it most likely needed to come at the expense of either Bev's or Ariza's spot, maybe both. And we probably needed 3 guys, not just two. That was before KD.

You have to understand something here. Harden puts his body through the meat grinder game after game. He probably initiates the offense around 60-70 times a game. Crouching with the dribble, shaking, sliding, between the leg, step back, hesi, etc., those are all little man moves. But he weighs 230-240. He ain't a little man. Then he goes inside and bumps and bangs around with all the monsters.

When you understand the physical torture then you understand why James throws the ball to cp3 and walks up. He's hoping and wanting cp3 to create a bucket while he gets an on court breather.

As far as the arguing.... understand this. They BELIEVED they were better than the Warriors. They believed they had the talent to get it done. Paul wanted some tweaks, yes. And he was probably right. Paul has more bball iq than Harden.

What Harden and Paul and MDA were doing is like what an Indy race car cree does during the race. Tweak. Tweak the wing and tail angle. Tweak the throttle. Tweak the settings to try to make the car run optimally. They thought they had the right setup, the right chassis, motor, transmission, rear end, and engine peripherals. Harden and Paul thought they had all that. It was down to tweaks.

And that's not the problem. And i think (hope) Harden (and MDA and Morey) finally realized it. It was the car itself, the combination of the parts of the car that was and is the issue.

The chassis (the system) needs to be changed to a read pick-and-pop pick-and-roll system. And with a new chassis we need to change some of the peripherals (role players) attached to the motor/ transmission (Harden/ Paul).

It's a roster issue, not a tweaking issue. We need the right roster to upgrade the system to produce a better competitor, a faster, more reliable car.

But when you're in the heat of the moment and you're close (but maxed out) and you think you can just tweak ther car wing and win the race but ther other guy thinks you need to tweak the throttle and leave the wing alone during the race and whatever tweaks are made don't work...... then you see these moments.

Hopefully for all of us these guys do a deep dive and figure it out. With all due respect to Cp3 and Harden there were no tweaks that were going to put us atop the Warriors. The Warriors have a superior set up. They could counter anything we tried.

We need to change the setup, the system. We need to find ancillary guys that can read the defense, and either set a pick or spot up or dive to the rim, then when they set the pick they can read the defense again to slip it out set it hard and then read the defense again to either roll to the rim or pop outside for the 3.

The same guys defensively have to be able to switch into an iso and handle that as well as handle a post up.

And many will say that's impossible. Or.... youre describing a superstar. And my response to that is get a gut with the basic skill set needed (Uthoff/ARandolph/Bolden/others) plug him into that system and get chemistry working. It will work. And stock up on those parts. Do not stock your salary cap with one dimensional players that can't do what we need done.

We got everything we could get out of this roster using the system we used. Everybody played the best they were capable of. They played to their max level. And yes that includes Capela. Capela didn't dog it. He gave everything he had to give.

Gotta get the right parts and upgrade the system.

 

Jimmy Butler is the only guy that can rev the engine IMO

 

Not sure if he really has “insider” information, but what he’s saying seems pretty likely to me regardless. You think Chris Paul, a guy who is known for being an alpha and barking at teammates who aren’t running the offense correctly, is just going to keep quiet during huddles in a pivotal playoff game when Harden is playing the way he’s playing?

 

There is a universe of difference between these two things:

1) Paul being annoyed and telling Harden that doing nothing off the ball might have cost us the game.
2) Harden had the energy to move off the ball, just didn't do it, Chris Paul calls him an a-hole, Harden barks back, the argument spills into the locker room, Paul feels like Harden doesn't have HIS back, Harden not giving a damn.

Everything has a cost. If your team needs you superstar to take the highest proportion of contested shots ever, get fouled more than almost anyone in the playoffs, and make all those shots at a high volume and high efficiency against 2 of the top defenses in the NBA all while playing more minutes than most NBA players both during the regular season and in the playoffs...

Yes, that energy has to come from somewhere. Yes Paul is right to question it without questioning Harden's will to win. Yes the mature thing for Harden to do at that emotional juncture is to disengage until emotions have mellowed out and logic prevails a bit more.

There's nothing Harden needs to learn here except that on 1 or 2 plays, he should have rested in the corner instead of being between half court and 3pt line. Having just put together an insanely productive series against the Warriors on both ends of the floor, no one wants to here another player nitpicking at what they could have done better for 1 or 2 plays, especially not from the guy who didn't show up for most of 5 games.

 

So he’s our r Kelly’? Key to the ignition.

 

THIS a ****ing million times this.

Harden needs to grow the **** up.

DD

 

No Excuses.

DD

 

You can't ask Harden for more. There are no flawless players. It's his one flaw, the overall product is excellent and as likely to win a championship as any other superstar given equivalent rosters/coaching. I don't even recall there ever being such a poor defender elevating his defense this much out of nowhere. It never happens, and as recently as a year ago his defense was considered a hopeless area.

Durant couldn't win without Curry. Curry couldn't win without Thompson/Draymond and also the Finals MVP Iguodala. Lebron couldn't win without Wade/Irving. Jordan couldn't win without Pippen. These guys all got over their "inability" to carry a team by attaching themselves to other top 10 players.

Look at the big picture. Getting within 1 or 2 wins of a championship is as far as Lebron/Durant got without their superstar sidekick. You want Harden to win like them? Then he can win it JUST LIKE THEM. He will join a team that spends like crazy and has secured another top 10 player. The only reason this looks this way is that he has intentionally chosen a tougher path, and that path is to win it with his own team. As a fan, you MUST appreciate that rare trait.

Looking at one flaw and calling it an excuse is an emotional reaction. If he were an FA and we had cap space and he were available and we knew this about him, we would throw $40m/season at him without thinking twice. As would the Lakers, Knicks, Nets and Clippers.

 

Curry looked terrible most of our series. Ended well obviously.

If he was a litle older, everyone would have been saying that Curry was done.

I still think Harden and CP3 can get it done.

 

It's not just 1 or 2 plays. IF Harden really was tired and needed rest (which I don't really buy), then as you pointed out, he should just stand in a corner or anywhere at the 3pt line, just like everybody else on the floor. I don't even expect him to be like Curry or Klay running around behind screens, just stand there to be a spot up shooter for some plays and let CP run the offense. Why didn't they do that?

 

Obvious response coming: Fatigued people do dumb things.

 

Remove HARDEN from the equation?

Which Rockets stepped up in the Golden State series?

Pj.

Rocket River

 

This. I find it hilarious that CP3 is arguing about play style when he played like crap the whole series except game 6. Give me a break if he was so concerned with winning he wouldn’t have hamstrung the team with that contract. This is his last chance and he’s either been hurt or played like ass when it mattered.
The system is t making you run head first into a defender hoping for a call and turning the ball over.

 

These guys are now making things up to take shots at James. The Rockets lost to a better team. They need to let it go. Damn.

 

Who was the better team Golden St. Or Houston?

 

Yes, you can, if you want to win a ring. He needs to mature and stop pouting out there.....and he needs to embrace the 7 seconds or less offense that MDA wants to run, when we run, we are much better.

Harden is the problem and the solution - and hell yes you can expect more, he can be a better player by being a more supportive teammate when he doesn't have the ball.

This is both Morey and D'Antoni's fault for kissing his ass and not coaching him or demanding more of him as a player....enablers rarely win.

DD