Said on the radio that this would take a while to get over because he believes they were the better team. Said no disrespect to Portland, that Portland beat them, but he feels they gave away games 1 and 4 Thought I'd share what some Houston people are saying
He was a great shooter in the series. He didn't play badly at all. Now, Howard and Asik vs. Lopez...that's where the Rockets underwhelmed.
He did not shoot all that well. I don't think he was terrible on O (I think Harden is terribly overrated, so I really wasn't shocked by his overall performance, but Wes was on him like white on rice). But as for Harden's D....... wet blanket.
Harden needs to change the way he plays the game and maybe this series will help him with that. He's an extremely talented player who way too often relies on the refs over his own talent. He doesn't HAVE to. But it's like second nature for him now. It'll work out OK for him in the regular season. But not when teams scout him heavily for a whole series.
The most aggression Harden showed all series was after Game 4, when Mo was running his mouth on Daniels.
In my dreams OKC trades Westbrook for Harden and kills both teams. I wonder if Houston would consider trading Harden for more of a team player? Nothing against Brandon, but he was more talented than Lillard, but Dame will be on much more successful teams. I don't think Harden is the right fit for the coach or Howard.
I suspect the Rockets will change their style next year. Dwight is playing at a level I haven't seen since early Orlando days. he looks like he can score at will when he gets the ball down low. The offense should go through Howard next year.
I've heard Rondo is a guy they're targeting. I mean that would mean the offense would go through Dwight but at the cost of something like Asik, Parsons, picks and the uncertainty of Rondo who didn't wow anyone after the injury.