Rondo could be a very bad fit. He works best with the ball in his hands and shooters on the floor. All three of Howard/Harden/Rondo really need the ball. Rondo is a terrible long ball shooter which is a big problem if they post up Howard.
Rondo would be a better fit than the other guy who comes up in rumors, Carmelo Anthony. Imagine Harden and Anthony fighting over the ball. Howard would become the world's best Robin Lopez on offense.
I think Rondo could be decent if Harden is okay ending ISO ball. The Rockets would be the best PnR team if McHale allowed it to happen.
I dunno. He lacks explosiveness, so his game is rather ground-based, and he's only 6'4". He has a solid body and long arms that help him against many teams, but Wes Matthews is as big, or bigger, than Harden in terms of bulk, and Batum has length that bothers Harden. Harden reminds me a bit of Adrian Dantley, in that he is and can be an elite scorer who creates his own offense, but lacks ideal size to be a true MVP. He also reminds me of Brandon Roy a bit, but Brandon was a legitimate 6'6" SG who also had a bit of a post game if he needed it.
"Said on the radio that this would take a while to get over because he believes they were the better team." Better players, maybe, but clearly not the better team. Didn't the Finals against Miami make that abundantly clear?
The refs affected the score board in the Rockets favor every game. Now I do believe the Rockets held a lead for more minutes during the series, but the Blazers came through with the great push in the end. The series should have been a 4-0 sweep.
I think that's a testament to how WELL Lopez played in that series. Everyone... EVERYONE said that Howard was going to "destroy" Lopez, and while Howard still got his... Lopez never backed down. He never stopped giving 100% every play. He never put his head down after Howard dunked on him possession after possession. He just came back and kept battling. If there's a Blazer outside of LA and Dame that deserves credit for winning that series, it's Lopez.
Hardin was a big problem in that series, he shot poorly mostly because he got into his own head and didn't know how to draw a foul and that seems to be the only thing he cared about doing and on D we just ate him alive. He got it going a few games but late he was gassed from having to work hard to just get the ball and having Weasley go into him constantly on D.
He mad. As Quick pointed out, James is a fraud. He initiates contact and looks to dupe the refs on every drive. When the refs don't buy his flops he is a chucker who plays no defense. Brandon Roy he is not.
Boo-fucking-hoo. Maybe he should take the ball to the basket like a man instead of faking, flopping, leaning in and whatever other bullshit he tries just to get fouled.
The sad thing is that the talent is there. He could be great just on his talent alone, but he literally spends every single possession trying to draw a foul. Every single possession. He spends more time trying to draw contact than he does trying to get a good look. That's not how the game is supposed to be played and I think the refs are starting to catch on.
I love this reaction. Yep, James, you're right. The Rockets were better, they just got hosed by bad refs, bad luck, whatever. That's exactly the lesson I'd like the Rockets to take from the series.
I just find them blaming the refs to be so completely ironic. Here is a team that makes the refs such a huge part of their game plan, and yet they are crying about the refs. It's laughable.
Repped for summing up exactly how I feel. Yeah yeah, the beard is annoying and all but aside from that he is a player like I COULD really like. But you are right in that he just rubs me the wrong way with trying so damn hard to get a foul every time. I get there are times when you need to do it but every fucking time? He could still be a good player without it and even develop into a great player but it just simply tells me that he is too lazy to put in the work.
There's a perfect example from the highlights for game 6. Dwight sets a pick, Harden curls around the pick and Wes is chasing him. Harden slams on the breaks so that Wes will slam into him from behind and as soon as he feels the contact he shoots an off balance leaner. I think the shot went in, but the refs didn't bite. It embodies everything that Harden stands for. He would rather try to draw a foul in that situation than get a good shot.
