Hardens stat line from his first game in Houston:
37pts, 6reb, 12ast, 4stl, 1blk
Wow… Houston has got to be pretty pumped lol.
“don’t jump young blood”
[quote]gregron wrote:
Hardens stat line from his first game in Houston:
37pts, 6reb, 12ast, 4stl, 1blk
Wow… Houston has got to be pretty pumped lol.[/quote]
Watched all the way til the start of the 4th, and while he had killer numbers, they’re a bit misleading. He got quite a few points off of leakouts and garbage layups, and had a few plays where he looked like he’d never dribbled a ball before, and the Rockets as a whole looked sloppy as hell most of the night.
But, this is a young team that’s had basically no time to prepare, and once Lin and Harden get used to eachother they’re gonna be murder off the pick-n-roll. Also, even though it was just Detroit, Harden was getting to the rim damn near at will, and he’s automatic from 3 when open. Once the team starts understanding spacing and gets their plays set, they’ll be tough.
Barring injury, I think Harden will be a 23/5/5 guy here. I’d like to see how he does as the man against better comp though before I get to far on that limb.
[quote]chillain wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
So whiteflash and any other LAL fans that this applies to:
Kobe is retiring in 2 years, are you planning on going to watch an LAL home game before he retires?[/quote]
Just seeing this now, raj.
Pretty unlikely for me.
[/quote]
Can’t really see myself going to LA for a game, but definitely gonna try and catch a game here.
[quote]chillain wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
So whiteflash and any other LAL fans that this applies to:
Kobe is retiring in 2 years, are you planning on going to watch an LAL home game before he retires?[/quote]
Just seeing this now, raj.
Pretty unlikely for me.
[/quote]
But…aren’t you in LA?
I thought you’d have already seen him play live at staples
^^ I am but I’ve actually only been to Staples for LAC games.
The markup for LAL is fairly ridiculous and as I’ve mentioned before, I grew up watching Magic and am (prob) forever biased towards all-around, playmaker types ahead of pure scorers.
So while I’ll be actively seeking a hookup on this year’s tickets, its still more about Stevie Nash and D12 alongside Bryant and Gasol than any one player, however he stacks up all-time.
This shot chart is why Harden is so good. He only takes shots from the most efficient spots on the floor, and he is above average from all those spots.
Also like WF says he gets to the rim at will, I’d go so far as to say he’s second behind CP3 at operation the Pick and Roll. They are the best at using their butt as a weapon, keeping their defender on their back hip if the defender goes over the screen, and surveying the floor while they drive.
Surprised Lakers are 0-2, but it took the Heat a long time to figure out how to work their stars together, and they seemed to turn out OK. As much as I love to rib Lakers fans, I wouldn’t be worried yet.
[quote]scj119 wrote:
This shot chart is why Harden is so good. He only takes shots from the most efficient spots on the floor, and he is above average from all those spots.
Also like WF says he gets to the rim at will, I’d go so far as to say he’s second behind CP3 at operation the Pick and Roll. They are the best at using their butt as a weapon, keeping their defender on their back hip if the defender goes over the screen, and surveying the floor while they drive.[/quote]
That’s a great point. Harden, CP, Deron Williams, etc… Have “old man game”. They’re all obviously athletic, but they beat you with angles and understanding the game, not with athleticism. These guys don’t often blow by the defender, but they’ll use stutter steps, hesitations, feel you on their hip and give little elbows, shit like that.
Imagine if this ends up being the downfall of OKC, they never win or reach the finals for the remainder of Durant’s current contract. That would suck.
I also think the Bulls window is pretty much closed as well, their bench is getting too expensive. Their chance was last year before Rose’s knee exploded.
Raps just extended Demar DeRozan for 4 years/38M
Do you guys forsee this guy getting any better? He’s only 23, but I haven’t really seen him make progress during his rookie contract.
I always foudn that move by Harden to keep his arms fully extended and the ball so far from his body while driving pretty interesting. Why the hell does no one else do that? It seems to serve him well in drawing fouls.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Imagine if this ends up being the downfall of OKC, they never win or reach the finals for the remainder of Durant’s current contract. That would suck.
I also think the Bulls window is pretty much closed as well, their bench is getting too expensive. Their chance was last year before Rose’s knee exploded.
[/quote]
I don’t think their window is closed but losing Asik did hurt. They can amnesty Boozer (considering his horrid defense I’m not sure he’s a net positive, especially when Rose is healthy and they need his scoring less) and sign Gibson.
But GOD DAMN is that front office cheap. Didn’t match Asik’s contract, gave up Korver literally for free… drafting Rose and hiring Thibs has tricked people into forgetting how bad they have been with personnel the last decade, when Rose was pure luck of the draw in the lottery (not the Front Office’s skill). What else have they done?
Traded LaMarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas on draft night. Gave up on pre-injury Elton Brand (the bordlerline All-Star version). Gave up on Tyson Chandler. Let Brewer go who was a key guy on the 2nd unit. Borderline weird obsession with Kirk Hinrich. Signed Boozer to a ridiculous contract for a 6’7" PF who plays no defense. Signed Rip Hamilton and kept him over Korver despite the fact he’s old and hasn’t played 70 games in a season since 07-08.
Ugh. About the only thing they’ve done well is drafting Asik, Gibson and Noah. Not counting Rose because anyone in the world would have taken him first overall, didn’t exactly require a team of experts.
If anything, their window is closed because the front office will do more harm than good… the current pieces plus a GOOD front office would still be a contender.
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
that I think he’s a poor man’s Kobe Bryant. Mark Cuban recently said he thinks he can become a star in the near future. Memphis was holding this guy back…watch out for OJ Mayo.
You first heard it here folks.[/quote]
A fucking destitute man’s Kobe Bryant. He’s played 303 NBA games and has never improved or shown any consistency at all. He is what he is at this point.
What are you even talking about anyway? In 2 games he’s scored 12 points / 3 assists in each with a dazzling 31% shooting
[quote]scj119 wrote:
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
that I think he’s a poor man’s Kobe Bryant. Mark Cuban recently said he thinks he can become a star in the near future. Memphis was holding this guy back…watch out for OJ Mayo.
You first heard it here folks.[/quote]
A fucking destitute man’s Kobe Bryant. He’s played 303 NBA games and has never improved or shown any consistency at all. He is what he is at this point.
What are you even talking about anyway? In 2 games he’s scored 12 points / 3 assists in each with a dazzling 31% shooting[/quote]
You disagree with Mark Cuban I see. Let’s not get caught up in semantics but OJ Mayo has huge upside, a lot of people have been saying that. I’m just telling you now so you don’t get all surprised when he blows up.
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
[quote]scj119 wrote:
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
that I think he’s a poor man’s Kobe Bryant. Mark Cuban recently said he thinks he can become a star in the near future. Memphis was holding this guy back…watch out for OJ Mayo.
You first heard it here folks.[/quote]
A fucking destitute man’s Kobe Bryant. He’s played 303 NBA games and has never improved or shown any consistency at all. He is what he is at this point.
What are you even talking about anyway? In 2 games he’s scored 12 points / 3 assists in each with a dazzling 31% shooting[/quote]
You disagree with Mark Cuban I see. Let’s not get caught up in semantics but OJ Mayo has huge upside, a lot of people have been saying that. I’m just telling you now so you don’t get all surprised when he blows up.
[/quote]
People have been saying that for 4 years and he has REGRESSED if anything.
Mayo is on the Mavericks, what the hell else is Cuban gonna say? “We didn’t really like him but he was the best available at the time”? Of course he’s not going to say that about his own player.
Also you act like Cuban has never been wrong about a player evaluation. He spent about 100 million on Brendan Haywood, Erick Dampier and DaSagana Diop, and let Nash walk when he thought Nash was done.
Throughout his 4 years in memphis, the following stats declined over time: minutes, points, FG%, FT%, 3PT%, FTA, REB, AST. I’ve watched OJ Mayo play. I’m familiar with his work. That’s all I’m saying.
Well we agree to disagree. None of that matters now - he’s on a new team and he has the spotlight. I’m willing to change my position if he doesn’t produce this season.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Raps just extended Demar DeRozan for 4 years/38M
Do you guys forsee this guy getting any better? He’s only 23, but I haven’t really seen him make progress during his rookie contract.[/quote]
He’s still really young. I personally think he plays like a way more athletic but way less polished Paul Pierce. If he continues to put in work he’ll be no joke.
[quote]scj119 wrote:
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
[quote]scj119 wrote:
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
that I think he’s a poor man’s Kobe Bryant. Mark Cuban recently said he thinks he can become a star in the near future. Memphis was holding this guy back…watch out for OJ Mayo.
You first heard it here folks.[/quote]
A fucking destitute man’s Kobe Bryant. He’s played 303 NBA games and has never improved or shown any consistency at all. He is what he is at this point.
What are you even talking about anyway? In 2 games he’s scored 12 points / 3 assists in each with a dazzling 31% shooting[/quote]
You disagree with Mark Cuban I see. Let’s not get caught up in semantics but OJ Mayo has huge upside, a lot of people have been saying that. I’m just telling you now so you don’t get all surprised when he blows up.
[/quote]
People have been saying that for 4 years and he has REGRESSED if anything.
Mayo is on the Mavericks, what the hell else is Cuban gonna say? “We didn’t really like him but he was the best available at the time”? Of course he’s not going to say that about his own player.
Also you act like Cuban has never been wrong about a player evaluation. He spent about 100 million on Brendan Haywood, Erick Dampier and DaSagana Diop, and let Nash walk when he thought Nash was done.
Throughout his 4 years in memphis, the following stats declined over time: minutes, points, FG%, FT%, 3PT%, FTA, REB, AST. I’ve watched OJ Mayo play. I’m familiar with his work. That’s all I’m saying.
[/quote]
And you’ve said a lot.
Realistically, Mayo has as much chance of a sudden break out in his 5th NBA season as Mike Vick does of suddenly figuring out how to read NFL defenses.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
I always foudn that move by Harden to keep his arms fully extended and the ball so far from his body while driving pretty interesting. Why the hell does no one else do that? It seems to serve him well in drawing fouls.[/quote]
You can’t really teach dribble-drive penetration. Its mostly instinct, quickness, and footwork (which is also instinct, given the speed and athleticism that everyone’s got at any higher level)
And having a legit j that the def has to respect, that also works wonders.