ESPN: Portland among "favorites" for Dwight Howard in Free Agency

[riverman]

Rockets lack defense period...it's spreading through the team. Chemistry, coaching, something needs to change to get that franchise back on track. Harden is a rare talent that just doesn't seem to give a shit about making his team better..a paycheck allstar. When guys don't like each other, it usually ends up hurting the team.

 

[Minstrel]

Why don't you also blame the Warriors? The Warriors were all getting back on defense because I bet they all thought in that moment to concede the rebound and get back on defense against a team that likes to run.

Most teams concede offensive rebounds these days, to improve their transition defense. The Spurs have been a proponent of that for years. It has nothing to do with defensive rebounding.

 

[Superbeard]

Rockets lack defense period...it's spreading through the team. Chemistry, coaching, something needs to change to get that franchise back on track. Harden is a rare talent that just doesn't seem to give a shit about making his team better..a paycheck allstar. When guys don't like each other, it usually ends up hurting the team.

It's a coaching chemistry thing definitely. As for Harden it's very hard to say that about him literally any other year. When he's around other talented players such as OKC or team USA all he did was sacrifice his role and shots. It's like everyone that says Harden isn't a winner has completely forgot about the rest of his career and are judging him on this one year.

Most teams concede offensive rebounds these days, to improve their transition defense. The Spurs have been a proponent of that for years. It has nothing to do with defensive rebounding.

My point is many players concede rebounds any ways. Whether it is the team objective to get out and run or get back, If the ball bounces away from you and there are players in your way it's not for the player to jump through guys to get the rebound.

Again, if you want to blame Harden for not defending the layup then yes. But the rebound?

 

[dviss1]

Question: did you like Przybilla?
Question: how long did it take Przybilla to become a semi-decent player? (I honestly don't know.)

I think Meyers already has a bigger positive impact on the game than Joel ever did. And I liked Joel.

While I LOVED Przybilla's attitude, he is somewhat overrated in the forum.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

While I LOVED Przybilla's attitude, he is somewhat overrated in the forum.

He was fan favorite and probably gets a bit of a homer view but that dude brought it every night when we sucked and when we were good. His defense was upper echelon in the league at the time.

 

[H.C.]

Man I don't know what else to say. Harden wasn't in good position to get that rebound. End of story. He was in position to play defense on the layup attempt, but not to get the rebound. Terry was in position to prevent Curry from getting it, in fact look at the play again and look at who Dwight blames for it, he looks immediately at Terry. I'm not sure how you think that was good position for Harden unless you think that he's allowed to crash into two players or just jump over them and meet the ball at it's height. Everyone else, JVG, Jackson, Breen all saw what pretty much everyone else saw of this play at the time. Howard got punked by a PG for a rebound. Period.

What instead happens is that Howard...1v1 against Curry...lost a rebound. Your post makes excuses for Howard losing 1v1 against Curry to instead blame Harden 100% (your words) for that rebound. You can call me bias for the Rockets and I'll call you bias against them and Harden and we can call it even. I'm going to ignore the rest of the post about the Rockets being "Babies" because it too offers nothing to the discussion except to prove that maybe you aren't as unbiased as you may think.

Also no my Edit isn't a joke. Maybe you should talk to Charles about it, maybe you know more about playing basketball than him but he made the case that a PG should not be fighting your big for a rebound. Your example is not the example here, for Harden to have got that rebound he would had to have fought Dwight for the Rebound since the Rebound was coming right his way.

Jeff Van Gundy... Mark Jackson... Chuck.... LOL you're trying to use these guys? LOL I don't even know what to say.
I find that pretty comical.
Believe what you want, defend your team it's your right. You don't even have to make valid points because it's your team.
If I'm biased against Harden according to you, but the majority of people are saying the same thing about Harden... But you disagree with the majority, because the Rockets are your team... Who is wearing blinders? The haters, or the fans.

Howard could have worked harder, he could have knocked Curry on his ass, he could have done this or that. I don't care at least he's got his arms up trying to get a rebound while being boxed out. It's pretty annoying to jump while being boxed out just an fyi. Maybe you should try it.
Athleticism doesn't come into play because Curry catches the ball at net level...(so like 8 feet?)
Harden just stood there and watched...
How you think Terry(who isn't in the lane and is 2-3ft behind Howard) is in better rebounding position than someone with two feet in the lane & one in the restricted is just... I can't even think of a word for it.. I guess I have to go with wrong.
It doesn't matter how much basketball knowledge someone has. At the very least contest the rebound instead of letting Curry(who again catches the ball under the rim) get a wide open layup when you have perfect position to at least knock the ball out of bounds... resetting your defense.
Quick basketball question. Fresh 24 for the offense is better than giving up 2 points because you're lazy right?
It can't be described anyother way it's lazy...
Okay so there are people on the forums who criticize everything Lillard does right, or wrong. It's always his fault.
Yet when CJ makes the same mistake or a worse mistake they ignored it completely. They even ignore it when others ask them about it.
This is what it sounds like for you... When you talk about Harden/Howard. Harden can't do anything wrong even when he is making mistakes. Howard is always wrong regardless if he made mistakes or not.
It's your right. It's your team. You don't have to give equal criticism.

Harden is wrong in this play, theres no other way around it.
Even casual fans who don't care are looking at the beard before howard.

 

[Superbeard]

Jeff Van Gundy... Mark Jackson... Chuck.... LOL you're trying to use these guys? LOL I don't even know what to say.
I find that pretty comical.
Believe what you want, defend your team it's your right. You don't even have to make valid points because it's your team.
If I'm biased against Harden according to you, but the majority of people are saying the same thing about Harden... But you disagree with the majority, because the Rockets are your team... Who is wearing blinders? The haters, or the fans.

Howard could have worked harder, he could have knocked Curry on his ass, he could have done this or that. I don't care at least he's got his arms up trying to get a rebound while being boxed out. It's pretty annoying to jump while being boxed out just an fyi. Maybe you should try it.
Athleticism doesn't come into play because Curry catches the ball at net level...(so like 8 feet?)
Harden just stood there and watched...
How you think Terry(who isn't in the lane and is 2-3ft behind Howard) is in better rebounding position than someone with two feet in the lane & one in the restricted is just... I can't even think of a word for it.. I guess I have to go with wrong.
It doesn't matter how much basketball knowledge someone has. At the very least contest the rebound instead of letting Curry(who again catches the ball under the rim) get a wide open layup when you have perfect position to at least knock the ball out of bounds... resetting your defense.
Quick basketball question. Fresh 24 for the offense is better than giving up 2 points because you're lazy right?
It can't be described anyother way it's lazy...
Okay so there are people on the forums who criticize everything Lillard does right, or wrong. It's always his fault.
Yet when CJ makes the same mistake or a worse mistake they ignored it completely. They even ignore it when others ask them about it.
This is what it sounds like for you... When you talk about Harden/Howard. Harden can't do anything wrong even when he is making mistakes. Howard is always wrong regardless if he made mistakes or not.
It's your right. It's your team. You don't have to give equal criticism.

Harden is wrong in this play, theres no other way around it.
Even casual fans who don't care are looking at the beard before howard.

Seriously? You are laughing at the opinion of Jeff Van Gundy? A NBA coach that has an extensive coaching tree and has coached his team to the finals? Jeff Van Gundy has forgotten more about basketball than both of us combined.

Majority of what people? Fans?
I'll believe what people around the game say about Harden. The players voted him the MVP and coaches continue to honor him with Team USA selections and all-star selections seems to think they think the world of Harden and him as player. Fans thought Kobe was a selfish prick me ball player too that would quit on his team every now and then and it really doesn't make them right. Dirk was a softie choker. I really find the narratives fans hold onto sometimes to be waaay off.

So the Haters are wearing blinders here. Harden has accomplished a ton in his career outside of MVP and a Championship. He's accomplished more than Tmac or Yao ever accomplished and just gets crapped on for basically having one bad season.

Athleticism comes into play for Curry and Dwight because they are directly under the ball. You keep ignoring this fact. The ball isn't going to bounce Harden's way and there is no need for him to go crashing into Dwight and Curry for a rebound that is not near him...and Terry was even further away and further out of position. If Terry had any inclinations to get that rebound then he would have stopped Curry. How do I know this? Because the Rockets were dumb enough to think that Terry could guard Curry and that was Terry's man. 100% fact on that.

You are more worried about if I have a bias then addressing the issue here. One, that ball was for Curry/Dwight. Everyone else on the court reacts this way and everyone that seen this play talks about it in this way. Two, some bigs do not like fighting their guards for rebounds. I can tell you certainly I've seen every Rocket game there is. Dwight will fight his guards and even visibly get upset when they come in crashing in and steal his rebounds. That's Dwight as I said Hakeem was the same way, it's not exactly a bad trait(unless you get schooled by a PG on how to box out), it is what it is. Except that Hakeem wasn't passive aggressive and he had complete control of the paint and no one on either team doubted this. There is no contesting that rebound, it wasn't in his vicinity and the ball was always dropping between Curry or Dwight.

I never said Harden was perfect (I said he should have defended the layup...) and could do no wrong but going by some fans opinion on him he's a bum, lazy loser who is completely incapable of playing on a team is quite frankly silly. If that's your opinion of him then you are going to have to explain his success as a player, why he's named captain of the FIBA USA team, why he's selected for said team, why he stuck on the bench at OKC despite being asked to start, why his team went to the WCF last year, why the players voted him as MVP....if after all this you think Harden is a lazy player that is incapable of playing team ball then perhaps you are the biased one who won't allow your opinion on a player to change.

 

[Natebishop3]

Question: did you like Przybilla?
Question: how long did it take Przybilla to become a semi-decent player? (I honestly don't know.)

I think Meyers already has a bigger positive impact on the game than Joel ever did. And I liked Joel.

I loved Przybilla. Leonard is not Przybilla. They're not even remotely the same type of player. And we didn't draft Joel. We signed him.

Meyers is Channing Frye.

 

[BoomChakaLaka]

Not remotely interested in Howard. I say we shoot for Whiteside and LeBron

 

[blue9]

I loved Przybilla. Leonard is not Przybilla. They're not even remotely the same type of player. And we didn't draft Joel. We signed him.

Meyers is Channing Frye.

Exactly my point. Meyers is a completely different player than Joel, and because it's largely seen as offense vs defense at C everyone loves Joel and hates Meyers.. But Meyers provides a bigger impact on the game. Joel is Ed Davis - at their best they affect the defensive end and that's the extent of their impact. And even on defense they often have little impact. Meyers doesn't always, but CAN affect the game on both ends of the court. But because of a few surface flaws everyone hates him.
Joel was so overrated, and Meyers is equally underrated.

 

[BigGameDamian]

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/241752/Mavs-Have-Dwight-Howard-Atop-Offseason-Wishlist

The Dallas Mavericks have Dwight Howard at the top of their wish list heading into the offseason.

Howard is expected to opt out of his contract with the Houston Rockets.

Howard remains good friends with Chandler Parsons, who played a big role in recruiting DeAndre Jordan last offseason.

 

[B-Roy]

Exactly my point. Meyers is a completely different player than Joel, and because it's largely seen as offense vs defense at C everyone loves Joel and hates Meyers.. But Meyers provides a bigger impact on the game. Joel is Ed Davis - at their best they affect the defensive end and that's the extent of their impact. And even on defense they often have little impact. Meyers doesn't always, but CAN affect the game on both ends of the court. But because of a few surface flaws everyone hates him.
Joel was so overrated, and Meyers is equally underrated.

Joel is not Ed Davis. Aside from being good rebounders they're really nothing alike. Ed finishes around the rim really well and has good hands. Joel couldn't catch a basketball. On the other end though, Joel was about as intimidating of a shotblocker as Biyombo. Ed is average at best. Different players.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Question: did you like Przybilla?
Question: how long did it take Przybilla to become a semi-decent player? (I honestly don't know.)

I think Meyers already has a bigger positive impact on the game than Joel ever did. And I liked Joel.

but do you like Joel at the money Meyers is wanting?

 

[BonesJones]

I guarantee Dwight goes to Dallas.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Dirk is opting out to make room I think.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Dallas is the new NBA Old Folks Home.

 

[stampedehero]

How would Paul Milsapp fit with him? Gasol? Ryan Anderson?

I like your idea for Milsap

 

[Minstrel]

Dallas struck out on DeAndre Jordan, so they might as well get an older, worse and declining version.

In fact, even that's overstating Howard's case. He's no longer nearly as good a defender and rebounder as Jordan and Jordan's sole offensive value--finishing on the pick-and-roll--isn't something Howard brings, as he's disdainful of playing that sort of game. He wants the ball entered into him as if he's a low-post threat.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Dallas is the new NBA Old Folks Home.

also home to wayward point guards

 

[H.C.]

Seriously? You are laughing at the opinion of Jeff Van Gundy? A NBA coach that has an extensive coaching tree and has coached his team to the finals? Jeff Van Gundy has forgotten more about basketball than both of us combined.

I'm laughing at you bringing up people who have said such crazy things that really make you question their ability to talk about basketball.
JVG was the coach when the Rockets had a lot of talent right? I don't have to name the players, you're a Rocket fan. One could say he underachieved. But that doesn't matter. On paper he still is the best one of the three you mentioned.
But lets remember you also mentioned Chuck - LOL? and Mark Jackson - even more LOL.
I'll also bring up the fact that in the 38second video the announcers are gushing over Curry. Not over Howard getting boxed out. They're gushing over Curry's Fundamental Box out. Which is what I said it is not?

That's a great play by Curry... excellent fundamental boxout... It shows size doesn't matter if you are fundamentally sound.

So I guess the announcers in the clip you provided agree with me. Unless there is more? I don't know.. But the vine/vid you provided certainly say they agree with me... Rather than you.

So the Haters are wearing blinders here. Harden has accomplished a ton in his career outside of MVP and a Championship. He's accomplished more than Tmac or Yao ever accomplished and just gets crapped on for basically having one bad season.

I would like you challenge you to find me saying this in a post. That Harden isn't an accomplished NBA player. If you can find that I said those specific words, then we can discuss this. Simply because I believe you're putting words in my mouth. Stick to my posts not others if you're going to discuss this poor play by Harden with me.
Until then I'll say again what I've said in these posts.
Harden is lazy and it hurts his team. The Rockets have lost games because of Harden doing things like he does in this play. It adds fuel to the fire because Harden was a pretty okay defender and extra effort player in OKC. So he can do it if he wants to. He has other responsibilities now that he's not playing with KD/Westbrick but... So does Curry.(see this play)
The Rockets lost a game in the playoffs in 14 because James Harden didn't get back when Howard was at the FT line. He gave up a layup to his man. You know who did get back? Howard. I could name more... But the point is made.

Athleticism comes into play for Curry and Dwight because they are directly under the ball. You keep ignoring this fact. The ball isn't going to bounce Harden's way and there is no need for him to go crashing into Dwight and Curry for a rebound that is not near him...and Terry was even further away and further out of position.

They can be under the ball but neither player really jumps. Go watch the play again. you should(non-homer glasses now) see Curry catch the ball around the bottom of the net. If I'm not mistaken that's around 8 feet is it not? regardless 8 feet isn't too high... Harden's lack of athleticism unless he has a good running start... As you put it shouldn't really come into play right? I mean he can dunk easily right?

Terry was in position to prevent Curry from getting it. I'm not sure how you think that was good position for Harden unless you think that he's allowed to crash into two players or just jump over them and meet the ball at it's height.

One post you say Terry is in position, another post you say he's even further out of position.
Lets just not discuss Terry okay? I agree with you. He's not in position at all for the rebound.. I've said it in 2 different posts now... But the ball isn't caught above the rim or at it's height/apex. It's caught under the rim.

You are more worried about if I have a bias then addressing the issue here.

No, I'm flat out saying you're biased towards Howard. Hell I don't like Howard it's why I called him a baby... It's not just Howard who is a baby on the Rockets though..
To ignore Harden in the play like you are doing... Saying he has no chance for the rebound, or it's not specifically his job to get rebounds is really wrong.
Main ball handlers have won rings by getting a defensive rebound and leading the fast break. All the great bigs have said. "If I didn't get the rebound I was rim-running."
This was a perfect chance for James Harden to make the game easier for his teammate Howard.
Which is what the best player on the team is supposed to do.
He could have jumped and got the rebound. Giving Howard the opportunity to "rim-run". If he didn't "rim-run" that's on Howard.. (Westbrick and CP3 do it all the time for their bigs. Rondo did it for the Celtics.. I could go on)
But for this specific play he didn't have the opportunity because he was fundamentally boxed out. While being expected to get the rebound while the Superstar on the Rockets just watched...
You can see Harden's eyes in the vine. He stands and watches!
But you're allowed to be biased towards one player, and ignore the lack of effort by another because you're a Fan. I mean your name on this forum is a play on Harden's beard. One can assume he's obviously your fav current player and you're going to defend him to the end regardless of what is said.

some bigs do not like fighting their guards for rebounds. I can tell you certainly I've seen every Rocket game there is. Dwight will fight his guards and even visibly get upset when they come in crashing in and steal his rebounds.

This is exactly why I'm not a fan of Howard. It's not a winning basketball play. There are other ways to do your job. But I'm not involved in the situation so I can't comment on the validity of this. Or why he is upset. Only that yes I have seen him upset for the Rockets when Beverly knocks the ball out of his hands and it goes out of bounds.


PS - I'm ignoring the layup that Curry made because to me that's a different play. You did say Harden could have played defense on it. To me though.... It never should have got there. That's why I'm ignoring the layup made by Curry specifically. I do give you credit for saying Harden should have played defense on the layup.

It took me so long to reply because I'm a busy guy. ^^ sorry.

 

[Natebishop3]

Cuban just won't see that he needs to blow it up.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Cuban just won't see that he needs to blow it up.

I bet he will when Dirk retires or wants to go to a contender.

 

[HolyBackboard]

Cuban just won't see that he needs to blow it up.

To be fair, there's no need to rebuild until Dirk decides to retire. I admire the fact that Dirk wants to retire as a Maverick and the team is doing everything they can to remain competitive (within reason - i.e. no dealing multiple future draft picks) in his final years. Hall of Fame players just don't stick around with one team anymore, so to see it with guys like Dirk and Timmy, it's refreshing. I want Dame to be that exception for Portland as well.

 

[Natebishop3]

To be fair, there's no need to rebuild until Dirk decides to retire. I admire the fact that Dirk wants to retire as a Maverick and the team is doing everything they can to remain competitive (within reason - i.e. no dealing multiple future draft picks) in his final years. Hall of Fame players just don't stick around with one team anymore, so to see it with guys like Dirk and Timmy, it's refreshing. I want Dame to be that exception for Portland as well.

Dirk is is still their best player. The Spurs have done a much better job at drafting and acquiring talent. Duncan is fading out, but they have Leonard and Aldridge. Who does Dallas have? Wes? Parsons? Adding Howard wouldn't help that problem.

Having Dirk as the third best player would be fine, but that's not the case. They're not going to win anything with this current configuration.

 

[santeesioux]

So they're going to hand out large deals to Howard and Parsons? After Dirk retires their big three would be them and Wes, doesn't seem like a big time playoff team.

They do need to rebuild.

 

[Sinobas]

If your choice is Dwight or nothing wouldn't you still want him? He's an upgrade over Mason Plumlee.

 

[Minstrel]

If your choice is Dwight or nothing wouldn't you still want him? He's an upgrade over Mason Plumlee.

At star/superstar salary? I'd rather nothing. A minor upgrade on Plumlee for a huge chunk of the team's cap is worse than no upgrade at all.

 

[B-Roy]

Dwight's max contract starts at close to 30M.

Not only will the Blazers NOT have that amount of free cap room, but no team in the right mind would offer it to him.

 

[Orion Bailey]

At star/superstar salary? I'd rather nothing. A minor upgrade on Plumlee for a huge chunk of the team's cap is worse than no upgrade at all.

Exactly. Sometimes its better to keep the wallet in the pocket. and save the money for something else.. something better.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

He'll be looking for a max deal - which he is now up for a super max.

While he's CLEARLY declining and he knows it.

The audacity of this cawksucker.