michaelm wrote:Pablo Novi wrote:michaelm wrote:That may well be true, I don't watch either team enough to know.
Both teams were not rated before the season and both are doing much better than expected, but Harden's team to a greater extent, as I have previously said.
You are quite likely correct that the Thunder's Westbrook focused approach is of necessity, but I don't see that the rest of Harden's team, who were not I believe really rated any higher as a supporting cast than Westbrook's before the season, playing more cohesively/better, even when he sits, than the Thunder supporting cast is any argument against Harden. I am stunned that Harden has proved to be so effective playing basically as Houston's point guard, btw.
(EDIT As I was going to add anyway, perhaps it comes down to Harden's supporting cast being better coached, again hardly a knock on Harden. Like the following poster, I wonder what that coach could have done with all 3 of Westbrook, KD and Harden).
Seeing as I was "the following poster"; is this kind of, sort of, maybe a compliment to me? lol
The same back to you. lol
Yes. I had already had the the thought that It might well be down to D''Antoni that Harden's supporting cast which appeared no better than Westbrook's pre-season were playing better than Westbrook's but entirely agreed with your post with its implication that D'Antoni is a great coach, and particularly that a team coached by him with all 3 of those players would have been amazing.
Well, thanx (again) then.
Everybody agrees that D'Antoni is an Offensive genius (not so much on the other side of the ball). But the name of the game is outscore your opponent - and with those 3 guys and decent complimentary parts - WHOPPIE!
Back, ages ago (lol) when both D'Antoni and I were elsewhere (he with the Lakers and me posting about him on a different sports-discussion site) - it'd blow me away the hatred being thrown his way. He comes in late to a team not at all suited to his abilities to coach it - OR anybody else's ability to coach it for that matter! - then his starters try breaking the record for starters-missing-games-due-to-injuries ... Heck, I gave up coming to his defense - I was talking to a wall; a wall of inane noise. If it were a rock-group it'd be called "HATE Unlimited" (with all due credit to Barry White and his "Love Unlimited" something-or-others)
Having been a Lakers fan longer than seemingly anybody else alive (lol) I found that one of the most embarrassing moments (for Lakers fans) in my 57 years of rabid-fanhood.
It was so bad, and seeing as about half of the total number of posters of the ENTIRE site was Lakers fans; I actually proposed to the mod-staff that they set up TWO SEPARATE Lakers' forums: one for the "captivity of negativity" group; and the other for us supposedly "unrealistic-yet-optimistic" patient types. Boy did I get hell all over the forum for that one!
Sure it had never been tried before (probably never will - a completely crazy idea, I admit); but I still think it could have worked!
Heck, ANYTHING would have worked better than the all-out cry-babying and flame-warring / war-flaming free-for-all ensuing.
At least there would have been peace (and TWICE over)!
