Long overdue Cavs/Rockets game post

[SoBeCuse]

- I meant to post this a long time ago but have been swamped with work/traveling. I had the opportunity to attend the Cavs/Rockets game on 11/1, pregame with, as well as sit with Daryl Morey. My good friend from work is childhood friends with Daryl (he's from near Medina, OH -part of the CLE/AKR area) and invited me to tag along. Some people know here that I'm a musician and Daryl grew up a total band dork...trombone. This was a fun night. The Indians/Cubs were playing next door and the city was blowing up at near capacity. We pregamed at a nearby popular gastropub/brewery type spot...The Butcher and The Brewer. We all did family style food...shared raw beef tartare, brick oven style pizza, sliders, etc. IPAs were consumed. The guy is super sharp but so down to earth and just a big goofball. All he wants to do is talk movies and music, ha.

- Harden is freaking awesome. The guy looks sort of soft in terms of physique but he can do anything on the court. He had something like 41/15/7 that game. The Cavs won (LeBron and Kyrie are such a dynamic duo) but Harden was unstoppable. I truly chuckle when people knock his game on here saying he only scores or that Carmelo is a better player. Please, stop. Dekker looks the part. Real springy player. Capela has a nice game. Daryl said his team was on him early. I guess he is from Congo or Mali but with Swiss citizenship. Ennis came in at garbage time for a few minutes. He has really transformed his body and looks the part. I don't think he scored and had like 1 assist and 1 rebound.

- I asked him about Lydon and Syracuse. For better or worse he really didn't comment much and to be honest he didn't know who Lydon was at ALL which could be a good sign for us? I was very surprised. I compared him to a poor man's Chandler Parsons and he perked up a bit. Although with Lydon's, in my opinion, bad weight gain he is no longer the same athlete Parsons was/is. Just thought I would share this. Nice to see the Rockets doing so well. He's a great guy in that business and world. LGO!

 

[Brooky03]

I think Harden would get more respect if he didn't do so much of his work from the free throw line. Personally, I think he's incredibly talented but plays very ugly basketball. His bastardization of the Euro-step (step, wait 7 seconds, step again, shoot) kills me.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I think Harden would get more respect if he didn't do so much of his work from the free throw line. Personally, I think he's incredibly talented but plays very ugly basketball. His bastardization of the Euro-step (step, wait 7 seconds, step again, shoot) kills me.

The point is that he does tons of work outside of scoring. He's unguardable, clearly. He gets LOTS of respect just not here, lol.

 

[Brooky03]

The point is that he does tons of work outside of scoring. He's unguardable, clearly. He gets TONS of respect just not here, lol.

It's not just here, though. I'd contend he's not one of the more liked players in the NBA. He's earned a tremendous amount of respect, but the contingent of anti-Harden fans isn't small. And that's probably a testament to his unguardability (unguardableness?).

 

[longislandcuse]

The point is that he does tons of work outside of scoring. He's unguardable, clearly. He gets LOTS of respect just not here, lol.

Harden is legit but I hate his game. He's just not fun to watch unless you like free throw contests and refs being tricked into calling fouls.

 

[721Comstock]

The point is that he does tons of work outside of scoring. He's unguardable, clearly. He gets TONS of respect just not here, lol.

Just none on D.

Guy draws so much attention on O, and that frees up his teammates - usually for open 3's.

The three most efficient places to score from are at the rim, FT line, and 3's - and Harden is a master of all of them.

 

[SoBeCuse]

So he doesn't drop dimes or rebound? I get he doesn't play much D...many don't...Kyrie, Melo, Curry, etc.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

I think Harden would get more respect if he didn't do so much of his work from the free throw line. Personally, I think he's incredibly talented but plays very ugly basketball. His bastardization of the Euro-step (step, wait 7 seconds, step again, shoot) kills me.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

So he doesn't drop dimes or rebound? I get he doesn't play much D...many don't...Kyrie, Melo, Curry, etc.

He doesn't even fake it. At least Melo has to bang bodies down low sometimes, and Curry has quick hands, but I'm still waiting to see Harden make any effort on D. Pretty soon he won't even bother to make it back to his own FT line, he needs the burst for the other end of the court.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

He doesn't even fake it. At least Melo has to bang bodies down low sometimes, and Curry has quick hands, but I'm still waiting to see Harden make any effort on D. Pretty soon he won't even bother to make it back to his own FT line, he needs the burst for the other end of the court.

James Har en. No D.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

People who don't watch him every day don't understand how unselfish he is or how great a passer he is. He has high turnover numbers but he gets a lot of turnovers because his teammates are not ready for some sick passes that should be easy buckets.

 

[sabach]

Harden is great. Fortunately he played like crap in the only game he played that mattered to me.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Harden is great. Fortunately he played like crap in the only game he played that mattered to me.

Id take Flynn and Waiters over Harden and irving

 

[OrangeDW]

Id take Flynn and Waiters over Harden and irving

David Kahn would take Flynn over Steph Curry.

*I do firmly believe Flynn would've been a good pro if he didn't get hurt, and if his whole rehab wasn't mishandled.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I laughed.

 

[HakAttack]

Harden is great. Fortunately he played like crap in the only game he played that mattered to me.

Yeah...I got tricked into believing he'd be a so-so guy at the next level after his awful showing against Cuse in the NCAAs. Shame on me. Word on the street was he was out too late on South Beach the night before.

Small sample size.