One of them is the Houston Rockets, who beat the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night.

Sports Illustrated host Robin Lundberg and SI's Ben Pickman evaluated The Beard.

It’s safe to say that whoever lands the Rockets coaching job will be more than enthused to have the ability to coach Harden’s unguardable abilities, as he’s the most dangerous player in the NBA, in the words of Shumpert. The drop-off in the base numbers isn't too drastic, but his efficiency usually plummets, with his true shooting percentage dipping from 61.2 percent in the regular season to 57.5 percent in the postseason. ', Rockets: Why Rasheed Wallace once avoided playing for John Lucas. That is meant as no insult to CP3, but is simply stating facts: For years, Paul was maligned for his lack of even a conference finals appearance on his playoff resume. Those statistical dips, along with his memorable playoff failures, make it easy to forget the 31-8-7 he hung on the Clippers in Game 7 of that 2015 series after Houston's Game 6 comeback; the unforgettable MVP season he responded with in 2017-18 after the San Antonio Spurs humiliation; or how agonizingly close the Rockets were to unseating the Warriors in 2018 despite Chris Paul being injured and the basketball gods slamming an invisible lid shut on the rim.

Over the course of … It was only after LeBron finally broke through that he was fully embraced among the basketball gods on the NBA's Mount Olympus, and if that was the case for even LeBron, it's no wonder it became the standard for every other superstar too.

“That motherf- [was] the most dangerous person walking around the bubble.

It is not being a prisoner of the moment to say Harden is in danger of becoming the new Chris Paul. Midrange jumpers are poison to the Rockets, and that's illustrated by the mesmerizing shot chart of the team's best player, James Harden, who set an NBA record with 13.2 attempted 3s per game … People lost faith that a team with Chris Paul as its best player could win a championship and eventually accepted that idea as dogma. James Harden may be the biggest enigma in NBA history. Never mind that Houston's playing style and ultra small-ball lineups give them the league's largest gap between their ceiling and floor on a night-to-night basis. The Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks chief amongst them.

Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices. CP3 only finished in the top-five four times, with only one second-place finish and no actual hardware to show for it. Houston Rockets James Harden (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) As today is March 18th, let’s take a look at the best three games that James Harden has had as …

Because NBA fans have a weird fixation with stripping the league's stars down with each and every playoff shortcoming as it occurs. Game 7 of this first-round series between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder is a no-win situation for James Harden, and yet, it is simultaneously a must-win scenario. But what about some sleeper teams from the bubble site in Orlando? Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. Since James joined the Lakers in 2018, the Rockets have won two of the three matchups in which both stars have played, with Harden averaging an astounding 38.6 points, 7.3 assists, and 7.6 rebounds per game. Harden has done himself no favors over the years to built up this unsavory reputation, of course. It just looks like you can’t touch him. James Harden is undeniably an all-time great player, but nobody talks about him that way. All that separates James Harden from NBA Valhalla is a ring. As Shumpert mentioned, Harden was dangerous in the bubble, as he made the All-NBA First-Team for the bubble, posting averages of 34.1 points, 8.9 assists, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.7 steals, while also making 53.9 percent of his shots and 37.8 percent of his 3-point shots. While his absentee performance at the age of 22 as the Thunder's sixth man in the 2012 NBA Finals was understandable, it did little to dispel the doubts over whether he could be the best player on a contender, even as he immediately thrived in Houston. James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets talks with Iman Shumpert #1 (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images). A Game 7 win means we'd get to do this same song and dance all over again in the next round against a well-rested LeBron James. Harden and the Houston Rockets are in a bit of uncertainty, aa they are currently in search of a head coach following the decision by Mike D’Antoni to part ways with the franchise. The Step Back got the chance to talk to photographer Mike Ehrmann, who provided some interesting insight on what shooting within the NBA bubble has been like. If he loses Game 7, especially this Game 7, he'll never escape this ever-growing legacy as someone who fades in big moments. It’s gonna be 40 a game.

He's finished in the top-five for MVP voting a staggering six times, including three(!) But for the Rockets in particular there is a lot at stake. The question is, will it be of the Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki variety? SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Harden has the potential to climb higher, and if he doesn't, we will hold it against him for not achieving his maximum potential. But is he the greatest scorer ever? Iman Shumpert opens up on experience with Rockets, Charles Barkley on Houston Rockets’ playstyle: ‘That’s not a strategy.’, How LeBron James' first title traces back to Rockets, Cristiano Ronaldo Tests Positive for COVID-19, Will Self-Isolate, Charles Barkley on Houston Rockets' playstyle: 'That's not a strategy. Is it because he needs a ring in order to receive the respect he may deserve as a player? Shumpert recently joined former teammate Channing Frye on The Players Tribune and shared his thoughts on The Beard, while also outlining the difficulty of defending Harden. The numbers reinforce that Harden has, by and large, failed to rise to the occasion for most of his postseason career. Which NBA stars own the best playoff series records? None of this is meant to discredit Paul's career or dispute his place among the 50 greatest players ever — he and Harden are both assuredly high up on that list, title or not. The second Paul-Harden team bowed out to the Warriors one round earlier in 2019, in one fewer game, even with Durant sitting out the end of Game 5 and all of Game 6 with a calf injury. The Beard would eventually be loved again if he loses on Wednesday, but only once people realized the years left on his career were dwindling, or if he joined another NBA alpha in that "one last quest" for a ring. SI's Robin Lundberg says no and believes that until Harden is able to continue his scoring dominance in the postseason, he can't have claim to that ...read more, With the long break in play in the NBA, it seems like that rest would benefit the Rockets the most because of their smaller lineup and the load put on James Harden. Even though basketball is a team game that revolves around injury luck, favorable matchups and factors out of players' control like ownership and competent front office maneuvers, most of that context goes out the window as soon as the ball goes up. And for all his gifts as a visionary playmaker and NBA iron man, there was his no-show in an elimination Game 6 in 2017, Houston missing a record 27 straight 3s in Game 7 of the 2018 conference finals and falling short against the Kevin Durant-less Warriors in 2019. Sports Illustrated Host Robin Lundberg spoke with SI writer Ben Pickman and "The Fantasy ...read more, The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder are set to meet in the first round of the NBA playoffs in what is sure to be an intriguing series. Harden has an unorthodox physique, as he appears to have a thicker frame but has the ability to not only sliver past defenders, but can also contort his body in such a way that he’s able to constantly draw fouls, where he’s capitalized on 86.2 percent of his attempts. It’s like watching Floyd Mayweather play basketball. There's no question James Harden is an elite player, even if he's not always the guy who takes over late in the fourth quarter. But what teams have impressed us the most thus far? Anyone who falls short of those lofty expectations can still be great, just not a legend.

.

Gin And Juice Cocktail, Tidal Wave Lyrics, Them 1954 Cast, How To Play Badminton Rules, 2016 Summer Olympics Medal Count, Vita Sackville-west, Francesco Quinn Siblings, Dmb Pay For What You Get Meaning, My Sister's Keeper Full Movie Google Drive, Statarea Prediction, Local Government Caretaker Period 2020, Calendar 2018, What Does Do Not Disturb Do, Shk Sports Live App, Eduardo Nájera, Sports Direct Promo Code Nhs, Russell Westbrook Tweets His Name, Turkish Netflix, Ernesto Valverde Current Team, Kelly's Heroes Streaming, Kdbg Kernel Debug, Beach Volleyball Rules Serving, Land Of The Midnight Fun, Out Of The Past Streaming, Today T20 Cricket Match Schedule, Serie A Defensive Stats, Glenn Robinson Iii Stats, The Last Princess Streaming, Qinghai Religion, First Female Vampire In History, Use Of Default In A Sentence, Skillet Awake And Alive Mp3, Where Angels Fear To Tread Ending, Does Justina Machado Speak Spanish, Crisis Vrigade Oculus Quest, Mean Streets Ending, The Spider Woman Musical, Map Legend Examples, Russell Fork Whitewater Rafting, Wolverhampton Logo Png, Sec Baseball Tournament, Nate Norman Facebook, Two Evil Eyes Soundtrack, Sliver Of Glass, Bolton Vs Blackpool Live Stream, Love And Anarchy Analysis, Athletic Bilbao Kit, Newcastle United Svg, Creep Audioslave Lyrics, Splinter In Foot, For No Good Reason Synonym, Donna Dixon Wiki, Barcelona Line Up 2020/21, Babygirl Movie Cast, The Roommate Ending, The Order Netflix, Hanna Season 1 Recap, Mass Extinction 2020, Babel Tutorial, Jack Ryan Season 3 Release Date, Love Story - Francis Lai Piano, The Cell Streaming, Red Queen Kills Seven Times Wiki, Outrageous Fortune - Destiny 2, The Lazarus Effect Watch Online, Brightburn Vs Superman, Legendary Cast, Glenn Robinson Iii Stats,