Don’t buy noise that Harden elicits hate by national media
The Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen answers readers’ question each week at txsportsnation.com. A sampling of this week’s.
To ask a question, send an e-mail jonathan.feigen@chron.com with the phrase “mailbag” in the subject line. Or send them to his Twitter account, @Jonathan_Feigen with the hashtag #askfeigen
Q. With all the incredible performances of James Harden these past few years, why is he hated so much by the national media and mocked on social media? I’m really starting to believe that there are some strong lobbies working against him behind the scenes! — RyanB
A. So hated? He was MVP last season, runnerup twice. He was the only unanimous first-team All-NBA pick the past two seasons. All of those honors are determined by a vote of the media. He was also a finalist for the Professional Basketball Writers’ Association citizenship award last season, as determined by votes of the PBWA members. I don’t think that indicates a strong lobby against him. There are outlets that spew social media videos or website headlines for clicks. You’ll notice those are generally sites that don’t do their own actual reporting. They are good at attracting attention but are empty calories best to be ignored.
Q. How much has Eric Gordon’s value decreased as a trade chip given how bad he’s shooting for the year? Also is his knee OK? — Andy
A. Obviously, his trade value might be a bit higher if he was shooting the way he did the past two seasons, but general managers generally form an opinion on a veteran and how he fits with their needs in their mix and his contract fits with their roster and situation. They usually don’t let that change one way or another based on how a player is going at the time of trade talks. His bruised knee will keep him out for a while but is not serious.
Q. If the Rockets are within a game or 2 of the No. 1 seed by the trade deadline, do you think
that strengthens or relaxes their urgency to make a deal? — Andrew
A. Tough to say because to be that close to the top they will have to be playing very well. That would seem to decrease the urgency to make a deal, but it could work the other way. If they are playing that well through January, they might consider themselves to be contenders, making a deal more likely. Playing well would also indicate that the additions they have already made this season, Austin Rivers and Danuel House Jr., are playing well and contributing.
All that said, Daryl Morey has agreed to a trade at the deadline every season but one. It seems unlikely he’ll sit it out two years in a row, so I’ll go with strengthens the urgency.
Q. If the Rockets took GS to 7 games by slowing the game down and playing iso ball (and good defense), would the 94 Rockets beat the Warriors in today’s game since they had prime Hakeem?
A. This feels like a copout answer, so sorry in advance for that. But I always say, it depends on which direction your time machine goes. Drop the championship Rockets into 2018 and they would lose to the Warriors. The game has changed. They could not just show up and beat the best teams of their time. And don’t forget, the switching defense was a huge key to the Rockets’ relative success against the Warriors last season. That was not something Hakeem would have liked because he believed in getting back in the paint and protecting the rim, though if so inclined, he would have been great at it.
Take the Warriors to 1994 with the rules of the day and I would think Rudy T would still be holding the trophy.
Q. MDA doesn’t run a 10-man rotation. Assuming no other injuries, who drops out of the rotation when Paul and Ennis both return? — Andrew
A. A fair question Andrew, since even he jokes about his often short rotation. I kidded him about that on Sunday, calling it his “famous 10-man rotation.” But he has had nineman rotations and briefly had a 10-man rotation when both Carmelo Anthony and Gary Clark were playing. He dabbled with a 10-man rotation last season. But as he pointed out, typically a few guys don’t get enough minutes and that kind of mix doesn’t last anyway since there always seems to be at least one player needing to sit out.
I would think you will see all 10 play, with Chris Paul’s minutes cut back a bit, especially when he first comes back, Danuel House Jr. playing a bit more at the four to help cut down on P.J. Tucker’s time (and get back to some Tuck-wagon lineups on occasion) and have James Ennis III and House splitting the backup three minutes when not in the three-guard lineups to close games.
D’Antoni has spoken often about hoping to cut back on the playing time of some of his regulars. Keeping in mind there can be enormous swings in playing time from game to game in a 10-man rotation, you could get to the 240 minutes with James Harden playing 36, Paul 30, Eric Gordon 32, Austin Rivers 24 Tucker 30, House 24, James Ennis III 16, Clint Capela 32, and Nene 16. You can play with those numbers a bit. You can bump up Tucker’s time as a small-ball center, cut back on Capela or Nene and increase House at the four and Gordon in a three-game lineup. But that’s a workable 10-man rotation, assuming no one gets hurt again all season.
Q. Do you think with Chris Paul coming back in a few weeks, that Mike D’Antoni will start restricting his minutes and keeping him to the John Stockton rule, Jerry Sloan used in the 90s and early 00s? — Alex
A. I don’t think they will have a rule to limit his minutes but will likely let it happen naturally with a deeper backcourt rotation. With Austin Rivers certain to be more than a fill-in with Paul out, the Rockets can spread the minutes around much more than they had early in the season. The Rockets can reduce Paul’s playing time without putting a minutes restriction on him. As a bonus, when Paul and Gordon are back and Paul gets back up to speed, the Rockets might even be able to take a few minutes off James Harden’s load.
Q. Why is KCP at the top of Rockets wishlist? We all know he’s a solid 3&D guy but trading their protected 2019 pick for him would they obtain his “early bird rights”... Seems to not be the greatest investment if it is just a 1 year rental — Cory
A. The Rockets never shy away from players deemed a “rental.” With this roster, they are a team that needs to chase a championship while they can. You answered part of your question. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a solid 3-and-D guy. But I’m not sure they would give up a first-round pick for him. If they did, it would have loads of protection. But I think with Danuel House Jr. contributing and with the addition of Austin Rivers, there is not the pressing urgency to make that kind of move. And a deal for a player with that kind of contract will be tough because the Lakers and many teams won’t want to take on longer contracts. All that said, the Rockets almost surely will be active in talks when things heat up closer to the Feb. 7 trade deadline.
Q. Will last year’s Rockets roster be remembered as one of the best Rockets rosters of all time? — William
A. Probably not. Maybe it should be. But while a strong case can be made that with one good second half in either Games 6 or 7 against the Warriors or one fewer hamstring injury the Rockets would have won a championship, they didn’t. The season will be remembered for the way that team came together, achieved greatly and came close. It will be known for a sublime regular season. But since the Rockets have a pair of championship teams and presumably will win others someday, those rosters will likely be celebrated as the best in franchise history. Still, every time a Rockets team has a great regular season, last season’s will be mentioned and remembered.