That's not what the article said, and Morey already clarified that particular discussion - Dwight was encouraged to play more PnR, just not willing to make his post touches focal point of offense. You are just a whiney instigator.
That was a good read with a lot of good information. It stinks that there's a narrative and then the public and media (who's supposed to know better) runs with it. JVG this morning even said that it seems it's become a sport in itself to kill the guy now. A lot more disappointing when it comes from the city's own media a fans though. Slice it however you want, Harden is a great player. Is he MJ or Kawi on defense? Of course not. But everyone wants to look at his few flaws and turn him into a frog. Look at these stats from these two players.... PLAYER A Minutes 34.4 FGM/FGA 9.4-22.0 FG% .426 3PM/3PA 1.3-4.3 3P% .299 FTM/FTA 8.1-9.8 FT% .835 OREB 1.9 DREB 5.4 REB 7.3 ASST 8.6 BLK 0.2 STL 2.1 TO 4.4 PTS 28.1 PLAYER B Minutes 38.1 FGM/FGA 8.7-19.7 FG% .439 3PM/3PA 2.9-8.0 3P% .359 FTM/FTA 8.8-10.2 FT% .860 OREB .8 DREB 5.3 REB 6.1 ASST 7.5 BLK 0.6 STL 1.7 TO 4.6 PTS 29 I know we're talking about raw stats here but look how comparable these are. One of these players was a MVP candidate who many argued should maybe win. This same player has an article written about him with the headline "______________ was the best player in the NBA this season" and saying this... "....he wasn't all that great on defense this year. In fact, if there's one complaint on __________'s game this season, it was his propensity to gamble on the perimeter for a steal, often resulting in easy penetration and shots at the rim... Still, when you consider just how much energy and effort ___________ expends on each and every trip down the court, it's hard not to excuse him for trying to take the easy way out on a couple defensive possessions." Also, people have questioned this player's relationship with a coach or wondered if he can co-exist with the other star player on the team. Also has been known to have turnover issues. But, he is widely regarded by fans and media as arguable a top 5 player in the league. This player I'm referring to is PLAYER A who is 2014-2015 Russell Westbrook. Of course PLAYER B is James Harden from this season (2015-2016). Both players with VERY comparable numbers playing with a very comparable roster. Last season Westbrook was a one man show after the All-star break as Durant (only played 27 games) and Ibaka were out for the rest of the season and Reggie Jackson was traded. He had a good starting center and a bunch of role players. Much the same, Harden this season was playing with a good starting center (also with little offensive game unless you throw it to him at the basket and one who admitted not playing hard for stretches during the season) and role players not stepping up or regressing. One player (Westbrook) is heralded, the other (Harden) is bashed relentlessly and blamed for every issue his team had. I'm not a Harden apologist. He needs to lead better and he definitely needs to trust his teammates more rather than trying to put it all on his shoulders. But we need to take a step back and away from the media's agenda and realize we have a young super-star in his prime playing for our team.
Found another great article. The only part I would disagree is about Klay, other than that good read. http://thesportsquotient.com/nba/2016/5/27/i-get-it-but-james-harden-should-have-made-an
Great article indeed. Media just hates him and Houston. Even more so since the players decided to vote Harden their MVP last season instead of Curry, they've been hard on the Rockets all season and continued to do so.
