hopefully CF can stop all this worrying as if Lebron or anyone else ever really had a chance, this thing was never close I was listening to the Dunc’d On Podcast, and they both had Harden as the MVP saying that it was an easy decision...all Lebron managed to do was secure a 2nd place finish ahead of the likes of AD, Giannis, and Lillard let’s get that FMVP too
'Harden tricks referees into blowing the whistle with Oscar-worthy performances on his drives to the rim, swinging his arms into his defender’s side like he’s a wide receiver jostling with a cornerback. Many fans understandably get annoyed by Harden’s habits. Watching free throws isn’t fun. But until it’s outlawed or referees make it a point of emphasis, it’s hard to knock a guy for bending the rules to help his team.' This is bullshit. ITs not acting. Harden gets clobbered when he drives.
yep some passive agressive right there.. they're called fouls because they are fouls.. harden doesn't bend the rules.. he utilizes them.. he actually expects the refs and opposing defenders to follow it to a T and he prolly forgot that the league and refs spent the whole summer coming up with Harden rules "Not to mention, of the 45 players to shoot at least 250 times on drives, Harden ranks fourth in field goal percentage. He’s elite even without a whistle. But there’s an art to drawing fouls, and he’s simply better at it than anyone else—even if it can be frustrating to watch."
Nice write up about Harden. Wish he would have talked about Harden still thriving at the free throw line despite rule changes aimed at curtailing his free throw attempts this year. Also, Curry making an all-nba team with 51 games played seems like a double standard towards Chris Paul.
Curry deserves an all-NBA nod. A PER of 28 for ~50 games in his prime where he is universally considered a top three NBA player and was voted as the guy to oppose Lebron in the all-star game is deserving of the all-NBA. Guard is a crazy tough spot to make the list on. Lillard is deserving for having the best season of his career and leading his team to the 3rd seed in the West. Derozan has the lowest PER of the guards at 21 (Paul is at 24 near Lillard and Oladipo), but can you imagine the Raptor fans’ response if their own #1 seed (albeit in the East) garnered no selections? Kyrie even being out for the season played a similar number of games as CP3. I’m a Rockets homer and also found it absurd that the far and away best team in the league had only one all-star. CP3 even with all his games missed this year has the third highest win shares among guards this year behind Harden and Lillard. He’s an unquestioned HOFer, will be in the top three all time PG discussion with Magic and Stockton when he retires, and is only 32yo still. I thought he should have made the all-star, but I can also understand it if he misses all NBA. The only person you could credibly exclude from the all-NBA team in favor of Paul would be Oladipo, but that would be a nepotistic wait-your-turn decision and a slap in the face to someone who put in his work all season long to turn that sinking ship in Indy around, after everyone has taken turns shatting on him in North Dallas. I say give it to him, and let Presti feel the burn of trading away yet another all-NBA stud just to protect his darling Brodie.
Can you believe that Harden has done all of this.....and done it now in his 9th season! Amazing. 9th season.......
Here is the reality of this. "ON SOME DRIVES", yes Harden hooks people. And it forces the refs hand. And NBA fans HATE it. It is great for the Rockets though. BUT....and here is the BIG BUT....the hooking DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERY TIME. Harden gets clobbered a ton. He puts the ball out front and baits people and they can't resist. That is on THEM. The problem is, people can't seem to look at these scenarios on a "case by case basis." They just LUMP ALL HARDEN FOUL CALLS as the "hook call." That is what Haters do.
Agreed with both posts above. Was a bit of a slight by the writer. One thing that needs to be recited over and over is if you go aggressive to the bucket, you get calls more times than not. If you go soft or shoot a bunch of jumpers, you don't go to the line as much. It is that simple. I have never seen a player relentlessly attack the rim like Harden does. Even then, he still gets a lot of calls (sometimes rightfully so) go the other way on him for being too aggressive or extending his arm too much on a drive, etc.
Totally agree. Not to mention, w/ the BS "Harden Rule", he doesn't get shooting fouls until the end of the halves. I see him miss his shots because, as you say, he gets clobbered, and then it's a non-shooting foul, so we only get possession back, and MAYBE a shot clock reset. So frustrating.
I don't think CF was worried, it was the disrespect lobbed at Harden every time the idea was mentioned. It isn't close and should be conveyed as such in the media.
Every time Harden hooks someone there's a hate post on this other site, is it really worth it? Without those hooking Harden would probably average the same amount of points.
I don’t see why Westbrook is first team all-NBA with the way the Thunder underachieved this year. Since Harden was penalized for the Rockets’ crap year in 2016 by being left off the all-NBA teams altogether, why doesn’t Westbrook deserve the same this year? If anything, I think Curry or DeRozan deserve first team over Westbrook, given their team’s success.