it does seem like the criticism has snowballed. things that are true like selling contact have turned into he just flails around. foul him or let him by is the situation his skills dictate 75% of the time. kobe did it. AI did it. jordan did it. Durant does it. why is he hated for it when other aren't? same for defense, NBA has distinct leaning towards offense skill but he's hated for it? legit criticisms have rolled down hill and turned into hypocritical belly aching.
Like most things in life, Harden hate exists on a pendulum. Two years ago the pendulum went too far toward Harden love for some folks, so as a reaction we saw buckets and buckets of Harden hate. Now everybody is starting to realize how ridiculous it was, so the pendulum is swinging back toward, "Oh wait, Harden is actually super good and I don't remember exactly why I have been killing him for the last 15 months!" Enjoy the next 9 months Rockets fans. We will get plenty of positive talk about Harden and trashing of Curry/Warriors before the pendulums start to swing again...
Harden hate is interesting, but this is a clear fact that we will all have to accept (haters & all)- Harden's extension almost surely solidifies the fact that Harden will hold some of the Rockets top statistical accomplishments that will hold his place in history in top 3 conversation behind Hakeem almost surely, and likely behind Moses. There is no question that years after Harden is done with the Rockets or retired, his legacy with the team will be left for ages. Maybe he will have a caveat of "well he never truly won anything" but the Rockets history books show that this shouldn't be a reason to throw him out of the top 5. The Rockets have 2 titles... that's not going to change anytime soon. Harden will have his detractors like T-Mac, and Yao of course, but there is no doubt that once his days are over with the Rockets, he will be etched in stone as one of the greatest Rockets to ever play in Houston. F what the national media says.
Quit changing the narrative. It's NEVER been about selling contact. It's always been about him looking for the foul first and the basket second, and while that strategy may work in the regular season, it doesn't work in the playoffs. He's taken defensive ineptitude to a whole new level, and whenever something is taken to a whole new level, it's going to have a spotlight shined on it.
The same reason we hated Larry Bird back in the day, or any other great player that beat your team. DD
Of course he doesn't. The Harden defensive narrative has been blown so far out of proportion it is comical. Harden does play defense, so much so that his defensive impact is really not all that bad. He just has been guilty of some very cringe worthy defensive plays, which has garnered alot of attention.
Simply not true his defensive rapm is quite bad. Thats an objective measure. And it was quite obvious he didn't do things like getting back on defense or really hustle ! much
There may be truth to this. There was huge hate for LeBron for going to Miami and equal over the top love for him for trying to get a championship to Cleveland. I remember during the Miami finals everyone cheering for Dallas to win and now switching cheering for LeBron to beat golden state. Everyone hates curry and Durant now. Well not everyone but warriors will be the team everyone roots to lose. Personally I think harden deserved the players MVP 2 years ago and deserves criticism for his regression last year. Sometimes it's justified
Well, what kind of evidence can you reasonably expect? What kind of evidence takes into account the fact that we defensively hide Harden on the opponent's worst offensive 1/2/3 (and sometimes 4)? The best evidence would be game footage, but you've excluded that.
Here is the quote: Please show me how defensive rapm illustrates "taking defensive ineptitude to a whole new level"
what do you think about these SG's defense? how does Harden's D RAPM compare to theirs? Leandro Barbosa J.R. Smith Wesley Matthews JJ Redick Dwyane Wade Andrew Wiggins Mike Dunleavy DeMar DeRozan Bradley Beal Evan Fournier
