[halfdecayedParticipant]

 Can anyone tell me what the hell is he doing in the game up 14 against the Mavs with less than a minute in the game jacking up 3s to keep his stupid streak alive ??? We all know what’s gonna happen in the playoffs, he won’t get those calls and will get tired and jack up dumb shots and make turnovers. The stupidity of Dantoni though is impressive here. Harden has carried the team for way too long already and he doesn’t even sit him in this situation ? This is why I dislike Harden. PG and Giannis over him on the MVP race all day

[CynthiaParticipant]

Harden’s basically a meme at this point. He’s known for four things:

1. No defense
2. Shady movements to get fouls, and highest foul shots per game in league (almost 2 above second place…)
3. His ability to defy gravity and take 3 steps back and somehow still fool referees
4. His stat-padding

Now as y’all know I’m an OKC fan and Westbrook is probably the King of stat-padding, but it’s not as if Harden isn’t right there in the mix with him.

Let’s be real, Harden is good, well above average, but if it wasn’t for his dirty tricks and gimmicks he would not be a consistent MVP candidate. He’s probably a top 10-15 player if you take his excessive free throws away.

Anyone who respects his play style is not a fan of basketball, plain & simple.

[invalidParticipant]

guess im not a fan of basketball, she knows me better than myself

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

You can complain all you want about him padding his stats, his style of play, his beard, whatever. But what he is doing right now is probably one of the most impressive runs of basketball I’ve seen in a long time. I’m not going to say it’s always the right move, for him and the team to make a conscious effort to get him to 30 points every night to keep the streak going. But it clearly seems to energize the team right now, and just the fact that he is able to do it is pretty incredible. And it’s not like he is doing this at the expense of team success. They basically need him to play this way to win. Even if you don’t appreciate what he is doing, you have to respect it.  

[90sNYKParticipant]

People like you are giving Harden WAY TOO MUCH CREDIT for something that any other great scorer in the league could easily achieve WHILE being more efficient. You give any offensive superstar 40 shots with over 15 3 pt attempts and over 15 ft attempts and they could easily average 50. Lets not even talk about the travels he gets away with..

Last night should show you that James Harden is selfish and will never win a championship. Instead of conserving his energy going forward, he checks back in with the game already decided and chucks shots until he hit 31. 

BTW he finished the game 9 for 23 from the floor (39%) 6 for 17 from 3pt range (35%).

19 Players that could do what Harden is doing more efficiently:

Kevin Durant

Klay Thompson

Steph Curry

Joel Embiid

Kawhi Leonard

Anthony Davis

Demarcus Cousins

Paul George

Dame Lillard

LeBron James

Kyrie Irving

Kemba Walker

Blake Griffin

Karl Anthony Towns

Victor Oladipo

Kyle Kuzma

Jason Taytum

Luka Doncic

Lou Williams

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

There have been plenty of other players throughout the history of the league who have been given the same amount of leeway on offense and haven’t been able to accomplish what he has. It’s ridiculous to say that all of those guys you listed could do what harden does on a nightly basis better, because you have no proof that any of them could. If Lou Williams could produce the way harden could in the same role, don’t you think at least one coach would have realized it and given him that opportunity. Not only is he the primary scorer, but he is also the primary facilitator on a nightly basis for Houston and leads one of the most efficient offenses in the league without a whole lot of talent around him. 

As far as drawing fouls, that is a skill in itself and no player in the league right now does it better. You can say what you want about how it’s an ugly and cheap way to score, but every great high volume scorer in the history of basketball has relied on fouls and that includes manipulating the refs to make it seem like you got fouled even when you might not have. It might actually be the hardest skill to master in basketball, and it takes years to earn that level of respect from referees. 

Harden has essentially created the perfect template for what works in today’s league and has mastered it. If anything, more of the elite players should be trying to emulate how he plays given the results he generates. But it relies on such a high degree of difficulty that I don’t think many would be able to come close.

 

  

[ChoppyParticipant]

I don’t know what the refs are respecting. Is it the lack of defence he plays? Is it the flops he does? Is it the travel on his step back? Is it the fact he manipulates the heck out of them? Surely that must be it…  

[halfdecayedParticipant]

 you must be into beards brother

[StephGoneStephParticipant]

 I agree with Dazzling Dunks here. Is he exploiting the reffing in a way that’s probably not good for the game? Absolutely.

 

However, the fact remains that  he’s carried the Rockets to the 6th seed in the West. Trade him for half those players listed and the Rockets are in the Zion sweepstakes. Let’s not forget that nearly half the guys listed play on teams with worse records than the Rockets despite having better supporting parts.

Kyle Kuzma? His team is out of the playoffs despite playing with LEBRON JAMES. You can’t tell him he could be doing what Harden is doing.

 

 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Theres been plenty of times where Harden flops anticipating a foul call and ends up getting mad at the refs for a no call but if that were someone like Paul George or Demar Derozan instead of floppig they would’ve just laid the bull up and finished the play. 

[90sNYKParticipant]

Against the Pelicans with under a minute left. Houston was coming back due to Hardens antics. He has the ball on the right wing and dribbles into good defense, steps out of bounds, flops and immediately looks at the ref like "I thought we had something special."

Priceless

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I get the dislike for Harden. He’s taken isolation/hero basketball to a whole different level. The stat padding. The way he draws fouls. His lack of defense at times. I get it . . . 

However, that dude is a BEAST. For real. He’s really f’n good. "Basic Mitch" fans won’t really get it or see all of the little details in his offensive skill-set, but it’s almost unbelievable all of the ish he has in his bag. It’s a flat out joke. It really is. He has all of the advanced skills the top trainers are teaching right now in regards to his footwork, advanced ball handling, change of pace, ability to create space, finishing (inside foot inside hand, outside foot inside hand, outside foot outside hand, etc) and just tons of stuff. 

Then throw in the fact he’s a master at using ball screens and reading reacting to the defense.

I honestly don’t know how you defend him. I can see Luka Doncic reaching this level. He has similar ish in his bag. 

[invalidParticipant]

man this is nuts, last year rockets are one game away from the finals. beaten the warriors this year. two of his best mates is always injured and still winning games. him and d’antoni are not effective? lol ok. "he wont win a championship", guess who else hasn’t won? a lot of great players. but durant might win again tho.. because he is super efficient? right..

[frogmanParticipant]

Yes the stat-padding is over the top but to say 17 others could do what he is doing is ridiculous.  Other teams plan their defence around him but still can’t stop him.  He is an all-time offensive player.  Is he great to watch compared to other superstars? No.  Effective? Absolutely. 

[Author]

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