All players do it but Harden might be the only player who tries to make foul baiting an essential part of his game. And when the opponent is disciplined or when refs are not calling things tight, that element is taken away. And once it is taken away, Harden can't adjust. It seems that Harden was done for the game when his 1st shot attempt in the 3rd quarter was an airball 3 that was clearly a ref foul bait shot that failed to draw the foul. When he can't draw the fouls with his foul baiting techniques, he just mentally checks out because again it is an essential part of his game that has been curtailed.
Either the NBA calls it this way all season . . . or not in the playoffs If this is anything . .. it is an exposure of the NBA Rocket River
Harden will have to take a long look in the mirror. Wth has happened to your 3 point shooting? It sucks now. Why have u abandoned your midrange game? Why is a player as skilled as u are so dependent on free throws?
What has happened is that he shoots his shots to draw fouls rather than actually trying to shoot it to get it into the basket.
he has a limited offensive game. he doesn't gave many moves and ways to score. drive off pick and roll iso step back that's it. no post game no mid range game no movement off ball no shooting off screens. when he can't get those 12+ fta games he looks very average. other great scorers could give you 30+ points on less than 6 fta.
If Harden is so dependent on getting to the FT line to have a good game, then he will never be a great player. And all opponents will simply follow the Spurs game plan to put their hands up and let him shoot those awful foul baiting airballs.
yep many here see it but deny it because he gets to the FT line for 50% of his points. Pops had his guys keep their hands up on defense and magically harden cant score
He doesnt have that westbrook mentality to play hard till the end. Harden slows up the offense just walking the ball up almost every time
Worst part was that off arm hook bs he started pulling as he ran by guys... that was way past the line... and the refs shut him down all together... It's one thing to say "don't reach and you wont give up the foul" and quite another for him to initiate contact with a guy who's tied up with somebody else...
I tried to tell y'all 2 years ago and none of y'all wanted to listen. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/i-have-grown-to-hate-james-frauden.265421/
I know fans here love Harden as he is a Rocket. But let's be objective here. If Harden was on any other team with his foul baiting ways, fans here would hate him with the passion of a thousand suns.
He has stopped using the mid range J - thank you triple chinned Maury Without that his offense becomes predictable, more so in the playoffs when team can scout him well and have set plans
He has the ability to adjust. He has a great step-back midrange and is excellent at finishing at the rim. Maybe the issue is between his ears.
