The other thing that gets me is the people that act like Harden is the only one that does this. This is move that has been done in the NBA for decades and it is fundamentally no different than a player catching the ball dodging the close out defender putting the ball down once and taking a step to re-position putting both feet down and shooting.
I'm afraid that this summer this is going to be one of those 'points of emphasis' to the refs and all of a sudden they are going to call a travel. Hopefully they do call it on LeBron, Kawhi, Giannis too. We'll see.
harden really exposes how dumb the average nba fan is and how they really don't know the rules. i'm sorry harden is smarter than you and is able to use every little thing to his advantage.
The main confusion that casual / ignorant fans have with traveling calls is that they don't understand one of the following or both: Gather Step Completion of Dribble / Gaining Control of Ball 1. Gather Step A gather step is the step a player takes as he is gathering the ball. So, what does gathering the ball actually mean? NBA Rulebook A player who receives the ball while he is progressing or upon completion of a dribble, may take two steps in coming to a stop, passing or shooting the ball. A player who receives the ball while he is progressing must release the ball to start his dribble before his second step. The first step occurs when a foot, or both feet, touch the floor after gaining control of the ball. This means that until Harden completes a dribble or gains control of the ball, none of the steps Harden takes actually counts toward the steps for traveling. This leads to the next point of confusion for most causal / ignorant NBA fans; at what point does the player end his dribble or gain control of the ball? 2. Completion of Dribble Per the NBA rule book, A dribble ends when the player: Touches the ball simultaneously with both hands. Permits the ball to come to rest while the player is in control of it. (palming or turning ball over on hand) Touches the ball more than once while dribbling, before it touches the floor. What this means is that until Harden gains control of the ball (gathers), his allowed 2 steps have not started yet. Now this leads to what confuses a lot of people; Harden completes a step before he gathers the ball to end his dribble, gathers the ball on the next step, and then takes another 2 steps in whatever direction, all in one fluid motion, giving the illusion that he just took 3-4 steps. Harden is a master of this dribbling footwork.
Instead of debating a legal move..we should be mesmerized by it. Gather + 2 steps = what every nba player does on the way to a dunk..harden just does it backwards for a 3 pointer.
Blatant is the correct spelling. The argument against him is nonsense. If Harden was a Laker or from GSW, no one would object to anything.
It's frustrating to other teams (and their fans) that Harden is so willing to test the boundaries of this travelling rule. Playing cleaner and shooting the ball with precision is what we love to see. Did anyone else notice Harden's new "move"? He was turning the corner to his left and purposefully lowering his arm and shoulder so there could be no debate about him grabbing someone on the way to the basket. That dip he was making actually makes him quicker and even tougher to stay in front of. See the 1:54 and the 4:14 mark where Derrick Rose has no chance. I hope Harden will retire all that hand checking/grabbing as he goes to the rim.
I wish shows like "The Jump" and others would at least acknowledge that there are experts that clearly state it isn't a travel. I'm perfectly fine with "They say it's not a travel..but I still think so." For instance, there was a segment on the Jump just now on Harden's travel, and it was all three laughing about how refs do not see an obvious travel. All this does is push a narrative to every non Houston fan out there. Rather than actually listen to the refs explain why it's not, they'd rather just take the word of sports talk shows.
Five months from now, when NBA releases a statement saying that next season will focus on travelling whilst step-backin', I envision a new thread: "people made fun of me when i said Sorry but Harden step back is a Blatent travel" Until them, everyone feel free to make fun of OP.
Fans absolutely hate that Harden knows the rules. Every year Harden studies the rules and comes back with a move that test the limits. Harden is smart. Leave it to Harden to come back with a move that has revolutionized his offensive game and inspired others to adopt it. We have come to a point in the NBA where you don't think there is anything else a player can do. Leave to Harden to make a step back 3 unbeatable. Next year, when the NBA makes ANOTHER rule to castrate Harden's game, I wonder what he will think of next.
I was telling my Minnesota native colleague that if he were a Rockets fan he would have very different vision. I also told him the league will probably try to handicap Harden on this move during the summer (The Second Harden Rule, or, The Harden Rule Part II) and he will find some other way to torture the league. And they'll try something else. And then something else.
This travelling thing is getting out of hand. People are talking about it all over the place now, and I feel like some kind of rule change is about to come whether it's justified or not. To be fair, Harden does have many borderline 'acceptable/unacceptable' moves, and I always thought if Harden did that on a much bigger stage (such as the NBA finals), people will respond very negatively.
I swear if they change the rules in the offseason to make it easier for refs to call this a travel I may stop watching basketball.
