Why isnt James Harden more popular with fans? The Jump

By "here" I meant my country...

 

It's maybe a bit hyperbolic but more true than you are letting on. The point is that European opinion on American basketball players has little to no effect on their public perception in the US. No offense to you or other European members of Clutchfans was intended.

 

Lol I don't know why you are arguing about it, you just repeated what I said. Which was "Harden is a bit of a statpadder, but nearly not as egregious as WB".

I think we all agree here some records require a bit of statpadding

 

A bit hyperbolic? "Niche sport" vs "2nd most popular sport" is not a bit.

Of course European opinion on basketball doesn't matter in US. Until USA wins every major event in basketball, it will remain that way haha

 

2nd most popular in some countries in Europe (and by a mile to soccer), certainly not all of them and basketball IS a niche sport in the Northern European countries. What is your point here? You are a fan and that's all that matters, you don't represent all of Europe.

 

Sorry. My bad.

 

Harden's amazing streak, nobody cares about it. Yet, almost every single Rockets game has been on national tv the past week or two. Idk if I believe that or not.

 

Sorry I didn't mean it directly at you. Stuff gets me worked up lol

 

Harden has to win b2b finals MVP as the leading man before the haters will start to forgive him for all the "atrocities" he committed.

 

I love Harden, but we're not talking about high-flying dunks, acrobatic layups, or unexpected alley-oops and game-changing blocks.

Harden's moves are impressive and crafty, but rarely are they flashy in the sense of what NBA fans foam at the mouth for. I think he's amazing, but it's not the same thing. I'm not criticizing him, people just crave spectacle, and he is not a circus.

 

Exactly. Harden is not a physical basketball player...he is a cerebral and fundamental basketball player. He knows the game, he knows the rules and he knows how to stretch the rules of the game and officiating without crossing the illegal line. He uses the dribble that drives us crazy to lure the attention of the other team as our players quietly move into other positions...then drives to the basket and passes off to our open player. He has fine tuned the back step to the point where it looks like a dance step and is officially legal.. Harden is not your typical player...he is a brilliant thinking player the likes of what the media has never seen. A great fundamental and brilliant tactician basketball player...a rarity in the NBA. And the media can't comprehend it because they only understand greatness as physical play. I enjoy Harden's "chess master moves" that we have been lucky to experience as Rocket fans. ​

 

Yup, the media are the influencers.

And there are too many "back handed compliments" and "yeah but add ons" to mitigate the "good" coverage.

 

Now Hollywood has white-washed Harden.

 

To the casual fan lol. Like you are seeing something different when Harden hogs the ball.

 

I find it quite unfair to criticize a player as efficient as HArden a stat padder. During his streak he got to like 20-30 pts at half time many times, and I am aware that he did try to extend his record in few games, but hell what's the man suppose to do if his shots are going in and his teammates are whiffing all over the place.

If he's a stat cruncher as haters claim u figure he would boost up his assists up also? He's only scoring a sht ton to hide the shtty incompetence of his teammates offensive skills.

 

I dun even think that is a negative word as others make it out to be.

It's like WB, Harden and PJ are those trendsetters in clothes and garment, I kid, but they are at the forefront of things.

 

it's pretty negative. Haters use it all the time, plus "inefficient" to characterize Harden, Hell just go through the recently made threads about ending the streak. It's quite unfair of the amount Harden receives over literally carrying a bunch of scrubs to playoffs.

Harden is the most efficient dude on the team and he gets criticized for being inefficient for the volume of shots he takes, it's quite disgusting the amount of spin a hater will do to sht on harden.

 

Just like the dividing lines of politics in the US often come down to race, the reasons that the media has a positive or negative bent on a player often boil down to location. Having virtually zero representation in the national media circuit, Houston is one of the easiest punching bags to pick out there. We're a big city, we're a city of immigrants, and in spite of our large population we will always be perceived as lagging behind the more established big cities in terms of culture, the arts, inherited wealth, traditions, legacy etc. In those respects even Cleveland has a leg up over us.

If Harden were on a bicoastal team or say, the Bulls, he would be recognized for the top 15 player in the NBA history that he is likely to become. 117 win shares at age 29, about to pass Dwyane Wade before the year ends. And that's with 3 years of toiling away on OKC's bench. It's absurd that people still think Wade is better, and frankly it's absurd that people think Kobe is untouchable against him. By the end of his career Harden will have a significant advantage over Kobe in win shares. Lebron is unquestionably a top 3 player in NBA history; KD a top 10 player; and Harden a top 20. I believe Harden will get to the top 15 when it's all said and done. Somewhere near Dirk, Bird, Magic, Stockton...and Kobe.

 

I don't root for players of other teams. I don't buy their jerseys or fan related stuff. Why would I expect or care if anyone other than a Houstonian is a fan of James or any Rocket? You think the media doesn't root for the teams they grew up loving or played for? Big deal.

 

ever since that horrific 'no D' video on youtube became viral, people starts to hates him hard