I agree w many of your points and it just shows you again how important and unfair a narrative can be And unless corrected, those videos mocking hardens defense or ESPN excluding him will continue on where we disagree is that there are ways to solve this branding issue. This topic came up as we are in the middle of the political election cycle and no clearer example than what our politicians do in terms of branding. Even Magic Johnson during his rookie years was labeled by media as selfish and kicked norm Nixon out of organization. More recently, guys like Dwight improved his image. Originally known as a clown who likes fart jokes and has 4 baby mamas who won’t set screens but now a key piece to the lakers, setting screens and a valuable contributor to a championship contender
1. many gossip things should not find its way in this forum, esp GARM, cuz it's quite personal, it has nothing to do with hoop; 2. suppose harden was not a role model, he should have long been ruled out endorsing Adidas. it speaks volume, right? so don't worry; 3. we people love those athletes who may not be perfect, but he/she is who he/she is, other than who he/she pretend to be; if this league are so fascinated about fabricating a 'superstar' holding the trophy, Giannis is the perfect pretender.
I do not say that Harden is an example in terms of handling his public image or that he has great charisma ... but ... my friend ... come on!
1 Playoff win since 97? Too young to recall? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_NBA_playoffs You must have forgotten the Ron Artest, Yao, Luifa, MIP AB0 team that took the later Champs Lakers to 7 games in the 2nd round? Rick Adelman was a decent coach too. An Alltime likable team.
Uh I'm pretty sure - if you reread my post you realize I meant 1 playoff series win - not 1 game, sorry if that wasn't clear... I follow basketball insane amount. I mentioned in the same post about 7 game series lakers you linked, beating Portland being the (1 series win/advancement). I mean I even mentioned the 7 game cluster **** dallas series we were robbed on... So I'm pretty sure you knew what I meant on 1 win (being series). With that said, was there another series I missed? I'm also not meaning the lakers match-up with Yao and Francis, I am talking about the one with Artest and Yao (again the one you linked) finally being truly unstoppable, only to be derailed by injury. I don't count tmac advancing since he was on the bench, and then later in career didn't do anything to be on that Spurs team that lost to the Heat Also.... What part of me mentioning 97, being called young - when I even mention Moses Malone...
You answered yourself Portland was the series win, I guess First round series should also count as Series Win. They won 4-2 IIRC. But I think you meant WCF 3rd round appearance, then you should have articulated that. I get the sentiment. Many felt like we could have taken on the Lakers with a healthy roster. Artest left us, got even crazier and won. I will re-read it, it's a long post, I beg for pardon.
The dumbest thing I've read in a long time is "Harden is not articulate". Runner up to that is "Harden pays tens of thousands for hookers". Sauces or stfu. Magic's big ass smile doesn't erase: "I screwed anything that moved and I'm a poster boy for HIV bc I was a male w**** who cheated on his wife in epidemic fashion ". All that is NOT erased bc of a big, friendly smile The reason people underrate beard's defense and especially his offense is bc he plays for Houston. Houston teams are prejudiced by perception of being unsophisticated, hick-ville (Houston) where everyone is wearing a big hat, boots and running cattle or moonshine. If he was with Boston, NY or LA Harden would be rated as Godly by the media. Why do you think Dwight is not as hated? It's not bc he tells fewer fart jokes or sets more screens, it's bc he's playing for the darling lakers (which is only bc Kobe retired or dwight wouldn't be there). If anyone needs a rebranding it is you Sir. You come off ass a low-key harden (rockets) hater/troll and need to rebrand yourself into a real fan that appreciates this generational talent who wanted to play for the Rockets.
Read paragraph 2 I say one series win - since 97 - before harden arrived. I probably could have restated that, I realize I typed it fast - but I clearly state 1 series. So that means since hakeem going to wcf in 97 - the Rockets advanced 1 time and lost to the lakers 7 games 2nd round (I even mentioned that if it weren't for the injury they'd have probably won or eventually, Yao was crazy dominant then). But outside of that 1 series advancement that's it until harden is traded for, starts rough but always in the playoffs multiple advancements - WCFs etc etc I mean that's correct, right? 1x advancement
I am Yao fan, but I am still convinced if Morey would have pushed to trade Yao earlier, he could have gotten someone thru trade or signed someone significant. Then there is a chance to make the 2nd round again, or even further. We were waiting for more talent but that doesn't mean Harden is the only talent that can get you to the 3rd round. I am grateful with what we got in the end. That said.
I also absolutely agree with you on Yao, I mean if he didn't get hurt during the lakers series - that still went 7 games, we'd likely have won it. They had no answer for Yao, and that was peak form and then he gets screwed by injury, I mean we finally have a roster - an offensive coach, and imagine if t-mac was even 75% - guaranteed winning a chip. And def agree, I think there was just hope for Yao coming back, I mean knowing now, yeah, it sucked bad, but man, if he came back after that series healthy and we had kept Artest or found an enforcer replacement, Houston would have won it
Also, sorry for the stupidly long forum post... I just kind of got frustrated with topics lately, so I hang out more in the hangouts or game threads...
Everyone saying narratives/story doesn't matter in the NBA are silly. Yes ESPN/national media creates some of the storylines and the heroes and villains. Yes they favor the stars in bigger markets. Sure it may not affect the actually games, but if you can't shut them up on the court with rings, that narrative will persist. Harden sort of missed this boat already though. The narrative is already written. He just has to win now.
Harden doesn’t need to rebrand himself and even if he did he couldn’t. Basketball, in and off itself, can get repetitive and boring for casual fans. That’s why story lines and character development are important. You need heros, villains and easy to understand storylines to attract broader audiences and grow your brand. The NBA has done a fantastic job of this. So Harden will remain the villain for the foreseeable future.
That's the bottom line. It's not all on him though, but there is no doubt in my mind that he has to be the best player in the playoffs for us to have a chance at winning it all.
J Gottlieb is wrong, you cannot hide anyone on switch EVERYTHING defense. Smh Steph is hidden, Dame is hidden, Trae is hidden, even Lebron is hidden because their teams do not employ switch EVERYTHING defense. And everyone should also know that the greatest 2 way player, best defensive player, most clutch postseason player, Kawhi is also being hidden this season, he is not covering the best offensive player every game. Clips are either trying to save his legs for postseason or Kawhi is still not 100%.
