[Bleacher Report] James Harden on His Unique Style of Play: 'You Probably Won't Ever See It Again'

Deserves its own thread

 

Man, Harden is a loyal dude. I'm really glad to have him.

 

Oh man social media is gonna have a field day with this one.

 

"no floaties, no boat." thinly-disguised banana boat reference, ergo a thinly-disguised bashing of Melo. Relieved then that this is a Melo thread.

 

lol I can't tell if you meant relieved or reviled

 

James Harden on His Unique Style of Play: 'You Probably Won't Ever See It Again'

It's fitting that James Harden plays just a stone's throw away from one of NASA's field centers.

For the NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player, basketball is all about space.

He creates it, challenges it, operates on his own axis within it.

"Creating space is one of the biggest parts of the game of basketball," Harden told Bleacher Report at his in-store appearance at the Adidas store in Houston's Galleria Mall. "If you don't have space, you're not able to do anything. You always have somebody riding you or being physical with you, but if you can create that space, no matter how much space it is, you can get your shot off.

"But for me, I don't need that much space, so these last few years, I've been learning different ways to create space to get my shot off or finish towards the rim. I know a lot of players in the NBA still struggle with that."

According to Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity, there's a fundamental link between time and space.

The universe can be viewed in three space dimensions: up/down, left/right and forward/backward. Then there's the time dimension.

Those four dimensions are known as the space-time continuum.

This is where Harden is at his best. He dribbles the ball like a metronome, dancing left and right, then stepping forward and backward, juking up and down before striking with offensive fury.

When Harden has the ball in his hands, he's a virtuoso, lulling defenders into his orbit, only to leave them floating in zero gravity.

It's as if time stands still for anyone who dares to guard him.

The six-time All-Star tried to capture the concept of that space-time continuum—visually, at least—in his signature Harden Vol. 3 sneaker.

"Houston gave me this opportunity, and I think if it wasn't for Houston and the Rockets, I wouldn't be where I am," Harden said. "So it's always in me to kind of give back and make sure I represent them well. The NASA idea, I can use that metaphor to represent how I create my space on the court. It makes sense. It all plays a part in who I am and what I bring to the table."

Harden is coming off a banner year. After leading Houston to the best record in franchise history (65-17) and pushing the Golden State Warriors to the brink of elimination in the Western Conference Finals, the league's leading scorer finished the 2017-18 season with the biggest cherry on top: the Maurice Podoloff Trophy.

"Coming off an MVP Season, it's a great feeling, honestly," Harden said. "But I think every year until I probably can't play anymore, that's the conversation that I want to be in. I've been in it for the last four years, and I plan on being in it for the next four at least. If you're in those conversations every single year, you're doing something right; you're one of the top 3-4 best players in the league, every year, consistently, and that's tough to do. I'm not just one year, so that's an individual goal.

"But an overall goal is to be in the Finals and, you know, holding up a championship. We were extremely close last year, but we still got a long way to go, you know, we gotta continue to get better, continue to grow, and those are the goals. If you're in that conversation, you're playing until the end of June, you're doing something right."

This season hasn't been as promising, at least not from the start. The Rockets are languishing at 6-7 and are 12th in the Western Conference standings.

If Houston is going to find its way back to contention, it's Harden who will have to get his team there. His overall numbers are down slightly this year (27.9 points, 7.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game), but it won't be long before he elevates his player efficiencyand unleashes his lethal first step on the rest of the league.

"That first step is deadly," Harden said. "That step...nothing you can compare it to, you know. It always keeps the defender second-guessing himself. With that first step, I can get to the basket, or I can jab you and shoot right over you, or I can cross you over from that first step so that triple-threat position, that first step, is deadly.”

Harden's not afraid to show some hubris. But he is granted some latitude in that area when he has the ability to score at will while leaving defenders stranded on "Harden's Island."

"Harden's Island is a tough place to be," Harden said. "You don't have any floaties or a boat. You're just in the water, and you don't have anything to save you."

Former Los Angeles Clippers forward Wesley Johnson knows that firsthand after taking a spill last season when Harden dropped him with a mean step-back dribble. After staring down Johnson, Harden drained a three-pointer with dramatic effect.

In his first three games, he averaged just 24.0 points, 6.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds. What's alarming, though, is his turnovers. He's had 33 in six contests since his return.

Still, Harden's been in his bag in clutch situations, like his recent head-to-head battles with Victor Oladipo and the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 5th and 11th. He and the Rockets came out on top, both times, and those victories were buoyed by his uncanny ability to create open space for his shot.

"Whoever has to guard me is unlucky for sure," Harden said. "I don't care who you are. Yeah, I'm talking to you."

 

Have I mentioned how much I love Harden? We are so lucky to have him. Praise be to Presti for fckin up.

 

We need to do all we can to build around him.

He has to hold up the championship trophy at least once minimum.

 

It's one thing to say nice things near retirement, but not even Hakeem (who was from UofH, too) had such a great quote in his prime as this:

"Houston gave me this opportunity, & I think if it wasn't for Houston & the #Rockets I wouldn't be where I am," Harden said. "So it's always in me to give back & make sure I represent them well."
​

Win one for Harden!!


Of course, Green would have said "make sure I represent *us* well." but, that's good enough.

 

Harden creates more space than Hubble’s Law.

 

I've never thought about it until now after reading this, but it's kinda similar how Hakeem was unguardable.

Obviously different eras and different positions. Hakeem in the post with the dream shake and harden on the perimeter with the iso.

Both, in essence, are just 3 different moves they can do at any time in any combination.

You could prepare and prepare and know everything they are capable of doing but you just cant stop it from happening because the 3 options send you in different directions.

Your always guessing and you cant really react naturally, and when you do react naturally the combo effect just forces you out of position.

I really really want Harden to win us a trophy, because he just is not appreciated enough for how truly dominant he is.

He will go down as an all time great and should be considered the 2nd best rocket of all time.

I love him too.

 

There are 3 segments in the original Post that deserved 3 of its own threads.

 

He is holdin it dine for htine

 

SWAG.

 

How we see James Harden


How the rest of NBA sees Harden

 

My favorite basketball player doesn't understand how islands work. SMH

 

I believe Harden is one of the 3 most unguardeable players ever to play the game and he does it with pure skill. His ability to finish below the rim against giants is uncanny.

 

How Clutchfans sees James Harden.

 

How we see Harden's fouls:




How casual NBA fans see Harden's fouls: