If this was the other way around, Rachel Nichols and Twitter and ESPN would be fainting across the land, crying tears about the sanctity of basketball and sportsmanship. There would be mass panic. The children would not be safe from James Harden's rhetoric. Alas...it is James Harden receiving the mockery, so we're good.
kemba tried off the dribble a couple times in the 4th as well and just got turned back. beardo was like cookie monster "NOT IN MY HOUSE!!"
I really wanted Rockets to draft him once upon a time. Loved his story and thought he was very likeable. Then he went full b****.
So..Im trying to understand what is the problem here that has turned Giannis into the devil in CF. Because he explained coach Nurse's tactics and what he asked the team to do?
Remember when the Atlanta Hawks won 60 games under Budenholzer and people were like man this is a complete team blah blah blah and got ran right out of the building in a 4-0 sweep by LeBron in the ECF? Same way I feel about these Bucks. Could they win 70 games? Absolutely but when it comes down to it, either LA team has a superstar that has historically leveled their game up in the postseason while Milwaukee has a superstar that shot 8% worse in last year's playoffs when compared to the regular season because he doesn't have a real offensive game.
Very simple, if he were on the Rockets, he wouldn't be. People would call it a punk move, or something........ Durant isn't around, Lebron plays nice, there is no villain this season. I want to understand why Nurse is fixated on attacking Harden?
Are you familiar with previous MVP races and the various comments Giannis has made about Harden over time? What we have here is called a "rivalry". And Harden isnt really the one stoking it.
Maybe because he's perpetuating old narratives about our franchise player like it's still 2014? Not picking Harden for his team because he don't pass? Harden's led the league in assists per game before Going at Harden because he doesn't play defense? Harden's one of the best post defenders in the NBA Either Nurse or Giannis really don't know the NBA as much as they think they do.
Let me give you an example of what he has said in another post game interview 1:37 Derozan scored ONLY 8 points and it was just FTs.. He just says things like this, bluntly to explain in post game interviews. Of course there is no love lost between him and Harden but if you think that it is because he wants to shame that isnt correct. The guy jumped over THJ on a dunk and then categorically refused the idea of the Bucks selling it on T-shirts because he didnt want to shame him.. And he has a bad relationship with THJ as well.
Harden's defensive strengths are whatever strengths that don't require moving his feet. Yes he'll put in the effort and has the strength to not let big men back him down in the post but any type of defense that requires moving feet to fight through screens and stay with a man while they run off ball or chasing down a transition offense etc Harden has been and still is bad at. I guess Nurse made a mistake assuming that Harden's lack of effort in moving his feet translated into post defense.
Obviously, they were proven wrong by Harden. But what you call perpetuating was just him explaining what the coach asked the team to do. How is it his fault if the coach had the wrong idea. In fact as a Bucks fan I couldn't be more happy by this. Nurse proved to Giannis that he isnt good to coach him.
ehh if the teams were in the same conference maybe.. I dont believe they like each other but to go out of his way to shame Harden no. He has more of a rivalry with Blake Griffin , Bojan Bogdanovic and Ben Simmons, and he will go out of his way to humiliate them on the court when they play each other. I wouldnt be suprised if he actually punched Bogdanovic in the face, he really hates the guy. However I, also dont like his bluntness the guy has a little Derrick Rose in him. In some things he is completely oblivious and emotionally stupid.