[Grantland] The Irritation Game: How James Harden and the Rockets Undid LeBron and the Cavs

Fisher is just as much an ultimate evil as Karla was. I hated that guy.

 

Embrace villain status!

 

Needs "good job, good effort"

 

this exactly

 

You can ask the Detroit Pistons of 1988-89, the early 80's raiders or for someone closer to home, Roger Clemons.

 

I like how he called the Rockets "polished."

 

I think the Rockets should be who they want to be. Some d-bag sports writer shouldn't control their image.

Also, I would like to be VERY CLEAR. Patrick Beverly is not a villain. He is mentally ill, and can't help himself

 

Taken in the right way, the article is a real compliment. The Rockets a good team, James Harden is making his move as the game's best player, etc ... Sure, the guy hates, but as he acknowledges up front, it's one of the best compliments he can give. Not everyone will be the Rockets' No. 1 fan.

But I still can't figure out why the Rockets are such a target (at least among half of Grantland's staff, and to be fair, that site counts as the basketball intelligentsia now). We take a lot of 3-pointers, but that doesn't mean we're boring. When we swing the it inside-out, our ball movement can look downright Spurs'-esque. We play good defense, but we're not physical or dirty. We don't do or say stuff off the court that is worthy of derision, either.

Beverley annoys, but in a way that everyone recognizes would make him beloved if he's one of your own. Dwight's Orlando departure counts as a permanent mark against him, and the showman's personality can grate, but he's one guy on our team. Have you ever seen Andrew Bogut play? And yet the Warriors are NBA's darlings.

The reception to Harden confuses me the most. Half the NBA media think he's unwatchable and engaging in outright deceit of the system. The same Harden with the NBA's most dazzling set of one-on-one moves and step-back jumpers. The same Harden who cerebally picks apart NBA defenses like few others, always making the right pass at the right time. The same guy who botched his defense last year, accepted the criticism in the offseason, and immediately became a plus defender the next year.

Apparently he's the only superstar to even get calls when he drives to the basketball. Welcome to the NBA. You would have truly hated to watch Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Dwayne Wade play.

 

Do they play basketball?

Because those who do/did--Hubie Brown, Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, JVG--compliment Harden and our team. A lot.

To each his own. Some people like the Spurs' brand of play or the Warriors'. I just don't see how they can discount the results. We sit 4th in the league. That means we're doing something good.

 

You know how many hated the Heat, and the Spurs, and the Celtics, and the Lakers? Good company, no?

 

I can understand somewhat.
I once hated Terry.
I once didn't like Josh Smith.
Dwight used to annoy me slightly.
I would hate Beverley if he wasn't on my team.
I respect the game of all of them.
For outsiders, that's what makes them even more annoying.

 

You guys think you know hate? Try being a Cowboys/Rockets fan living in both DFW and Houston. You get used to it after a while.

 

Guys- it's not Morey ball, analytics, style of play, harden "flops" and ft disparity- it's good old fashion "mid coast" hate. They worship left coast and right coast teams like a bunch of elitist snobs. They don't like us unsophisticated mid coast hicks from Houston beating their storied franchises (wannabes cavs)

F them all, beat them all.

 

As long as we win the title I don't give a damn what they call us.

 

Rep'ed! Nicely done.

 

i just think the most flawed aspect of the article is calling us "polished" when weirdly the most "composed" we ever were as a rotation was the season's first four games. it's the same line of thinking as people saying "yeah but kyrie wasn't playing" when dwight also wasn't playing. if anything, the cavs look more like who they are going to be right now. we've still yet to take our final form.

 

Yes, there are few franchises with a beloved and storied history like that of the Cleveland Cavaliers .

 

"NARRATIVE"

It's been written for us without our consent. Lazy parrot media will not repeat the narrative, it's easier.

 

Lets not go overboard with saying Harden is the best player. He is having the best season but how many of you wouldnt trade Harden for Lebron/Durant/Davis?

 

The team as constructed, I think Durant would be the easiest to plug in and keep doing what you are doing but with his health issues this season, I would not do it.

Lebron is Lebron, could he take this team minus James Harden to the promise land? With a healthy Dwight, no doubt. The scoring burden he would have on this rockets team would be tough on him though.

Davis is an easy no for me. I love his potential but the injuries scare the **** out of me.

It awesome that these things can even be debated though. That's how good Harden is, there is open room to debate whether you would trade him for one of the last 2 MVPs or the guy who many agree is the next coming of Duncan/KG.