Harden was 2 rebounds per game away from a triple double which he could easily have done at the expense of the team's record. Harden could've easily beaten Westbrook if he decided to stat chase just like Westbrook, while also having a better record. The only real possible arguments worth mentioning for Russell winning MVP are: 1. Russell got no help 2. KD left him so he's out for revenge It boils down to Russell has no help. He's got help this season, right? Apparently not! Now they're blaming Melo for their crappy regular season record, and not a single peep about how his former teammates are looking way better than "no help".
No, in that players weren’t actively trying to break the record. A high profile record is something that players, especially the greatest ones, are actively trying to go after on a regular basis. No one tried to go after this ‘record’.
The Home Run record means a lot more than a triple double record, because Home runs = more runs scored = more wins, you don't win games by getting 10 assists rather than 9 or 10 rebounds rather than 9
So much focus on his triple doubles, in terms of both praise and criticism. I don’t care about his triple doubles; I care about his overall production which was awesome. Westbrook’s rebounding last year should only be criticized if it put his team at a disadvantage. The Thunder were 3rd in defensive rebounding last year, after being 17th the year before. This, despite having a weaker rebounding starting unit, ignoring Westbrook. One must logically attribute the jump largely to Westbrook’s aggressiveness on the defensive glass. There are other advantages to a guard grabbing the defensive rebound in terms of transition play. 38% of the Thunder’s live ball defensive boards led to transition plays — 3rd in the league.
What makes you think Harden wasn’t “stat chasing” to get to 8 rebounds a game? His rebounding last year was more of an outlier for him than Westbrook’s.
because he did everything possible to get the rockets to the most wins/highest seed possible? WB = selfish statchaser Harden = winning teamplayer we get it, stupid/biased bball "analysts" and fans would rather have 2 more uncontested rebounds from a proven stat-padder than wins we know who actual NBA players and CP3 chose...
He was stat chasing. So was Westbrook. That makes it even funnier that they ended up awarding the less successful player.
I thought that the WCF thunder had one of the best rebounding differentials of all time, mostly thanks to having Adams and Ibaka making up the front court, and having a 7'0" tall freak of nature at SF, along with having a 6'5" PG who rebounds like Patrick Beverley. And we assume he managed to pull 4 extra rebounds out of his ass because he led the NBA in uncontested rebounds, Harden wasn't even top 10 in uncontested rebounds. Even then, Capela led the rockets in rebounding last year, while Adams averaged only 7 a game despite playing more minutes, having the same standing reach, 2 inches of height, and about 30 pounds.
you mean because RW is averaging a near 10 rpg right now because he's STILL stat chasing? RW averaged 3 rpg more than the previous season vs Harden's differential of 2 rpg. so i'd disagree that Harden's rebounding stats were more of an outlier. also, RW would typically "steal" the rebounds by boxing out his own teammates. Harden's behavior was more like waiting for a shot and getting in position for a rebound.
I remember a cowherd rant about Westbrooks MVP, that it was a sympathy MVP and there was nothing stopping westbrook (at the time) from averaging a trippy-dubby this year, and that even if he does, he won't finish top 3 in MVP voting because the novelty act would wear out. Speaking of which, he is only a few assists and rebounds short of doing it again. If he does, I guarantee you he doesn't finish top 3 in MVP voting and last years MVP is seen as even more of a joke than it already is.
Your first statement is just hyperbole, much like him “single-handedly” leading the Rockets to the second round. Not an interesting point, or a point at all. The second and third statements is just attaching labels to players, which again is not much of an argument. It is ironic to me that fans like you get so enraged over media hype of certain players that you consider unearned, when your commentary regarding our own players essentially mirrors it.
He regularly left the man that he should be guarding at the perimeter in order to chase some of those rebounds. That hurt his team so it’s fair to criticize his manufactured rebounds. Cue that deuchey @Ziggy catchphrase NEXT. https://www.google.com/amp/thebigle...-by-leaving-his-defender-stats-say-he-is/amp/
By this sort of argument, Harden hurt his team by being so dominant on offense because it hurt his team’s defense (since he had to conserve energy as a result). Yes, there are pros and cons to his strategy of aggressive rebounding. The question is would the Thunder have been better off by not chasing after rebounds the way he did? It’s actually not so simple a question to answer. The Thunder were a better defensive team last year than the year before, largely because of improvements on the defensive glass.
I don’t even need to name them. They existed, which suffices to prove your statement is hyperbole. The notion that players “single-handedly” win anything in basketball is a myth, driven by cognitive bias and our limited capacity to see all the contributions made across the entire team. It is a team game, in the end. Harden was by far the most important player, as was Westbrook for his team.
More SAS like hot takes from you. I’m not going to play that game, because I know it’s an impossible question to answer with any definitiveness.
Yet, breaking the HR record without "grotesquely manipulating the boxscore" like WB did has yet to happen, going on 56 years.
