Harden has been called overrated so many times at this point by the general public, some dudes on here, and a select group of media members, that he's probably somewhat underrated at this point. Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe said this exact thing on their podcast yesterday. He's flawed, but he's still without question a top player in the league, and a very young one at that.
that's because anonymous posters on clutchfans and other internet message boards don't actually represent the opinions of anyone they are just so loud about their opinions that they give an illusion their assessment is somehow inline with "the public opinions"
I post on another message board that talks about sports in general, and so many people there laugh at Harden because they think he's the worst defender in the league and even his offensive game only works when he gets foul calls, therefore, he will always suck in the playoffs. This is a very popular view by many fans of all different teams.
again internet opinions are just that, internet opinions one thing I learned about sports forums is how knee jerky opinions are, people will spew things they hear a lot from other posters as if they are the gospel.
The view that Harden has no offensive game outside of drawing fouls is one held by those who don't actually watch Rockets games. And I always find it interesting when people characterize his game that way, but not KD's.
why does NBATV never show the players actually PLAY!?! why are they always showing grant hill and the crew..or the coaches...its so annyoing. we want to see them HOOP.
Durant is the NBA's current golden boy and Harden is almost universally disliked by Non-Rockets fans. A vast majority of the NBA's fans just listen to the media and Twitter and such for their opinions rather than actually watch the games. It's pretty comical sometimes, if you ask me.
That's why message board opinions should generally be taken with a grain of salt. Getting fouled consistently is a skill. If every player could do what he does, they would. Why wouldn't they? The guy plays next to no defense and is a max player widely regarded as one of the 15 best players overall. It's not easy. Being able to manipulate the defender into doing something they shouldn't is an advantage plenty of players would love to have. He gets to the line just like every other superstar level player does. Not to mention stars get MORE foul calls in the playoffs. This postseason was the first of his career where his free throw rate went down compared to the regular season. The Harden hate always has been just a giant overreaction. Criticizing his defense is legit criticism, but letting that weakness in his game warp the reality that he somehow isn't one of the best in the game and that his offense is just cheap tricks is where a bunch of people are just plain wrong.
Harden to Millsap <iframe src="//instagram.com/p/rDGKegRh6J/embed/" width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>
James Harden sinking a step back three on this clip <iframe src="//instagram.com/p/rDMbqvxh0w/embed/" width="612" height="710" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true"></iframe>
Isn't George's little move there a travel? I get that Harden's was a gather step into his 2 steps, but George dribbles again afterwards.
I don't think it was a travel, it's just not a pretty move. I get the idea behind it: pull your left foot back to make the defender back up, then rise up for a jumpshot. Westbrook does the same thing except 2 times faster.
I figured this was as good a place as any to ask this, but does anyone know if there's a wallpaper to use as a background of Harden's monster dunk from the 2012 Olympics? I tried a quick Google search but nothing with a good resolution would come up. Preferably a view from the side. Thanks in advance.
