I totally forgot about the dribbling out the clock and then passing it off at the last second thing he used to do...Harden has changed so much in just a few years
I think it's my favorite when the Harden haters are forced to acknowledge his greatness. I loved the Andrew Sharpe piece so much for that reason.
“He made excuses for it” — meaning he explained why he voted the way did, as he does every year. He similarly “made excuses” for why he didn’t vote for Westbrook and LeBron that year.
He doesn't have to like him, just respect him. It's not a friendship. If he is hatin, then he is hating though but I haven't come across that yet. Maybe he just got the Memo that the NBA is transforming the MVP Award to a MV YP. Most Valuable Young Player. Giving it to new players nearly every year now.
If he's got an anti-Harden bias, it's because he openly admits this media-wide bias against Harden and continues to include some of it in his weighting of impact in any MVP discussion. It's always like the 7th thing mentioned, but the gist of it goes, "people in 'NBA circles' don't like Harden's game". It is what it is.
Lowe’s about as thoughtful and consistent as one can be when it comes to end of the year awards. He almost takes it too seriously. So I have to call BS on your characterization of his reasoning as “excuses”.
This was a good read. By the way, we don’t have to hate Giannis. He’s a truly great player and legitimate MVP candidate. He plays the game the right way, isn’t trying to build a super team in a big market, and he doesn’t get into trouble. Just stop.
You can call it what you want but he didn’t vote for Harden the year Westbrook beat him and he didn’t vote for Harden this year either. It is pretty absurd.
The people who voted for Westbrook, then Giannis this year are absurd because they change their criteria based on story-lines and inconsistent personal tastes. Lowe has been contemplative and consistent. You can fairly disagree with his opinion, but his opinion isn't absurd.
