[SBNation Podcast] "This is James Harden’s Best Chance to Shut Up His Loudest Critics"

The title is hilarious. This is not his best chance since he's been here, and it won't be his best chance while he's here.

It isn't a great roster, there are new pieces, new coach. We will unquestionably start out slow and have to deal with several injury prone players. If we win more than 45 games, he will have played like an MVP but won't be considered for it.

Just needs to improve moving off the ball defensively and offensively. If he does that, he is putting himself in the conversation among the best ever SG's. It's not about critics, all the critics have to do is look at his W/L vs roster strength to understand just how crazy good James Harden is. They make it seem as though he still has to prove he's a superstar lol.

 

Well...Harden's "loudest critics" are almost entirely irrational when it comes to judging Harden's play, so not sure anything will change regardless.

 

Not looking like an idiot on defense will go a long way.

 

This is the exact correct response and should shut down the thread, lol.

 

Homie needs to start reducing his playing time. Coaches will always be insecure about wins, so it's on the team for Harden to feel comfortable about that.

Just imagine we actually get somewhere and he has to play extended minutes on top of two added months.

That wear and tear doesn't just vanish away.

 

he just needs to play defense and not have to do everything on offense. might be able tod that this season

 

Not sure if you've seen Harden's defense in the years he's been here, but it's not "irrational" to criticize him

 

i guess you didnt watch curry in the playoffs

 

What does Curry has anything to do with Harden? Harden fans are so insecure about Curry's success. I suspect that Harden gave up playing for the MVP because Curry was incredible right out of the gate last season and Harden realized that he could never be on that level offensively.

This is loser mentality. You Harden fans should do him a favor and stop comparing him to someone else and hold him accountable on his on merit.

 

Sure his defense is bad but it gets WAY overblown. It's ridiculous.

 

Agreed.

On the one hand, his defense is atrocious.

But on the other hand, it's very similar to other all-star guards - who get praised for their defense when it suits someone's fancy.

 

There's a difference between the rightful and reasonable criticism of his defense and some of the nonsense that gets thrown around.

Harden deals with much more of it than other star players.

 

It's worth a full listen. Good stuff

 

no harden most likely gave up because he knew he didnt win the mvp for other factors besides play on the court. their is a fascinating article on espn that i read by michael eric dyson titled lightskin vs. darkskin, and it chronicles james harden and lebron james vs. stephen curry. And how they have to do twice as much to get the same reward

here is the article

http://theundefeated.com/features/light-skinned-vs-dark-skinned/

NOTE: This is the first of two consecutive commentaries by Michael Eric Dyson on Stephen Curry, his family and their influences on questions of race, color, family and faith.

It was a brisk May night in Oakland, California, when the Golden State Warriors vanquished the Portland Trailblazers to snag a second consecutive berth in the 2016 Western Conference finals.

Before the game, reigning MVP Stephen Curry once again hoisted the Maurice Podoloff Trophy recognizing him as the league’s most-heralded player. As the glee gently took hold in the locker room and spilled into the hallway outside, I spoke to Curry and most of his family — his father, the 16-year NBA veteran Dell, his enchanting mother Sonya, his brother and current NBA player Seth, and his resourceful wife Ayesha. I discussed with them a wide range of issues — faith, fatherhood, feminism, and family values — seeking to gauge how they affect Curry and his loved ones.

Now that the Warriors are entering the NBA Finals to play the Cleveland Cavaliers, Curry’s profile as the league’s best player will be further elevated.

But there is a vexing issue I didn’t raise with Curry and his family — an issue that his celebrity has shined new light on: the difference one’s visibility makes to the race, and to the larger world, if one is light-skinned or dark-skinned.

The politics of shade have shadowed black folk from the time we set foot in North America. Curry’s fame has upped the ante: Suspicion surrounds him because of his light skin, and because he’s been lauded by both the NBA and media establishments. The subliminal message has become explicit: Curry is a brother we may not be able to embrace because the powers that be embrace him too. Curry is not the first black man who makes some black folk uneasy because America loves him as much as we do, but he may be the most popular contemporary figure evoking that dilemma. And Curry’s color is at the heart of that dilemma.

There’s little question that Curry’s skin has inflamed a racial wound that may be invisible to folk outside the culture: the plague of colorism, or skin tone, that has yet to be conquered. Curry’s light skin and its relation to — some would argue the crucial reason for — his broad cultural appeal has not gone unnoticed.

“James Harden doesn’t stand a chance to win the MVP,” a college professor on the West Coast proclaimed in his class when I visited his school in 2015, referring to Curry’s closest competitor for the award. “He’s too dark and ‘too black.’ ”

It should be noted that not all the mentions of Curry’s light skin are as dramatic or negative. Curry appeared on a panel with Harden of the Houston Rockets, Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2014 to promote the release of the NBA2K video game, where Durant recalled first meeting Curry when they were both 10 years old while playing on the AAU circuit.

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why do you think klay got 3rd team over harden.. even, the nba voters want a lightskinned nba player to be the best 2 guard in the nba. They are already pushing Russell Westbrook for 2017 NBA MVP

Kevin Durant should have joined houston, now if the warriors fail to win 70 games, he will get the blame

 

strongest 1st post in the history of 1st posts

 

Yep. Harden's darker skin makes him more tired to play defense. I can't find that article but it was from The Onion.

 

Why did Klay get a regular season accolade when he was the #2 offensive option on the greatest regular season team of all-time?

Yep, must the skin color...

Klay was a lock for an all-nba team when the Warriors set the win record. You'd be better off arguing against Lillard or Lowry, but both of their teams vastly exceeded expectations while the Rockets were a huge disappointment.

In terms of accolades, you get bonus points for stepping up when teammate production suffers due to injuries. You don't get bonus points for stepping up when teammate production suffers due to feuding.

 

bottomline harden would have won mvp in david stern's nba, and he would been on the 2nd team under his watch as well. It seems their are too many west coast voters involved in the new nba, and people on the west coast love bone thugs and harmony... thats all immma say

 

did you not watch curry get destroyed by kyrie, lillard, and westbrook in the playoffs. i can only name a handful of times where a guard went off on harden like that, joe johnson with the nets on tnt, jj reddick, corey brewer, and oj mayo. THATS IT

klay had 38 last year, but he was being coming off of picks being guarded by ariza and brewer. klay is closer to 6'8 and tries to sneak his way into the 2 guard discussion, he really has the same frame as a gordon hayward