That was not a travel. People keep forgetting that the steps only count AFTER he gathers the ball. When you look at the point AFTER the gather, he only takes 2 steps. People don't understand the rules and therefore freak out.
Because many people hate the way James Harden plays basketball, so when they find one example of him getting a favorable call, they blow it out of proportion. It’s ridiculous and stupid. James Harden is an insanely good offensive player, playing in a system that suits him perfectly. He happens to know how to draw and sell legitimate foul calls at an elite level. It pisses people off because they don’t want to see fouls called on three point shots or guys going to the line 10-plus times a game so they irrationally look for things to prove that he’s a product of the refs. The reality is it takes a special talent to put up three 50-point triple doubles in his career, one 60-point triple double (as @heypartner pointed out), and to score 47 in an NBA game, period.
It was a travel This is Right Foot "Step 0" -- the Gather -- and Left Foot is moving Then he plants the left foot "Step 1" Right Foot for Step 2 Left foot to complete the Step-Back is Step 3.
It was obviously a travel. Anybody arguing it's not a travel is blind. Having said that...Lebron travels at times every game. Harden does too. Westbrook does too. Curry will as well. Kobe used to. I can go on. All the great offensive players utilize travels because it doesn't get called and because it is footwork that allows them to score the ball easier. For some reason...James Harden has been made into a pariah for doing things that others have done forever. Plain and simple...this doesn't go viral if it's anybody but Harden.
Every player whiffs on defensive plays, embellishes fouls , and travels. Those are common occurrences every night in the NBA. Why does it become a red alert when Harden does it? Not sure there's ever been an athlete at his level (MVP, All-time great) that is so ridiculed. Maybe Alex Rodriguez, but I think that mainly came later in his career after the steroid scandal.
His step-backs aren't travels, just because this one is. Better than any other player in history, he can take his step-back to the edge of legal timing via practice, practice and more practice. He's bound to get his timing wrong a few times out of 300 attempts per year, and we've seen him get called for travelling. This is one of the rare times he didn't get called....so, people are sad. Hopefully, @DreamShook won't see this.
You're right, he normally "jumps" back and lands both feet simultaneously which is legal. But in this case looks like he took an extra step.
Harden's treatment by fans and the media is mind-blowing to me... didn't realize we are holding bad calls by the refs against players now. Like why is this even a heated debated issue? Where is the outrage when Lebron gets these calls on a nightly basis? He literally has 10-minute long travel compilations on YouTube
Only way they can stay relevant. Cater to all the salty fans that hate harden and exacerbate the hate. Smh. So glad I stopped watching espn
It's embarrassing at this point. It's not like it's a small company doing these YouTube videos, it's a worldwide company.
