You have a really weird, warped mindset about all this, though. What's the alternative? For the Nets to completely fail and lose? Do you think Harden would like that more than not playing any more this postseason while winning a ring? Just to say "HA! You're nothing without me, see?!" Because no one would think that way. I take back what I said about 99% of players would rather win a ring. It's 100%. 100% of players would rather win a ring and not have much impact on the journey, than giving it your all but coming up short. Literally everyone. A ring is a ring is a ring. You think LeBron is happy sitting at home thinking "even though I got eliminated, at least I can take pride in giving it my all without AD?" No, man. You think AD is proud that the Lakers lost in the first round, thinking "I would have been the difference between winning and losing against PHX?" No, man. Why would you not want to be on a team that could win the title without you?
Bro, their scoring anything they want on the Bucks, they cant even defend them at all. Their defense hasnt done anything. Bucks are one of the top defensive teams and they couldnt stop Brooklyn at all. I said what I said. People can read what I wrote, Im not shying away from it. What I dont expect people to accuse me of is trying to slander or discredit Harden given the rest of my damn posts. Why do you keep ignoring that.
No I really dont, you just dont bother trying to understand and name call. Did I say that? They are completely destroying them without Harden, its not like these are close games. It looks like they dont even need him. Sheesh man, its like 0 to 100 with some of you. Thats nonsense. And you dont know 100% of players. Not all rings are created equal. Why do you think Durant left Golden State? No one gave him any credit. Lmao if they won a title without AD, do you really think he woulndt feel some type of way about it? Do you really believe that? Thats naive. Because I would want to hold value to a team? I would want my play to matter, WTF?
I think your argument is dependent that Harden controlled his fate knowing he'd land on the Nets and not say the Heat, Sixers, Celtics or Nuggets. Had he been traded to any of those teams and gone down with injuries like he did with the Nets and those teams were bounced out of the playoffs, I get the impression he'd feel much worse over that outcome over being up 2-0 against the Bucks and still in trajectory of a title. At the same if he were traded to any of those teams and they were up 2-0 in their series, I imagine he'd be just as content as he is right now. At this point, I just think he wants a title and probably has some relief knowing his team is strong enough to win without him.
Winning without him is one thing, but being able to win a title without him is another. But it is just the Bucks, if they faced the Sixers, I'd imagine itd be different.
Only point I'm making is if I were Harden and I had to sit out the entire playoffs, which appears unlikely, I'd much rather my team win a title without my presence than lose because they couldn't win without me. And if you were in his position, I get the impression you'd draw the same conclusion, media and BBS posters discrediting be damned.
Its pretty simple, @HP3 doesn't want Harden's move to the Nets to be viewed like how many fans/media viewed Durant's move to the Warriors, AD to the Lakers or Lebron to the Heat. In each of those moves, those players received a lot of hate ( mostly unfair imo ) for taking the "easy way" out. Personally I wasnt a fan of KD's or lebron's move because I thought it made the NBA less suspensful and entertaining. I was wrong about Lebron, that move was great and very entertaining!
the Nets are still an elite offensive team without Harden, the Bucks were never gonna shut them down or stop them from scoring…however, they themselves can’t even produce average levels of offense against the Nets defense making these games not even competitive the Bucks were the 4th best offensive team with a 116.5 offensive rating during the regular season, and they can’t even muster 90 points…they had a 91 offensive rating… Boston without Jaylen Brown put up a better fight than this So people are supposed to just see posts like “Harden should be embarrassed if the Nets destroy the Bucks without him” and “Harden can’t make good decisions for his career” as u not saying that this is a bad look for Harden? Are we supposed to believe that Kyrie and Harden with no KD wouldn’t dominate a team that’s producing 91 offensive ratings and shooting 6-30 from 3? Would it then be that the Nets can win the title without KD because Milwaukee is choking?
none of that really matters. Harden got a lot of hate even before any of this, so worrying about him getting hated now is way beyond late
I dont know how I would feel, honestly. I would be happy for them...but I also feel that I think I would need to go to a team that actually needs my contribution.
What was even the alternative for him if he didn’t end up in BK? Remain in Houston and continue to lose? a Philly trade wasn’t gonna happen Boston didn’t try, and while Harden and Tatum would be very good, that’s not a title winner with the rest of that roster so barren Miami didn’t have the assets Nuggets didn’t try it would be another wasted year of his prime as opposed to winning a title in BK even if he’s not the one who carried them all the way
They could have at least made it harder on them. They are a top 10 defense with DPOY on their roster. They also have a top 6 defense and cant stop Brooklyn at all. Harden's main value is coming from offense. Yea, but they also have a better defense than Boston and cant do anything to stop them at all. Is saying "this isnt a good look for Harden" slandering Harden as a player or a person? Am I not allowed to question his decision making as I see the Nets destroying the Bucks without him? Am I not allowed to criticize moves that I dont agree with. Do you think Im going on this agenda driven posting where I want people to think Harden is a loser??? Is that what you really believe? You know thats not true. And If you really believe I would, we can stop here bro. And for the record I believe Harden with Kyrie could absolutely beat the Bucks. That's not even a question. I still believe Harden is the best player on this team.
If the Bulls somehow managed to win their first title without Jordan due to injury in the playoffs, do you think Jordan would be upset over that tarnishing his legacy? Or lets say Hakeem goes down in game 6 against Starks after the block and is out for game 7 and Robert Horry drops 90 to close out the Finals, do you think Hakeem would worry about that tarnishing his legacy? The only people that will use Harden's injury against him are the people who were already critical of him or were already defensive of his legacy as a result of the trade in the first place. At the end of the day I'm sure Harden wishes he was healthy so this constructed narrative would never have entered people's minds, but that isn't how it's played out.
Yup it doesn't really matter. There's people who seriously hated Lebron and Durant for leaving their teams in Free Agency but love Harden getting traded to the Nets. Or vice versa. It ultimately doesn't matter much.
If Giannis gets swept and continues this garbage it’s going to be a very bad look. Honestly after watching Tatum play that dude is so much better offensively then Giannis it’s not funny . Giannis at best is a borderline top 10 player with his glaring deficiencies on offense. Durant Jokic Harden Kawhi Embiid Luka Lebron ( healthy) Davis ( healthy) Curry are all better.
As for the Nets they are going to get even better once harden returns for the next series. I doubt harden plays this series at all
the Nets without Harden are still 1 of the best offenses in the NBA with ease, that was always the case…the Bucks were never really gonna slow down BK even without Harden…what Harden does is take their offense to by far and away the best in league history Milwaukee is 9th defensively and Boston is 13th…Boston gave up a whopping 128 offensive rating to BK in the 1st round…it’s not like Milwaukee was some major elite defense this year, they are not stopping KD and Kyrie + shooters on a consistent basis…if Harden was on the court with the way Milwaukee played these 2 games, BK would’ve probably set offensive records if we’re gonna talk about defensive ratings, then Milwaukee and their 4th ranked offense can’t score a lick against BK’s 22nd ranked defense which is why the games aren’t even close U expected Milwaukee to not even be able to score 90 points against Brooklyn’s defense? Because that’s far more unlikely than them not being able to stop KD and Kyrie U made your posts, and all I said is that you’re creating some narrative like this is a bad look for Harden because that’s exactly what it looked like. That’s it. How u act like somebody wouldn’t interpret those posts in that way is beyond me. U said he should be embarrassed and he can’t make good decisions for his career. How are the Bucks embarking on a legendary choke job, and Harden is the one who should feel embarrassed? I’m not the only one who had a puzzled look at those posts. If u believe that Harden with Kyrie and no KD could absolutely beat the Bucks without question, then why should Harden be catching heat for KD and Kyrie being able to beat the Bucks? Harden and Kyrie with no KD is on some different tier than KD and Kyrie with no Harden? If u believe that Harden is the best player on this team, then these 2 games have literally changed nothing, especially when u think they could even beat the Bucks without question if KD wasn’t even playing. This series is an indictment on the Bucks and how much of a joke they become in the postseason.
