Simmons hates the Rockets/Harden style of iso-ball and has been vocal about that for years. Plus who cares what Bill Simmons has to say. This isn’t 2007
I agree with you that their style of play is very similar, but "they play exactly the same way" seemed a much stronger statement which I don't agree with. In all the ways Harden is clearly superior to Doncic, I would say they don't play exactly the same, for instance. And the same goes for the things Doncic does as far as passing and rebounding which Harden doesn't do as well (which are the things Simmons was focusing on here, in comparing him to Bird). As for Simmons' love affair with Doncic, a lot of that enthusiasm obviously comes from Doncic being a new player doing crazy things at age 21. Add a handful of playoff failures under his belt with him entering into his 30s, and that enthusiasm would naturally dampen.
Maybe you should stop giving the benefit of doubt to the anti-Harden, anti-Rockets side all the dam time.
More Simmons hating on Harden's passing at 3:20: "Every Houston decision, front office and coaching, leveraged Harden's unparalleled slash-and-kick ability, his surreal ability to find open shooters from every conceivable angle, ..." Not saying that we can't find fault with some of the stuff Simmons has said about Harden or the Rockets. You could definitely call him a Harden and D'Antoni skeptic when it comes to the playoffs and argue with him about that, and for sure he has stylistic issues with how Harden and the Rockets play (but who cares, that's just a matter of taste). But claiming that he's dismissing Harden's passing game as "cheap" in this instance is just, in my view, disingenuous. It's not what he said, and it is not even consistent with his past commentary on Harden's passing game as far as I'm aware.
He called Harden and Rockets "uglyball" how is it that Doncic a lesser Harden plays beautiful ball now? Simmons is FOS.
"That little itty bitty change ... so it's not the same". Vanilla Ice LMAO You posted the video and you still do not see the racism it is clearly pointing out.
next Doncic will make somebody fall on a crossover, and they’ll start comparing him to AI with the handles
I don't know what you're referring to. Sometimes the other Mavs players will stand around watching while Doncic is going 1-on-1, and he is not a fan of that either. He even pointed that out at one point during the segment. That's why he specifically focused on his passing to cutters as the thing that makes him extra special.
The video is funny, especially that Vanilla Ice part, lol. I can appreciate the humor in the comparison, even if I don't 100% agree with the analogy.
I think their stats are similar with Harden scoring a ton more and they reel in those assists, step backs and such but I am not so sure about their routines, habits being similar. Doncic really loves to drive all the way almost to the hoop and kick it out, Harden kicks out earlier more often. Doncic doesn't really care about his FT efficiency yet and his shooting percentages are bad. They would have won more games if he just made his darn FTs.
Wow, what an ignoramus. First of all Simmons, check your facts before you speak. Harden has been to a Final with OKC. Secondly, this is a desperate attempt to CYA for your previous statements about Harden. You were inappropriate earlier and instead of owning up to it, you decided to pile on higher. Hate begets hate. Go and crawl under the rock you came out of. Better yet, just shut up! Maybe I should follow my Mother's teaching. "The caustic remarks of the ignorant should be ignored". That definitely applies to Bill Simmons...big time!
Of course people care Nobody has their own opinions they have to seek other opinions from the media We have so many channels on tv and so many sites
those "others" have votes on awards that impact and define players legacies, if this was another max kellerman i would brush it off