except in steph's case we have people downplaying klay and draymond as nonstars as if they were any worse than manu and parker Most people realize steph is great. Just not as great as the true superstars who carry their teams consistently
So now shooting about 5% lower in shooting percentage is now choking? You might want to find out how often that same percentage dropped with Curry who had way more teammates to take the pressure off. Why are you focusing on that one stat. Harden and Steph shooting percentage drops about the same in the playoffs.
The key difference is that Curry's percentage drops to 40% which is still considered elite. Harden's drops to 33% which is considered below average. When a player shoots 30% from the 3pt line at a high volume, those shots are hurting his team. Remember, it's not just the magnitude of the drop....you have to also consider the final percentage. I'm focusing on 3pt% because both these players are extremely high volume 3pt shooters whose games are predicated on 3's.
I needa bookmark my post on this, heh. There's multiple reasons for this. At the professional superstar level, the whole idea of choking is 99% bullsh!t fabricated by fans and media to add drama to the game, and make conversations more interesting. NBA all star talent LIVES for these moments. They don't "choke". If they were even capable of choking, they never would have gotten this far in the first place. They would have "choked" in front of every big crowd, every close game, every big shot. What people describe as "choking" can almost always be explained by statistical variation and situational differences. 1. By far the most important factor is just system and team talent level: Harden has played on mostly garbage teams for his entire Houston tenure. A 32-year-old Chris Paul is the best player he ever played with in Houston, and he wasn't that healthy in much of the postseason here. In the playoffs, a lack of talent around you is amplified by defenses focusing on you. Those step-back 3s work when defenses play you 1-on-1, but that almost never happens in big games when you're surrounded by Tuckers, Covingtons, Arizas, and Westbrooks. Harden's team still desperately needs him to take those shots, so he has to force them (and when he doesn't force them, because he's a high-IQ player, people criticize him for quitting or not having a "killer instinct"). 2. The way officiating changes in the playoffs hurts Harden non-trivially more than most star players, and it's bullsh!t. (Exhibit A: Scott Foster) 3. The Rockets have played better-than-average (even by playoff standards) defenses in all of their deep playoff runs. 4. Literally everyone's shooting percentages drop significantly in the playoffs because defenses improve significantly. Harden's dropoff is only slightly more than average. 5. Finally, why focus on one silly statistic? 3P%? Really? When you look at PER, WS, BPM, RPM, TS%, etc, Harden is still performing at an elite level in almost every playoffs, and his team is always at least meeting if not surpassing expectations.
1. What you've described are the reasons for winning or losing....not choking. Even if a player has a lack of talent around him, that doesn't mean he'll perform poorly. There have been years where we've been eliminated despite Harden playing amazing. 2. Complaining about refs is pretty weak. Everyone knows how officiating changes in the playoffs. If a player can't adapt to it, that's on him. 3. Are you saying that it's unlikely for players to perform well against better-than-averages defenses? 4. It's not just about the degree of dropoff. You have to also consider the final percentage. For example, there's a big difference between dropping from 45% to 40% and dropping from 36% to 31%. 5. Silly statistic? For Harden, 3pt% is the most important statistic. It defines his game. If he's shooting well from the 3pt line, he's unstoppable. If he shoots poorly, he becomes significantly easier to game plan against.
How is he the best player in the world when he's not even the best playmaker on his team? Huge credit should go towards Green. Curry is a great shooter, but let's not act like he's making his own points. He's relying on good ball movement and good IQ play from Green. I swear that every time Curry goes on a little run like this that people consider him the MVP and he's the best player in the world. Take Harden for instance. Back in the 18/19 season, he had to carry us with a bunch of scrubs. We were 11-14 and he somehow got us to 4th with a bunch of G League players. He also went on a 32 30 plus point streak. He barely got any credit for that from the media.
Not saying he’s the best player in the world, but your question doesn’t really make sense to me. There are a number of ways to make your team better. Being a “playmaker” (ball dominant distributor) is just one way to be great on offense.
Well.... you can't be the best player in the world by simply being the best shooter in the world. You need more to your game than simply being an average playmaker and a very good shooter. Besides that, Curry isn't even a good defender. He's not very durable. He hasn't proved that he carry a team by himself. This is the first year he's had to.... and his team is not even in the playoffs at the moment. Also, I've seen certain people in this thread claiming Curry's a better playmaker than Harden. Curry's not even the main playmaker on his own team.
The difference they drop at the same percentage yet Harden still scores more that Curry. The magnitude of the drop is as important as anything else they both are not as efficient in the playoffs. One has teams focusing totally on him while the other has 2 great offensive weapons that still need attention.
Because of increased volume. What's your point? Not really. If Player A, a high volume 3pt shooter, averages 50% from the 3pt line during the regular season, and Player B, another high volume 3pt shooter, averages 37% from the 3pt line during the regular season, then a 10% drop (to 40% and 27%) in the playoffs is going to negatively impact Player B's team significantly more than Player A's team. I'm not sure why you're arguing against something that should be obvious to everyone. Are you aware that Curry had a playoff career before Durant joined GSW?
1. The poorer your supporting cast, the more difficult it is to score efficiently, because the more defenses can focus on you, no matter how good you are. I feel like that's pretty self-explanatory. 2. Refs are a legitimate factor in the outcome of basketball games, and the NBA's own officiating reports demonstrates how much they screw us. I don't understand why sports fans continue to want to deny that refs can have agendas or biases. Not only are they flawed and emotional beings like the rest of us, but we see how money corrupts absolutely in every other sector of our lives, from politics to real estate to policing to dating, so why is it so difficult to believe it can influence a for-profit sports league? It's not "on him" to overcome a system that is deliberately minimizing his productivity. Also, it's unfair to ask a player to adjust that much from different officiating in playoffs vs regular season. Both seasons should have the same rules, but they don't, and it affects Harden more than anyone. 3. I'm saying it's more difficult, yes. Like #1, this seems pretty self-evident to me... 4. My point stands. 5. Again, the rest of the numbers I provided do not often justify this line of thinking. There have been several series where Harden's 3-pt percentage drops, but because of his incredible versatility and high IQ, he still is a huge boon for his team, and even still scores efficiently.
And Harden hasn't always had poor supporting casts. There have been series where he's struggled from the 3pt line despite having a solid supporting cast. Everyone knows how officiating changes in the playoffs. It's common knowledge. Is it unfair to ask players to adjust to an inevitable change of which they're aware? Sure, it's more difficult for players to perform well against better-than-average defenses. But those that can do it more often than not....shouldn't they be held in a higher regard than those that can't? Not really. It's significantly easier for a team to tolerate a drop in % from its star if that star starts with an elite percentage instead of an above-average percentage. Frankly, the eye test and an understanding of Harden's game justifies this thinking. We've all watched him for so many years. Don't understate how important the 3pt shot is to his overall game.
Curry has all those #rings #chips #championships How many championships does the choker aka stripper lover Harden have? #TheDribbler #TooBusyWithStrippers #partyingWithoutMasks #CovidSuperSpreader
ESPN needs a better research staff. I guess they missed Harden in 18/19. Edit: Ha, they now changed it to at age 33 or older.
