People will continue to try and make that narrative stick Not to mention the insanely one sided refereeing . . .which was let off the hook by the 27 missed threes (fouled on alot of them) Just like the Horry Hip Check and suspensions kept the DanAndToni Suns from the Finals or The Adelman Kings lost to the most lopsided Reffing in History Lakers have 2 phony baloney championships and the Warriors have one Rocket River
The thing with the mid range is this-- You should never base your game around it, but you need it in certain spots. JH historically has bad 3pt shooting% in the 4th quarter of playoff games because his legs are shot. The midrange is a shot that you don't need as much legs, and it's less taxing than a hard drive to the rim. I watched CP3 dominate that 2021 Finals run with his midrange in the 4th quarter and he's 37 year old midget.. You do need to shoot over 50% from mid range for it to be an efficient shot. But since James is an elite FT shooter, and great off-the-dribble, I think he could make >50% as long as he continues to work on that shot. Also, it's not a coincidence that the ONLY playoff game winner James ever hit was a mid range step back over Iguodala in 2016.
Morey fleeced BK Benjamin barely has more points than fouls this year, and Harden looks like 20-21 Nets level with midrange instead of constant drives to the rim Harden also quietly averaging 10 assists and just 2 turnovers per game
26.8/8.5/9.8 63.3 TS% 4.9/1 AST/TO Post count from our biggest Harden fan has been predictably down aside from a pop in after the SA game. Weird. Harden fanboi club triggering intensifies
We all know the drill, can he help Philly win the trophy? Otherwise, doesn't matter how he looks right now to the haters.
It's only been 4 games, but the stats bear out the changes in Harden's game thus far. % of FGA from 0-3 ft | % of FGA from 10ft-3pt This season: 12% | 29% 9year w/ Houston: 26% | 13%
His per 48min EFF is only good to get him #10 spot on that list. Christian Wood is way ahead of him at #2 (tied with Luka).
I hope harden does well, as a rule I root for any ex rocket. That being said we go through this amnesia every single year where he does reasonably well and goes into this psychological perma choke mode nearing the post season. Nobody has said he isn’t top 5 RS player all tome Also anybody still debating whether a midrange shot is necessary is a complete moron (per professional players and coaches a like). You can prioritize shots by efficiency and take those but omitting 70% of floor space puts you and your team at a severe disadvantage
At this point that's the only question mark in Harden's rank all time. People will always judge him on the bad moments he has had in the playoffs and never winning a championship. Granted, he's had good games in the playoffs, and even good close out games, but man, there are games that stand out like a freaking sore thumb that dominates the narrative on him (Spurs Game 6, Spurs Game 5 2 mins in the 4th, Game 5 Warriors, Game 7 Warriors, etc). He is an all time great and he is going to be held to a different standard despite the great regular season stats and success and even his success in the playoffs (he's advanced several times).
