Oh no surely the posts have been moved on harden. And to answer the question, no, individual defense isn't as important of a measure because individual offense is much more important. Whether you want to acknowledge that or not idc, but it's true. Kawhi is a part of the reason why the spurs have the best defense but he isn't THE reason. Defense is a team thing. That's why you can't really measure it by stats. It's about rotations, knowing what spot to be at, when to switch, where opposing players are and will be. Harden carved up the best defensive team last night. It's astonishing how easy it looks for him. Defense is a team thing. A defensive mastermind can make a bad defense OK. A great offensive player can make a bad offense a good offense. Offense is more valuable in an individual comparison but people won't or refuse to recognize it.
Funny how every major narrative shift is towards Westbrook/Kawhi/Lebron. Harden just kinda stays at or near the top, but never really getting any 24 media cycle to himself for people to lose their minds over.
Truly one of the more underappreciated players in league if he doesnt win an mvp in his career. It was bas enough they left him off allnba last year
Media has been search for a narrative to deny Harden the MVP. Westbrook's team record is too terrible. Kawhi just stole it last night.
the insufferable Michelle Beadle has taken over SportsNation with Kawhi talk... If the Rockets won that game last night we wouldn't have heard a word about it.. If I wasn't so damn annoyed by Michelle Beadle, I would really like her.. Rockets need more visible fans in the freaking media!
I guess, in the end, it's Harden's fault. He didn't play defense well that one year, which lead to the viral video, which lead to people thinking he doesn't try, which lead the media and casual fans to thinking he's not like-able, which lead people to thinking he's overrated, which lead to a bad reputation, which lead people to thinking he isn't nearly as good as other superstars, which lead people to look for reasons to reward other players over Harden.
Man.. they KNOW Isiah Thomas doesn't play defense. IT is statistically the worst player in the milky way, and they love him.
It doesn't matter. He doesn't have a viral video. He doesn't have a tarnished reputation. He doesn't have people looking for reasons to discount him. He has people looking for reasons to praise him. That's half the battle.
for me, Kawhi has better supporting cast than harden all season long, but last night, kawhi won the comparison because of the clutch performance, but MVP is decided by a season's performance, not one game, harden has been consistent for most of the nights, even on turnovers......
What I was afraid of. I can't even watch NBA Countdown with her hosting because of that chit. Really miss Doris hosting that show.
Just watched the first 3 quarters (only watched the 4th earlier). I was seriously fooled by this thread, believing Harden didn't show up for this game. My god. For 3 consecutive quarters, Harden took a piss on the the best defense in the league being guarded by Green and Leonard. I'm not just talking about 3's either. He got drives whenever he wanted. He hit the open man when they doubled him. On switches. On straight iso's. He controlled the pace beautifully. On their court. Who the hell gives you that for 4 quarters? Seriously. Put Michael Jordan out there. Who the hell gives you that for 4 quarters? LEONARD btw didn't guard Harden much at all. It was Green covering Harden most of the time. Am I supposed to clap that he held Ariza to 13 points on 11 shots and then had a flashy play or two in crunch time? Harden, in case you didn't notice, was guarding Green most of the game. Green had 5 points on 7 shots, worthless. Ginobili did nothing either. Way to ignore a VERY good defensive game by Harden. This is it? One of the greatest games in Leonard's career is scoring 39 points and doing nothing to slow down Harden or Ariza except for part of 1 quarter? That's every other week for Harden. Leonard has had better games than this, and Harden is better than Leonard, and we are as good as the Spurs now. I wish we could start the season over with this roster. They wouldn't have even won if not for Anderson's injury. See you in the second round.
c'mon now. people say he's a bad defender because HE IS a bad defender. The viral video just put it out there for the casual viewer.
Westbrook is a bad defender. Kyrie is a bad defender. Lillard is a bad defender. Curry is a bad defender. We could go on and on. None of them have the "....but he plays no defense!" line attached to every notion that is said about them like Harden does.
Yes and what a wonderful job they're doing. The best defensive team coached by Pop with two defensive aces on the wing (including the defensive player of the year) are holding Harden to a measly 29.8 points (on 20.75 shots), 11.8 assists, 9 rebounds. Every possession Leonard defended Harden: 1) Harden beats him to basket, sends it to open Ariza for clanked 3. 2) Harden beats him straight up, misses an open layup. Leonard a step behind. 3) Harden drains a 3 in Leonard's face. 4) Harden passes to Gordon, Gordon turns it over. 5) Harden breaks Leonard's ankles leaving him to ponder the meaning of life, Harden goes to corner, takes a 3 over Aldridge, misses. 6) Harden misses a 3, Leonard did nothing and gave him too much space but got lucky according to Spurs announcers. * Harden guarded by Aldridge, EMBARRASSES him, they foul him hard sending him to the line. 7) Harden BLOWS BY Leonard. Leonard recovers and blocks it to cover his own ass. They win by 2. I got it. I've read all the arguments. I've said my piece. We'll seem them in the 2nd round.
Perfect storm this week for Kawhi MVP hype. Durant goes down, eliminating himself from MVP race. And allows Spurs to close gap Westbrook loses some easy games, dropping to 7th seed Kawhi has his best game of the season against Harden. And perhaps his best stretch of games this season. 30+ points in four clutch wins in a row
This is 100% spot on! 100%. Very frustrating that Harden gets scrutinized about his defense and others get a free pass.
