Kawhi was guarding Harden off and on through out the game. Not sure what issue you have with Harden, because you b**** and moan about him often. The Rockets didn't lose because of James Harden, he was the primary reason the Rockets were in a position to win the game. Nice bailout phantom foul on the 3 by Leonard and then another where they called a foul on Gordon that wasn't a foul. Harden has gotten similar questionable fouls called in his favor; it happens. If not for the phantom three point foul, everyone is talking about Harden's big game and a Rockets win. It happens... you aren't going to get everything to go your way all the time.
The glee that you post with when something bad happens to the Rockets is troubling You don't seem sad at all..
Let me start by saying kawhi is great and absolutely deserving of MVP recognition. That said, the argument against harden for weeks was hat Westbrook was averaging a triple double and didn't have enough help. Now that Westbrook is teasing falling away from the triple double the narrative switches because kawhi bested harden tonight? Kawhi has worse stats with more help. It's simple but true; the narrative about harden works against him. Many in the media just don't want it to be him because they don't like his style, don't like his coach, don't like his nerdy GM, don't like the "drown them with 3s" strategy, dont like his three point foul, etc etc.
Why did the media love Curry and his "drown them with 3s" strategy but people can't like Harden for it?
You'll also notice that the "don't be biased" crowd here rooting against harden also happen to be people who share those same opinions about harden, morey and Dan Tony. With the exception of @durvasa , a lot of these guys are people who ALWAYS take pride in the "I told you so" moment after losses.
Kawhi should win if Spurs catch the Warriors and Rockets fall out of the 3rd seed. I dont think they should hold the Rox being behind the Spurs against James. I still think it's James's to lose .
49%FG 38%3pt 26ppg .893FT% 6RPG 3.4apg are Kawhi's stats. 44%FG 36%3pt 29ppg .848FT% 8RPG 11.3apg are Harden's stats They are not that far apart - especially if you consider defense - which is a major plus for Kawhi. DD
Worse stats, by what measure? I don't think you can say definitely one has "better stats" than the other. Harden rates better by some metrics, Kawhi rates better by others. I think it says something that Kawhi has a better PER (a pretty good summary stat for offensive players) while also being far superior on the defensive end. Harden has played more minutes and doesn't miss games, and he deserves extra credit for that.
Or the types of fans that only come out of the woodwork when particular players have any sort of short-coming. Just sayin'.
It's a complete BS narrative that harden didn't have help tonight. I wish people would just accept they got beat.
On an optimistic note, Harden leading his team to a 2-point loss in an away game against the mighty Spurs while putting up 39-12 should gain him some MVP votes, not the other way around. Kahwi was the bigger winner, but I also think it was a good night for James overall. If anything, Westbrook was the biggest loser tonight.
I'm pissed because this would've been 1 of those signature wins that would be featured on Harden's MVP resume. If he had made both free throws at the end and the Rockets had closed out the Spurs, then we're talking about Harden dropping 40 and 12 on 13-20 shooting in a win against the Spurs in San Antonio. The Rockets would've won 3 straight games against the Clippers, Grizzlies, and Spurs. This one hurts.
Lebron's agility and ball handling skills for his size is one of the largest reasons why he is considered one of the greatest of all time. Lenord better be one hell of a better shooter and defender to be anywhere near Bron's level.
Harden is our best player and also our most important player. He needs to be great if we are to be serious contenders, so when he falls asleep on defense or gets lazy with his playmaking on offense I can't ignore it. Maybe that's unfair to him that I have such high expectations. Doesn't mean I don't appreciate the fact that we'd be a lottery team without him.
Look, if Kawhi winning it over James gets Harden to commit to finally playing defense, then it is good for us. Because right now, the way Harden plays, we are not winning a chip, he needs to at least try on defense - and when he has a turnover he needs to bust his butt to get back - that is what leaders and champions do. I am shocked that all of us Rocket fans who watched an all time great in Hakeem who played both ends, are not calling for their current superstar to do the same. Just TRY on D, not too much to ask. DD
