yes. I have said this for some time and created a thread about it he needs to change his image outside of Houston, he is known as a Kardashian loving, strip club going, free throw shooting, no defense playing ball hog who has never won when in reality he may be the best scorer since prime Kobe Bryant and deserves to be mentioned with some of the best ever
expecting harden to change his image is a plain ridiculous expectation. he doesn't need to change for anyone. he is who he is whether you like it or not. at the end of the day if he's being who he is and he's good with that and everything that comes with it, that's all that matters. that's all anyone can do. those of you who are out to please others as a priority have things out of order. do better
You are right in everything that you said. The thread is what he is missing not what he must change to be successful. Most see the league biased ways that all but insure outcomes. Just think if the calls where in our favor. Historically most will look back and wonder why he came up short time and time again. Pete Maravich 2.0
i didn't respond to the op of this thread. i responded to someone who said cleary harden needs to change his image and this isn't the first time. it's a ridiculous expectation
IMO, he doesn’t need to change; he could use a marketing team that spins everything he says and does thus making him an hero to people that don’t already know him. It wouldn’t be hard because he is a really genuine, caring and compassionate person from what I’ve read and seen over the years.
but is the hate on harden actually because of what he says? i'm not aware he is much of a controversial talker. It's my impression that he's a damn good player and is a frustrating matchup so naturally hate comes along with all that. is this actually his problem or someone else's. is he the perfect player? nope. but neither is anyone else.
How is "marketing" going to change that? People form their opinions of Harden foul baiting, being monotonous with his play style, ball watching on defense etc by simply watching him. I guess the defensive criticism is some what outdated but perception of defensive effort carries a lot of inertia unfortunately and Harden for most of his Rockets career was a really bad ball watching defender. The reverse happened with Kobe as his reputation as a elite defender which he was for the first half of his career carried over even when he put less effort on that end when he got older.
