Most players have a harder time scoring in the playoffs though or see some kind of FG% dip. Harden's TS% is still good. If you compare it to Dame's, it is consistently better. We're talking about Dame here who was swept last year but he hit a big shot so it absolves his poor playoff history? James statistically is a better playoff performer than Dame is and the success of his teams in the playoffs also prove to that. James is better in basically every advanced metric. Dame even had a negative Winshare last year (the year they got swept) something that's never happened with James. Harden is an all time great and it's just a shame that he's playing against a stacked team that gets referee help on the side.
because regular season is a grind, it's about entertaining the fans and more importantly protecting players from injuries or getting too banged up. Playoffs is more physical. If NBA called reg season games like the Playoffs, dudes would get hurt way more and have shorter careers.
Are you trying to make the case that playoffs are not about entertaining despite that nearly all games have national television coverage? I can't agree with that take. Also your argument seems to take the position that the playoff approach is "better" than the regular season approach and I 100% disagree with that and it's the reason I made this thread.
Playoffs is entertaining because the heightened competitiveness and big time matchups. The regular season does not have that because over half the games involve good teams against trash teams, or trash teams vs trash teams. Fans are simply not going to care about a nuggets vs suns game in february so the only way to make them care is big time statistical performances that get people talking. That's what calling ticky tack fouls and limiting defense accomplishes. Playoffs don't need that stuff to be entertaining, it's entertaining because of other stuff.
NO ONE thinks game 1 of Worriers v Rox was entertaining. NO ONE and they are right because it was a sh*tfest.
Probably. My point was it's easier for him because he's going ISO and there's very little double teaming or help sent because they have Curry, and we're never going to leave Curry.. He has more space to drive and draw the foul. Harden doesn't have that kind of support. They are collapsing on Harden as soon as he drives. And with the refs not calling the landing zone foul it's going to be tough to draw fouls.
You know what's funny about that statement. We had Kevin Martin before Harden who was also dependent on FTs. He was just skinny and frail, so I remember how excited I was to get a guard that wasn't skinny and frail when we got Harden. I suppose if we got somebody like it would be similar.
This is bs, Kawhi has always Kmart made something out of nothing. He was skinny, not that athletic, no handles. But made it work anyway
He usually shuts up when you hit him with the hardcore facts. Though he generally just carries his same garbage over to a different thread.
Can you hear what is coming out of my mouth? No one is asking the referees to make ticky-tack foul calls in the playoffs as is in the regular season. But to no-call blatant, injury riddle fouls make folly of the league and the officials. Further, if you're going to be strict on calling fouls in the playoffs, be that for both teams and not favor one team over the other in assessing fouls. Giving the Warriors a 9-1 advantage against the Rockets is not indicative of calling playoffs games differently. Every team wants to win championships not just the Warriors. Every fan base wants its team to win but to favor the Warriors does not make a competitive basketball. Basketball is instinctive and when players start to think extraneously, their game is affected. James Harden is no different. If he doesn't have to think of being undercut whenever he jumps up to shoot, he will make most of those jump shot as witnessed in the past. Before you started arguing whether or not James Harden is being undercut, it is not what you or I think that matter in this case, it is what James Harden or any jump shooters thinks that matter. You and I only watch the entertainment and not concern about injury or career ending injury for that matter, the players are and they should be. Let's face it, the Warriors are dirty-bastards and the league, and in particular, the referees are embolding them to be so with great impunity. One example out many is the Jaja Patulia injuring Kwahi Leonard in 2016. If this doesn't change, the league will suffer reputation damage. Mark my word, people will start to find alternatives to basketball. Why would this happen you ask? The simple answer is no one, including me, will be paying the league to either go to the game or watch on league pass on products that border on bad officiating and favoring one team; and the league remaining mum about the bad officiating or playing favoritism for one team. It's not worth my money but I don't know about you.
