San Francisco Chronicle's horrific article about Harden

Don't wanna give them page hits, what does it say and how should I be outraged by it?

 

He's right.

 

How is this article horrific???

Dang some of you make a mountain out of a mole hill...

T_Man

 

So....when do we talk about the fact that Green fouls on nearly every play?

 

What does his body guard or Kardashian have anything to do with his game?

 

All you can do is laugh.

 

Not worth the read.

It's about how Harden and Curry are so different. How Harden apparently has his own bodyguard. How Curry seeks to create space to score and how Harden tries to draw contact to score and how Harden basically 'cheats' to get to the line. And sprinkled in are some some inaccuracies like:

- Harden scored 28 points in game 3 and had to go to the line about 15 times (which obviously was game 2, but why fact check before you put out an article?)

 

So I guess they called illegal screens back in the day and now they don't. Its todays NBA. The Warriors and the bay area bandwagon fans need to hush about Harden and worry about their cheapshot artists. Hope they don't get injured because they were trash for a 20 plus years before steph arrived.

 

Future Hall of Famer Tom Brady married gisele. Guess she's screwing up his game on the field.

 

Ditto

 

we're old school.

people are super sensitive now.

 

Deception, they say.

Isn't a shot fake a form of deceiving someone? what about a crossover?

Hakeem's Dream Shake was all about misdirection and pretending to go one way instead of the other.

It's no different than what Harden does. Most of the Harden's FTs come from drawing legit contact by cajoling the defenders to reach in. Sometimes it get's a little bit fishy, for sure, but those are not the majority.

If Harden is so good and skilled at deceiving the defender to reach and commit fouls against him, why should that be held against him? And if it was so easy, most of the players in the league would be doing it by now, since free throws are one of the most efficient ways to score. Dismissing it as dirty tricks just because it's aesthetically unpleasing to the ordinary fans is just foolish.

By the way, Harden is an elite scorer even without the free throws.

If you think Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Demarcus Cousins and Russell Westbrook are elite offensive players, you can't say Harden is nothing without the FTs, because Harden's effective FG% (which takes into account the value of 3 point shot) is just as good or even better than all of those guys, while averaging more points.

The only guys that have Harden beat in terms of 'shooting efficiency' while scoring just as much are Curry, Durant and probably Lebron.

So spare the hate, and give the guy some credit.

 

But the bullet...this article is not horrific...just a half tmz, half minge attacks worthy of that weasel writer Sherwood Straus.

Excerpt...

Curry’s game is all about creating space between himself and his defender(s). Harden’s game is all about eliminating that space, for the purpose of drawing fouls.

I don’t want to get all moralistic here, but I believe it is fair to say this about Harden: Not since Harry Houdini has a performer been so dependent upon the art of deception.

Harden shot 837 free throws during the regular season, 174 more than the No. 2 player (the Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins). Harden went to the line 10.2 times per game.

Curry, who edged Harden for the scoring title, shot 400 free throws, 5.1 per game.

Harden never takes a shot without flailing and staggering as though he’s being pushed off the ledge of a skyscraper.

If he holds the ball out — what Steve Kerr calls “showing you the candy” — and you reach for it, you’re dead. Harden creates contact and goes to the line. Kerr said Friday that the team’s film study that day emphasized the mistakes Warriors made on Harden in Game 3, when he scored 28 points.

Kerr said he showed his players six instances of reaching for the candy.

“Six reaches led to, I think, 15 free throws, or 13,” Kerr said. “Maybe he got the other two somewhere else. It’s hard. He shows you the ball, and your instinct is to go after the ball. But he’s really clever. Two of the plays, he reached out with his off hand and created the contact.

WARRIORS PLAYOFFS

Stephen Curry (30) steals the ball away from James Harden (13) before twisting his ankle on the play in the second quarter as the Golden State Warriors played the Houston Rockets in game 1 of the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Warriors’ Curry expected to return for Game 4 on Sunday Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) takes a shot after knocking Houston Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas (20) to the ground during the first half in game three of a first-round NBA Playoffs series at Toyota Center Thursday, April 21, 2016 in Houston. ( Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle ) Warriors’ Green feels bad that Clark missed out on attention Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut, right, fouls Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard during the first half in Game 3 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Disjointed Rockets not long for this series
“He’s incredibly clever, he knows how to draw the fouls, and the only answer is to not reach whatsoever and show the officials your hands. If you’re disciplined enough to do that, you’re going to be OK. He’ll still probably get to the line some, but 15 is just too much.”

I asked Kerr if Harden is the best in the world at drawing fouls with tricky methods.

“Yes.”

Kerr was asked if, when he played, there was a player like Harden.

“When I played, the refs wouldn’t have called it,” Kerr said, matter-of-factly. “It was a different era. You think about the evolution of all this stuff, (like) the up-and-under swim thing Kevin Durant likes to do — in the old days, you’d do that and look at the ref and he’d be like, ‘C’mon, I’m not buying that!’”

Kerr said it’s a matter of constantly adapting to what the refs call and don’t call, and added, “Harden happens to be the best in the league at taking the defender’s positioning, using it to his advantage, getting contact. It’s the way the game is officiated, so you better adapt. If you don’t, you’re in trouble.”

It’s not as if Harden is cheating and everyone else is Honest Abe. Just watch Curry and you’ll see a constant storm of illegal activity — questionable screens set by Warriors, illegal grabbing/holding/pushing by Rockets defenders.

But Harden has elevated the shadowy stuff to an art form. Appreciation of art is highly subjective, and emotional. Maybe that’s why this Houston artiste needs a bodyguard.

 

"questionable" Warriors actions, "illegal" Rockets actions. Seems objective.

 

This guy might not watch much NBA. Ever watched Manu Ginobili? Tony Parker? Dwayne Wade? heck.... Shawn Livingston? STEPHEN CURRY?

This is the NBA. I don't like it, but Harden isn't unique in benefitting the terrible contact rules.

If the NBA allowed reasonable contact and officiated moving screens, Curry would not be scoring champ. Neither would Harden.

 

I'm so sick of this false narrative that Harden is not elite without the FTs.

If you take away 8.8 free throw points from the Harden's season average 29, it still leaves him with 20.2 That is STILL THE THIRD HIGHEST POINTS PER GAME behind Curry and Durant.

But, what about the shooting efficiency tho, right?

For that we should look at eFG% since the regular FG% does no justice to a player like Harden who attempts a lot of 3s in a game. For example, Ray Allen's regular FG% is nothing special at 45%, doesn't mean he was a mediocre shooter. That's what happens when take shoot a lot of 3s, since it's more difficult to make than 2s, obviously, but is still worth it because making 4 threes is same as making 6 twos, saving you two possessions while scoring just as much.

Among the Top 10 scorers in the regular season, Harden's eFG% is 4th highest at 51.2%. That's better than AD, Westbrook, Lillard, Cousins, Paul George and DeRozan.

Harden is more efficient shooter than, believe it or not, Kobe, Wade, T-Mac and Iverson.

 

OK, let me clarify, I meant it's still the third highest if you take away the free throws points from all the other players in the league.

 

Harden is better at creating space than Curry. Curry requires a screen to get space. Harden can cross you over or step back.

These idiots act like Harden is the first to shoot free throws at this rate. Getting to the line is what superstars traditionally do. Once a player starts getting to the line a bunch regularly, it's a sign that they have arrived.