James Harden reacts to criticism of Houston’s style of play (Brace Yourselves)

[Gooner]

Harden has a great point, the whole league is trying to play that way, they just do it best.

[ejn1214]

Harden once again proving he's just a glorified Carmelo Anthony. Every player he mentioned made sacrifices in order to maintain a championship level impact. The entire point of the current Rockets is to iso Harden and allow him to do whatever he wants. He can never co-exist with another star and be great like those guys because he doesn't know how to.

Kobe came out years ago and spoke about this very thing. He actually played both sides of those sides. Being an ISO player trying to do everything and falling back to allow other guys to shine. Something Harden will never learn.

Another post season in coming where he'll chuck the Rockets out of the game. Smh.

Except Russell Westbrook is currently playing the best basketball arguably of his career alongside James Harden at the moment.



Good try, good effort.

How is it relevant that Westbrook has played well for a couple weeks in the regular season for championship aspirations? Do you or does anyone actually think this pairing can win a championship? If not, what's the point. I think the Carmelo comparison is a good one.

[Shock Defeat]

Harden once again proving he's just a glorified Carmelo Anthony. Every player he mentioned made sacrifices in order to maintain a championship level impact. The entire point of the current Rockets is to iso Harden and allow him to do whatever he wants. He can never co-exist with another star and be great like those guys because he doesn't know how to.

Kobe came out years ago and spoke about this very thing. He actually played both sides of those sides. Being an ISO player trying to do everything and falling back to allow other guys to shine. Something Harden will never learn.

Another post season in coming where he'll chuck the Rockets out of the game. Smh.

Carmelo Anthony has never played on a team as good as the 2018 Rockets, who were a CP3 injury away from dethroning the Warriors. Ask Kobe (RIP) how many titles he would win if Pau Gasol or Shaq got injured in the WCF. I bet you it would be zero.

[Pennebaker]

For those who missed all that ever needs to be said on this topic.

Good-at-his-craft James Harden is shooting 43.7% from the field this year, gent. That's not good.

But lucky for him he's a great con-artist so he can get around that failing.

FG%

Its 2020 bro

That is funny because it's his lowest FG% since he's been in Houston. We've never seen him miss more shots as a Rocket.

[LoneyROY]

Good-at-his-craft James Harden is shooting 43.7% from the field this year, gent. That's not good.

But lucky for him he's a great con-artist so he can get around that failing.

FG%

Its 2020 bro

That is funny because it's his lowest FG% since he's been in Houston. We've never seen him miss more shots as a Rocket.

Uh, he's a few tenths of a percent off his career average.

His FG is down down due to the coldest month of his career in January when he was battling injuries and not sitting out. He was literally shooting over 46 percent at the end of December.

[fbalmeida]

Offensively, that's perfectly fine, with some cost for 2nd opportunity scoring.

The problem with hyper-small-ball however, is what happens on the other end of the court.

On the morning after the Capella trade, I made an extravagant claim that the Rockets wouldn't be able to win more than 7 games for the remainder of the season, and would fall to 9th seed.

I'm sticking to that claim.

Did anyone approach you for a bet on that claim? I sure am interested in taking a bet.

You're the first one.
But as a responsible family man, I don't gamble.
I think gambling is for degenerates and manchildren, but that's just my opinion.

[AussieCeltic]

He ranks 61st in eFG%
He ranks 98th in 3P%
He ranks 45th in 2P%
He ranks 22nd in TS% and the only reason that is, is because he draws a lot of fouls and hits free throws at a high clip

Why don’t we just call him for what he is? The GOAT at drawing fouls and being a great free throw shooter.

That is boring basketball.

[The_Hater]

So many Harden critics can’t separate the part where they hate watching him play and how good he is at his craft.

For those who missed all that ever needs to be said on this topic.

Good-at-his-craft James Harden is shooting 43.7% from the field this year, gent. That's not good.

But lucky for him he's a great con-artist so he can get around that failing.

You’re actually using FG% to take an shot at his efficiency?

This isn’t 1995, come on, you’re better than this. His TS% is sitting at 62.0 which makes him an extremely efficient offensive player. Kobe never had a single season over 58.0. And the Rockers offense is top 2 in the league yet again.

Apply logic here please.

[Bum Adebayo]

ISO basketball is not the problem. The problem is his flopping and also leading bad trends that destroy basketball, like banning the midrange shot, now many teams are following it and as a result basketball and humanity is ruined.

[SecondTake]

I am not going to oppose a player whos averaging almost 40 point triple doubles. He knows the game better than anyone here.

Not even close, maybe you should check the numbers before posting next time. He's averaging 35/7/6, he hasn't been near 40 since December.

[SecondTake]

For those who missed all that ever needs to be said on this topic.

Good-at-his-craft James Harden is shooting 43.7% from the field this year, gent. That's not good.

But lucky for him he's a great con-artist so he can get around that failing.

You’re actually using FG% to take an shot at his efficiency?

This isn’t 1995, come on, you’re better than this. His TS% is sitting at 62.0 which makes him an extremely efficient offensive player. Kobe never had a single season over 58.0. And the Rockers offense is top 2 in the league yet again.

Apply logic here please.

You're seriously using a Harden promoted TS% stat here? I've said this many times before - TS includes free throws and it takes in to account the value of 3s. It's a BS, cupcake stat used only by floppers and 3 point chuckers. You want efficiency? Here's how you do that; What percent of a guys shots go in? Pretty simple.

Anything else is just trying to put lipstick on a pig.

[Texas Chuck]

You're seriously using a Harden promoted TS% stat here? I've said this many times before - TS includes free throws and it takes in to account the value of 3s. It's a BS, cupcake stat used only by floppers and 3 point chuckers. You want efficiency? Here's how you do that; What percent of a guys shots go in? Pretty simple.

Anything else is just trying to put lipstick on a pig.

Efficiency has to include all possessions used so obviously FT's are vitally important to getting a true picture of efficiency.

You however seem uninterested in the truth so feel free to ignore inconvenient factual information as you wish. This is sadly the times we live in.

For those of us interested in reality, we understand you can't ignore the value in drawing and converting FT's at an elite rate.

[Spens1]

They're a garbage team to watch but there's no denying that they're very very good.

[The_Hater]

Good-at-his-craft James Harden is shooting 43.7% from the field this year, gent. That's not good.

But lucky for him he's a great con-artist so he can get around that failing.

You’re actually using FG% to take an shot at his efficiency?

This isn’t 1995, come on, you’re better than this. His TS% is sitting at 62.0 which makes him an extremely efficient offensive player. Kobe never had a single season over 58.0. And the Rockers offense is top 2 in the league yet again.

Apply logic here please.

You're seriously using a Harden promoted TS% stat here? I've said this many times before - TS includes free throws and it takes in to account the value of 3s. It's a BS, cupcake stat used only by floppers and 3 point chuckers. You want efficiency? Here's how you do that; What percent of a guys shots go in? Pretty simple.

Anything else is just trying to put lipstick on a pig.

I’m confused? Are you watching an NBA where free throws don’t actually count as points on the scoreboard or something?

But sure, I’ll play along. The stat you’re talking about here that doesn’t include FT’s is called effective field goal percentage, it already exists. It’s also a modern stat that adjusts for the type of FGA a player is taking which FG% does not do. (Assuming you understand the basic math principal that 3 > 2) The same principal applies without FT’s included, Harden has an eFG% of 53.5% this season which is quite high relative to the league. His career mark is 52.6% The highest eFG% of Kobe’s career? 50.3%. His career mark is 48.2%.

Nice try, but you’re still dead wrong about Harden’s efficiency even if you want to pretend that free throws don’t exist in basketball.

[Arman_tanzarian]

Okay Dupp,Harden's and Houston's style of ISO-ball is comparable/similar to 2003 Duncan/Spurs and he's absolutely right that we shouldn't criticize him for it.

And i'm just being silly.
Okay then,since you enjoy watching that style of play,since you think it's winning basketball,and since you think there's nothing wrong with it or with what Harden said,i'll just say that we agree to disagree.

Criticize him for what? Rockets have been running some all-time offenses these last few years.

Maybe for the guys that only see the statsheet and don't watch the games themselves.
This season the Rockets are 2nd in PPG.
BUT they are 22nd in FG%, 23rd in 3PT%, and 29th in assists. So what do people see when they watch the Rockets? not much ball movement, no great plays, and a lot of missed shots. That is not an appealing style of play. And I wouldn't call an offense that doesn't rank in the top 20 in the main 3 categories for offense (the high score is a result of pace) an all time offense.

What are better offenses?
Bucks, 2nd in FG%, 14th in 3PT and 7th in assists
Lakers, 1st in FG%, 13th in 3PT and 4th in assists

You watch those teams (and many others, most of the top teams) play and you enjoy them. The Rockets? They play like a bad team. Only the rules exploitation (they lead the league in FTA, curiously, with no inside game at all) allow them to even be in the games. This team would be a bottom feeder just 10 years ago. And certainly it is barely watchable.

Why on Earth would you use FG%, when they are known for taking a lot of 3s?

They are elite by TS%, which is what matters.

They also are the:

* Number 2 ranked offense in the league
* Clippers, Rockets, Lakers and the Bucks all rank in the bottom 11 in Passed Made. There is no conclusive evidence that passing more equals better offense.
* They ranked 2nd in offense last year, 1st in 2018, 2nd in 2017, 7th in 2016. Only GSW and the Raptors have been producing offenses as consistent as the Rockets these last 5 years.

[Capn'O]

He's right about what he said but he didn't address foul hunting. The foul hunting is also smart given the rules but it is really annoying to watch. Imo, most of the critique comes from that. There's nothing wrong with what he does from a strategic standpoint. It's just annoying.

[Beethoven]

Im fine w Harden and his style of play. It adds flavor to the full spectrum of nba basketball like a tapestry woven w some pieces that may not look great on its own, but adds to the overall texture of the tapestry.

He isn't doing anything outside of the rules and always maintains a good attitude and seems to me a gentleman on and off the court so i don't mind it at all.

[SeniorWalker]

Hmm. I more or less agree with Harden here. Dont like his style of ref baiting but he didnt say anything wrong here.

[ken6199]

They're a garbage team to watch but there's no denying that they're very very good.

They are so boring to watch that my wife constantly asks me to switch channel to watch Hawks vs Grizzlies. I don't blame her.

On the other hand Harden's dedication to working on his craft is truly at Kobe level. Sure he chooses innovation instead of completing his game (e.g. defensive awareness) but it's his preference of putting the time in the area he is best at. His unwillingness to sit through injuries or even in preseason games is second to very few out there. Those are the things that get constantly overlooked because of the dislike of his game and I have to say that's very unfairly treated among the first tier superstars. You see that in about every single Harden thread.

[Spens1]

They're a garbage team to watch but there's no denying that they're very very good.

They are so boring to watch that my wife constantly asks me to switch channel to watch Hawks vs Grizzlies. I don't blame her.

On the other hand Harden's dedication to working on his craft is truly at Kobe level. Sure he chooses innovation instead of completing his game (e.g. defensive awareness) but it's his preference of putting the time in the area he is best at. His unwillingness to sit through injuries or even in preseason games is second to very few out there. Those are the things that get constantly overlooked because of the dislike of his game and I have to say that's very unfairly treated among the first tier superstars. You see that in about every single Harden thread.

HIs dedication to flopping, I agree, he's olympic level at that

(sorry, could not resist that dig)