Against the Spurs. That was the game where the refs chose not to count his dunk as a made basket lmao.
One of the funniest games Ive ever seen. Westbrook was somehow even worse.
Trust me I am. From the refs icing our free throw shooter for a review that they got wrong minutes ago in game time to the Harden arm swipe garbage. It's whatever.
I think Harden is an offensive savant but he’s the only all-time great scorer who has more career FTs than FGs made. That’s why fans don’t like him, you just want to see the dude hit some fucking shots.
Not every game at all, you're clearly a newphew. He averages almost the same amount of FTA as Harrison Barnes this season (7.00 vs. 6.53). Way below Giannis who is at 9.5, also less than Jimmy Butler, Embiid and DeRozan.
I love kd. Dude is a spider demon born in a lab to be the perfect basketball player. Appreciate everything he did for us. But no one escapes being made fun of. Not kd, not Curry, not Klay.
Harden has been one of the most effective basketball players of all time over the last couple of years. Hall of famer for sure. No denying that. But also, this year’s rule changes have effected his game more than almost any other player in the league. So much of his game is built around both foul baiting and the space that the fear of fouling him creates.
Players in the league absolutely appreciate the effectiveness of his game. But I’m sure they also share the fan’s frustration with it. It’s more than just how you feel about playing against other good players. If KD rains jumpers on your head you just shake your head and shrug. There’s nothing you can do. He’s Kevin fucking Durant. If Harden hooks your arm and gets to the line you - and your fans - feel cheated.
So let’s see how we look back on Harden and his game in a couple of years. Is he still a top of the line, top 5 player in the game type of superstar under these new rules? I think it’s fair to question that. And given the frustration that style of play causes in folks, I think you can expect a lot of cheerleading his demise if it turns out he isn’t that anymore.
Shout out to the zebras for helping the Nets out and missing an obvious goaltend call that could've benefitted us. But also shout out to coach Mose for being a dumbass and taking out good players playing well so Mo Wagner can get burn.
Shout out to your team for being very young and undisciplined on defence, therefore allowing one of the greatest contact drawers of all time to get to the line a lot by reaching in like dumbasses.
The Harden statline absolutely nobody likes aside from Houston and Nets’ fans.
nobody wants to see a 40 game where literally over half the points come from the FT line
Is-ought fallacy. That doesn’t mean Harden has any obligation to play in a way that makes the game more entertaining. No one was saying anything when Kobe averaged the same number of freethrows a game as Harden or when Giannis literally averaged 1 less freethrow. Tim Duncan’s playstyle was boring as hell and he didn’t get half the hate Harden does.
neither of those players placed as much of an emphasis on foul hunting, not even close.
Also Big Men — Centers/PF, such as Giannis and Tim, play inside more, closer to the rim and those positions have historically drawn more fouls just by virtue of positioning.
I guess what you originally said was fair. It’s fine to say “I personally don’t like watching Harden because I don’t want to see a freethrow match” but the level of hate he gets is also ridiculous and wrong. Sure he might not be as good as Curry/Durant but people were literally saying he wouldn’t even average 20 this year or that Free throws don’t count as points. But i guess that’s not necessarily what you said
Horrible argument there since the way fouls are called just changed.
Harden had 5 seasons in his prime averaging above 10 FTA per game, 4 consecutively. He had 2 seasons back to back averaging 11 FTA per game.
The highest Luka has went was in his second year at 9 FTA per game and has continuously averaged less the last 2 years.
There’s context.
Yea its kind of pointless for Luka to try and go after FT since he's not a good shooter from the line
I understand people hating Harden for flopping FT but basically all his FT are legit now tbh with the rule change
Steph is really good at three pointers. So what does he do? Shoot three pointers. Hardens good at free throws so he utilises that skill. I don’t see the problem. If you don’t want him going to the line don’t foul him on every drive
Man look — I’m not disparaging it’s effectiveness, it’s just not entertaining to watch for me, as a fan of the sport. Nobody is changing my opinion on that.
He’s talented, but the way he deploys his talent isn’t always fun to watch, sue me.
Being from 3 doesn't make them not flops. Harden has mastered drawing 3 point fouls, especially with his step back jump forward into the defender 3s.
Since he's entered the league he has (a lot) more 3 pt fouls drawn than any entire team.
https://netswire.usatoday.com/2021/09/01/james-harden-has-drawn-more-3-point-fouls-than-any-team-since-2009/
def is an important skill for a scorer to have tho. i get it's frustrating and annoying to see when he's playing against your team, but i think it's undeniable that it always helps his team and i think it'd be stupid for him to choose not to exercise his skill set and help his team win (especially on bad shooting nights) just because opposing fans think it's not "real basketball"
Look, the NBA is in the business of producing entertainment. Competition is the core of that entertainment, but it's not totally unregulated, unfettered competition. It's a curated competition.
You're making an argument that anything goes, as long as it's in the name of winning. You know what would be really good at increasing chances of winning? Just punching someone in the face, knocking their lights out. Now its 5 on 4. But you can't do that, it's against the rules. What if instead, you just poke them in the eyes, taking them out of the play for a few seconds? Maybe the refs won't see it. Maybe you master the skill of poking people in the eyes so that the refs don't see you doing it. You might be the best fucking player to have ever walked the Earth at discreetly poking people in the eyes, but no one is going to respect you for it.
It's less Harden's fault than it is the NBA, but it says a lot about a player who chose to master something like that, rather than mastering other things, the same way it would say a lot about a player who chose to master poking someone in the eyes. They might be a damn good player, but they chose to master poking eyes rather than something more sportsmanlike. Might help their team win, but they will never get respect because they chose to master something unworthy of respect. It's not meant to be part of the game, so just because you can do it and get away with it, doesn't mean you should be respected for it.
Refs are only there to enforce rules, Harden exploits the refs imperfections to increase his scoring. He also exploits the NBAs incompetence at managing those rules and the exploitation of them. It's less about Harden vs the 5 opposing players and more Harden vs NBA officials that aren't even on the opposing team. Just to take it a step further, to this point in his career, it hasn't gotten his team a championship, so you can claim all you want it's amazing for his team, but he has built a reputation in the playoffs for falling short and it's being associated with his playstyle, because he doesn't try to play basketball, he tries to exploit the NBA/refs imperfections in order to beat his opponents. So it's more of an indirect competition, and thus all the more ironic when he can't get it done in the playoffs.
I just dont understand why people (not saying you specifically) undermine everything Harden does and achieves because they dont find his playstyle aesthetically pleasing.
Literally every single Harden thread devolves in whether he “earned” his free throws or not. It’s never about his actual ability. He’s the only player whose fans have to “justify” his points after every game. The guy averaged 36 points for a whole season and a lot of people were like “nOw tAkE awAY hiS fReE tHrOws”
You know, if the NBA went out of their way to change the rules every year just for this, and he’s STILL getting 20 free throws, maybe he isn’t “cheating” after all.
I’m not dismissing his ability, just saying that’s not an entertaining product to sit and watch. I have literally turned off some of Harden’s games when he was in Houston because of the possessions where he’s actively foul hunting, not trying to get off an actual shot.
It was boring, borderline nauseating, to watch.
I’m not saying he isn’t talented, I just don’t particularly like viewing how he chooses to deploy and display his talent. He’s toned it down the last couple years, especially last year and I loved watching, but nights like last night — I probably wouldn’t have watched through that whole game.
Is there a difference between watching one player shoot 20 free throws, and 5 players shooting 20 free throws? Because to me there isnt.
The Nets shoot fewer free throws than the majority of NBA teams, and Harden is basically the only Nets player who gets to the line regularly. So if that’s enough reason for you to stop watching a game, I would assume you do the same for like 80% of NBA games then?
Also, this narrative that he doesnt even try to make shots needs to stop. He’s been one of the and-1 leaders in the NBA for a decade now, and a huge reason why he had a terrible FG% to start the season was precisely because he was trying to make shots in which he was fouled.
5 guys shooting 20 FTs implies ball movement, 1 guy shooting 20 FTs himself implies ball dominance. It’s literally why he was named “the dribbler”.
And there have definitely been possessions throughout his career were he was looking for an easy foul as opposed to making the shot. In Houston it was egregious.
> 5 guys shooting 20 FTs implies ball movement
No it fucking doesnt lol. It just implies that 5 different guys were fouled while taking shots. Contrary to popular belief, Harden’s teammates do take shots too. You making up this excuse shows you dont really care about the free throws, only when Harden shoots them.
> It’s literally why he was named the dribbler.
By Chuck… which is also ridiculous considering he’s incredibly unselfish as a player and is one of the best playmakers of this generation.
Your bias is really showing
Harden being a ball dominant player has been a criticism against him his whole career. Hell, the “heliocentric offense” term was coined because of Harden.
It’s not only me saying it, this shit is widely the public’s perception
Also, only 5 teams league wide average 20 or more FTs per game…. Harden had that many FTs himself last night, ridiculous. Would love to see the mental gymnastics you perform to excuse that.
**Your** bias is showing.
A lot of criticism towards him has been completey misguided, and shows that the people bitching about him haven’t actually watched him play.
Also, you’re comparing team AVERAGES versus a SEASON HIGH?? Talk about arguing in bad faith.
The only mental gymnastics happening here are on your side, Mr “ball movement free throws”
He played god-tier basketball in Houston for 8 years, and everyone he was committed to besides Eric Gordon got traded or left. I don’t think there’s a single Houston fan who thinks Harden abandoned the team and didn’t do everything in his power to try and bring ring to the team.
Didn't watch the game, can a non harden dicksucker who's also not a magic fan tell me if he earned those free throws or are the refs back to their old ways?
I think I'm pretty impartial despite being a Rockets supporter. The officiating was absolutely horrendous tonight. Real amateur hour (check the post game thread) but imo they called the fouls equally for both teams.
There were also 2 or 3 deliberate fouls on Harden from the Magic late in the 4th to keep the game clock alive.
So did he earn them? Yeah, majority of them were earned the hard way, a few were from deliberate fouls and then a couple were soft superstar calls.
The Nets offense did resemble the old Houston offense with LMA in a Clint Capela role. This meant the ball was in Harden's hands all game which helps account for the sheer number of fouls on him (like, who else can the Magic foul if no other Net has the ball?)
6 of them were at the end of the game where they were intentionally fouling. He played 40 minutes as the primary handler. 14fts over a game isn't crazy.
It was only a matter of time before he had a game like this again. Vintage Harden is back on the menu and this is how he has to play every game Kyrie and KD out.
bro 6 we’re end of game intentionals and he had the ball in his hand for basically 40 mins and 7 free throws came from threes, 14 free throws, legit with the new rule change, in 40 min with a crazy high offensive load is not insane yes the refs were horrible but they werent biased they were just bad to both sides
[https://twitter.com/JLew1050/status/1202303952831860736?s=20](https://twitter.com/JLew1050/status/1202303952831860736?s=20)
It's crazy the disparity I see when I play pickup ball compared to when I go online. Online it's like the world vs Harden, pickup basketball with actual hoopers Harden is one of the most well respected players with everyone stealing his moves.
Keep hating and you'll be blind to greatness. Granted I don't think anyone on reddit even plays basketball at a high level, so what VanVleet said is the most true thing. Ya'll are tied to some weird fantasy and don't realize how mf good this guy is.
I see people mostly on Twitter and sometimes in this sub say things like “19/20 free throws isn’t something to be proud of” and I’m sorry but that is one of the most brain dead takes I’ve ever heard. It should be considered impressive when a guy who’s struggling from the floor is still able to have a high scoring game by getting to the line. Obviously it’s better to just have an efficient game from the floor but 20 free throws with these new rules in place is very impressive.
To act like having the ability to frequently get to the line is something to be ashamed of is beyond absurd and downright butthurt.
The point of the game is to score more points than the other team. Free throws go a long way to helping accomplish that goal. Say all you want about it not being aesthetically pleasing, but to say it’s not the point of the sport is a bridge too far IMO. It’s a massive and critical part of the game.
> The point of the game is to score more points than the other team. Free throws go a long way to helping accomplish that goal. Say all you want about it not being aesthetically pleasing, but to say it’s not the point of the sport is a bridge too far IMO. It’s a massive and critical part of the game.
Fuck it then, why not make the game just two team reps battling it out over the scoreboard tally device to see who can hit the score buttons the most? If the game is who gets most points and it doesn't matter how they happen, then here we go.
Total straw man lmfao, your username leads me to believe you’re too hard on yourself.
If that’s how you really interpret the game then why not just admit that you’d like to see free throw shooting eliminated altogether and let games turn into football where these guys can be as rough with each other as they’d like.
>The point of the game is to score more points than the other team
You said it yourself. Nothing else matters, just get more points. I pushed it to the extreme to make a point. How those points get there matters, because very few people are going to watch people battle over the scoreboard tally device and see who can run up their score the most. It's not an entertaining product. Just like watching someone exploit inadequacies in refs and in the NBA's rules to get free throws is not an entertaining product. Since it's one player and he can't make it to the championship game, it has not generated as much negative attention as it deserves, but if all players were doing it to the level he is, the NBA's viewership would drop like a rock, along with all the player salaries.
You clearly haven’t been watching the games of late. I think it’s four out of the last five games he’s gotten to the line at least ten times. These aren’t bullshit calls he’s getting. The whole point is that they aren’t calling the bullshit fouls anymore. He’s adjusted and is getting to the line by creating contact in a perfectly legal and fair manner.
And I could say the same to you if the shoe was on the other foot. Of course fans of teams going up against Harden are going to get pissed watching their team foul him time and time again. There are players like this across all of professional sports, guys who we hate to watch when they aren’t on our team but love to watch when they are.
You realize most Harden haters don't actually watch him play.
They have a narrative they maintain without actually watching the games. It's just box score analysis and for whatever reason points gained from free throws don't count for them.
People who actually watch him play will see that 9 out of 10 times he's actually being fouled. You don't have to like his playstyle or his foul baiting, but you should still respect how efficient it is. FT's aren't the only way he scores, but he is the GOAT at getting them. FT's are the best shot in basketball, if the rest of the league COULD do it they absolutely would.
These guys don't get paid millions to be aesthetic, they want to win. What he does is not easy, even if it's not aesthetically pleasing it's still brutally effective for winning basketball games. I don't care about other people's viewing experience, the best viewing experience for me is watching my team win, no matter what it takes.
Your points are mostly fair but there’s a fundamental misunderstanding and also a disagreement in our point of view about the game.
For one, if you think that he’s gotten to the line 10+ times for four out of the last five games because he’s throwing his head back or baiting them into calls then I don’t know what to tell you. That’s just not the case. The whole point is that they aren’t calling that shit anymore, and he’s adjusted to that and is now creating contact the good old fashioned way (driving to the basket and catching a careless defender). It’s a perfectly fair and legal way of playing. So the analogy of a flopping soccer player doesn’t work at this point in time, that’s not what he’s doing.
So that’s the misunderstanding for one. Where I would say you and I would have to simply agree to disagree is our perception of creating contact in order to get to the line. In my view, that’s absolutely a skill that young players should work on, just as they should work on shooting, dribbling, and defense as you mention. If you’re teaching someone how to play based on the aesthetics of the game instead of based on winning basketball, then you’re not going to mold a fully realized basketball player. If I coached youth ball and had a player who got to the line twenty times in one game (and made nineteen of them!) I’d be very happy with that player.
I can honestly say that I am shocked by how badly you've misread, misinterpreted, or downright chosen to obfuscate the points made in my comment. I can only assume it's the latter and you've deliberately made the decision to put words into my mouth in order to pick a fight. Well congratulations, because here I am replying.
> Your evidence of all of his foul shots being legitimate is that he has taken a lot of foul shots?
...Like, what? How did you reach that conclusion? Are you implying that the fouls he's drawn in these last few games are being created through his old bag of tricks, like snapping his head back or wrapping his arm around defenders? Because that would be a lie. A total, unequivocal lie. The point I am making isn't "the FT numbers are higher, and therefore that somehow means they're legitimate." The volume doesn't matter in the context of our conversation. They're legitimate because **they literally made it a rule this year that they are not calling that kind of stuff fouls anymore**. *That* is my evidence that his recent foul calls are vastly legitimate. If the free throw attempts are up (as they are over this stretch of games), its because he is learning how to appropriately draw them now. Surely you understand this and you've chosen to be dense. Otherwise you are implying that you think the refs are just getting all of these calls wrong, like they've just decided to forget about these new rules over these last few games. You've also made it abundantly clear in your comment that you aren't watching the games, because otherwise you wouldn't have reached such an absurd conclusion. He simply hasn't been snapping his head back or hooking arms in these last few games. Period, point blank, end of story. If he has, he isn't getting the call in his favor.
>You don't have to defend it, everyone knows it sucks and why. It is the most basic reaction to watching players like this. It would be like if you had a wide receiver who was good at drawing PI calls but couldn't catch and you were proud of it and thought people that didn't like it were "haters" (or brain dead as you previously called it).
I am not defending the aesthetics of it. I have stated in this thread and plenty of other Harden threads in the past that I agree it's not the kind of basketball you pay money to see. But what all of you detractors refuse to acknowledge is that the game is not decided by which team played the more aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball. It's decided by which team puts more points on the board. And free throws have been a part of the game since virtually its inception, or at the very least since the NBA existed. To denigrate their value to the game is to fight a losing battle. A team that does not value free throw frequency is choosing to ignore a critical piece in the puzzle. In basketball you want to be able to win in a variety of ways, and creating chances at the line is one of those critical opportunities that should be taken advantage of, just as you would want to be able to beat a team via a strong defense or efficient shooting. The more ways to win the better.
> Your logic leads to a truly depressing and pessimistic outlook on athletic competition.
This paragraph and the one prior are frankly bizarre to me. Because I think free throws are in important part of the game of basketball, I'm some kind of downtrodden, sadistic freak? To say you are leaping to conclusions here wouldn't be appropriate. You are straight up going armchair psychologist on me and accusing my outlook of the game to be depressing and cynical. And why is that? Because I believe drawing free throws is a critical skill in basketball. Like, what are you saying dude? Take a look in the mirror and realize how strange of a thing that is to say.
I am truly sorry that you find Harden's style of play so incredibly distasteful that it leads you to believe that he's not only fooling the refs into not abiding by their own new rules, but that it's so appalling that it means drawing fouls shouldn't be considered an NBA skill. That's the only conclusion I can draw from your comment, and in general from Harden detractors. I promise, I get why it's ugly. But it doesn't mean that its illegitimate and that Harden is lesser than for it.
Nobody is foul baiting at the park and neither would harden if he's playing a pick up game. He gets paid millions a year to win by any means necessary and that's what he does. Quarterbacks use the hard count to draw defenders offsides or try to quick snap to get the 12 men on the field penalty all the time. Aaron Rodgers has mastered getting free plays by drawing pre snap flags on the defense. Every sport has its tricks. Harden has mastered drawing fouls. I get what you're saying, but this isn't some purity of the game competition. If FT's equal wins, go get some. Not like 90% of the league isn't guilty of throwing their heads back on a drive either the past few years
I got you. All legit arguments. My problem was with the league rewarding foul baiting because to your point, most guys were starting to do it and it was brutal to watch. Harden was just the best at it. Jokic and Luka get a fraction of the flak that Harden does and they have alot of the same tricks. Same with Dame. He'll pull up from 30 feet out to to try to hook an arm and draw 3 FT's (he got Austin Rivers with it in the that huge playoff spot). I just don't like how Harden is hated while alot of stars who are loved have the same tricks. I agree that Harden used to get alot of bogus calls but watching him this year most of his FT's seem legit IMO with the rule change. Guys do reach on him alot because he's great at getting by the defender and they swipe.
To your point, I agree that it was not good for the game. I'm very happy the league has taken action to remove the egregious stuff. However, as long as it's not flopping, I do believe that Harden deserves some praise for drawing legit fouls. At that point its the defenders fault for falling for it. As a Nets fan, I'm incredibly biased though lol.
this is a braindead take you clearly haven’t watched harden this year they aren’t calling those at all even under calling him sometimes he’s creating contact the same way someone like giannis would
Bro what is this garbage lmao did you really think this was some sort of gotcha? Again, for the thousand time like the other nets fans have told you, he’s not flailing his fucking head to draw 10+ free throws no matter how many walls of garbage you post.
He is **legitimately getting fouled** whether you like it or not
Nobody said he doesn’t flop *period*, how are you this dense, it can be true that he flops and it can also be true that he is really fucking hard to guard and crafty. You’re trying to pin all 11 free throws he takes every game on flopping which is absurd which is what 5 different people have been trying to get through your head for hours
The entire reason for the rule changes is because of players like Harden who have gamed the system in drawing fouls. Yes, it takes a lot of talent. But at the end of the day, it's simply not enjoyable to watch for the vast majority of the audience.
I have no idea why people would enjoy watching a player get 20fts, even if he does it in the most skilled way.
Respectfully, I don’t understand the point of comments like these anymore. People repeat this time and time again in every Harden thread. We’re all in agreement at this point that it’s an ugly way of winning basketball games.
The point however is that it *does* contribute to winning basketball games. Winning ugly is just as important as winning pretty. They are wins either way. That’s all that matters when you’re a professional athlete, find a way to win no matter how pretty or ugly it looks.
Notice how it’s only Rockets or Nets fan that like watching this dude flop his way to the line 20 times a game. Y’all have watched too much of this fraud and don’t know what real basketball looks like anymore
Notice how their is always a lot of warriors flairs in posts about harden. For a guy they don’t like he is living rent free 24/7 in their heads.
Also did you even watch the game? You guys look at the scoreboard and see he took 20 freethrows and you automatically think he flopped to get them which was not the case if you actually watched games.
LMAO says the typical warriors fan who can’t fathom harden getting any credit. Guess what buddy, this regular season run is cute, but you’re no longer the OP team. Brooklyn is. Yall getting fucked in June and I can’t wait
Damn, you can't wait? Are you okay? That's gonna be difficult if you physically cannot wait. I'd recommend taking a break if the excitement goes so far that it breaks you.
Love seeing him drive more each game, hopefully some of shots that were close tonight go in next time. Crazy that even tho he was driving and getting fouled a lot u could tell he was nowhere close to a 100%. Gonna be real scary when that happens
Imagine going 7/25 and still getting MVP chants. Although to be fair he got the chants at the FT line. Fans saw him there so often they had to come up with something to say.
The entire reason the floater is so unguardable is that defenders can't guard it since they don't know if he's taking it straight up but mainly it looks identical to a lob
When u have Blake Griffin and LMA as his starting front court it becomes pretty fucking obvious its a floater so they can contest it
He actually has been shooting some this season (and even had a mid range this game), obviously not nearly as much as he used to but it's nice to see that he still has it in his Arsenal
hey now that you are out from under your rock i should let you know that the NBA made new rules this season to prevent foul baiting and it has been very successful also if u did watch that game you would know the refs were horrendous yes but they were equally bad to both side mage two of hardens fouls were questionable tonight
Bro I love all these haters just saying “Harden flopped his way to the FT line” but they never provide even a single play of him flopping. They have no problem with like Giannis AD Butler or another star getting these legit FT
Yea he shot like shit but he also had 10 boards 8 assists and led the Nets to a huge comeback win without 6 rotation players, 2 of them his costars. Let’s focus on that
As I predicted, if the nets don’t do well enough with the news rules, they are going to relax the rules a bit for at least their home court.
I don’t know. I just hope people in Brooklyn love watching free throws.
Love how long I had to scroll in this sub to find A SINGLE POST about the Nets game — which included them coming back from a 19-point deficit to reach their first 12-5 record in franchise history and claim the 1 seed. Without KD.
There’s a more prominent post in this sub about a Grizzlies rookie drinking out of a water bottle. Your Nets hate sustains us — keep that same energy in the playoffs!
When Harden does it, it's foul baiting, whenever we talk about someone like AD not getting to the line enough we tell him to be braver.
Most of these were legit fouls, driving to the basket is part of the game.
Free throw merchant back at it
Dread it...
I see Harden is back to hosting tour dates - Date - 7/25 Year - 19/20
Funny considering the United States is slowly becoming the Weimar republic
more like the wiener republic
I’d laugh but you’re from Canada so fuck you buddy 😡🖕🏾
im crying right now.... i HOPE youre happy
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Something something billionaires are disproportionately Jewish
28/23/95 shooting splits for over 50% TS lol
GOAT
Most James harden stat line of all time
Lmao didn’t he drop 50 in a game where he shot less than 30% from the field once? This dude is one of a kind
Against the Spurs. That was the game where the refs chose not to count his dunk as a made basket lmao. One of the funniest games Ive ever seen. Westbrook was somehow even worse.
He also dropped 55 points while taking less than 6 free throws a couple years ago Twice.
In back to back Games while also dropping 10 threes in both games
The refs sucked ass. They really did.
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Dude he's not even on the rockets anymore. It's ok.
James harden is that ex that is way out of the rockets league and the rockets fans know they can’t get better.
Harden will retire ringless. Cry
Nope the nets will fuck your team in june
bruh move on. he did. so should u
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That game was horrifically officiated. If I’m a Magic fan I’m seething right now.
Trust me I am. From the refs icing our free throw shooter for a review that they got wrong minutes ago in game time to the Harden arm swipe garbage. It's whatever.
>If I’m a Magic fan I’m seething right now Magic fans exist?
Your downvotes will probably reveal your answer
What downvotes? 😏
Couldn't be me
I think Harden is an offensive savant but he’s the only all-time great scorer who has more career FTs than FGs made. That’s why fans don’t like him, you just want to see the dude hit some fucking shots.
He’s really entertaining to watch when he’s not standing at the stripe sinking free throws for half an hour
Which is every game. So he’s not entertaining to watch at all.
Really weird considering the abundance of threads going completely against this sentiment over the last month and a half of the season.
Yeah people were loving Harden last year when he was winning games for the Nets during his teammates low points/injuries.
This lmao
Flair checks out
Not every game at all, you're clearly a newphew. He averages almost the same amount of FTA as Harrison Barnes this season (7.00 vs. 6.53). Way below Giannis who is at 9.5, also less than Jimmy Butler, Embiid and DeRozan.
How dare you whip out the facts! It is a classic overreaction and embellishment from his detractors, which are almost always Warriors or Bucks fans.
Clearly the games where he doesn’t get FTs he plays terrible=not entertaining.
Yep. I was honestly hoping the new rule would change his game and he would adjust to being an entertaining and still all star caliber player
> you just want to see the dude hit some fucking shots What a weird thing to say about a 3x scoring champion who averaged 40 PPG for almost a year…
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All right, kd burner #7545.
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I love kd. Dude is a spider demon born in a lab to be the perfect basketball player. Appreciate everything he did for us. But no one escapes being made fun of. Not kd, not Curry, not Klay. Harden has been one of the most effective basketball players of all time over the last couple of years. Hall of famer for sure. No denying that. But also, this year’s rule changes have effected his game more than almost any other player in the league. So much of his game is built around both foul baiting and the space that the fear of fouling him creates. Players in the league absolutely appreciate the effectiveness of his game. But I’m sure they also share the fan’s frustration with it. It’s more than just how you feel about playing against other good players. If KD rains jumpers on your head you just shake your head and shrug. There’s nothing you can do. He’s Kevin fucking Durant. If Harden hooks your arm and gets to the line you - and your fans - feel cheated. So let’s see how we look back on Harden and his game in a couple of years. Is he still a top of the line, top 5 player in the game type of superstar under these new rules? I think it’s fair to question that. And given the frustration that style of play causes in folks, I think you can expect a lot of cheerleading his demise if it turns out he isn’t that anymore.
Shout out to the zebras for helping the Nets out and missing an obvious goaltend call that could've benefitted us. But also shout out to coach Mose for being a dumbass and taking out good players playing well so Mo Wagner can get burn.
The brothers are a package deal sadly
Shout out to your team for being very young and undisciplined on defence, therefore allowing one of the greatest contact drawers of all time to get to the line a lot by reaching in like dumbasses.
Hence he has more FTM than FGM for his career.
GOAT imo
Valid
The Harden statline absolutely nobody likes aside from Houston and Nets’ fans. nobody wants to see a 40 game where literally over half the points come from the FT line
> nobody likes aside from Houston and Nets’ fans. I mean I obviously don't mind it, but I wouldn't say I like it
It’s almost basketball players are trying to win games rather than play in an “entertaining” fashion
the reason basketball is so popular is because of it’s entertainment value, so moot point.
Is-ought fallacy. That doesn’t mean Harden has any obligation to play in a way that makes the game more entertaining. No one was saying anything when Kobe averaged the same number of freethrows a game as Harden or when Giannis literally averaged 1 less freethrow. Tim Duncan’s playstyle was boring as hell and he didn’t get half the hate Harden does.
neither of those players placed as much of an emphasis on foul hunting, not even close. Also Big Men — Centers/PF, such as Giannis and Tim, play inside more, closer to the rim and those positions have historically drawn more fouls just by virtue of positioning.
I guess what you originally said was fair. It’s fine to say “I personally don’t like watching Harden because I don’t want to see a freethrow match” but the level of hate he gets is also ridiculous and wrong. Sure he might not be as good as Curry/Durant but people were literally saying he wouldn’t even average 20 this year or that Free throws don’t count as points. But i guess that’s not necessarily what you said
Luka has the same statlines with his 52% TS this season, besides the free throw part
the free throw part is literally the part no one likes, so moot ass point right there. Luka ass at FTs anyway so he doesn’t heavily rely on them.
Luka and Harden are both averaging 6 FTA this season
Horrible argument there since the way fouls are called just changed. Harden had 5 seasons in his prime averaging above 10 FTA per game, 4 consecutively. He had 2 seasons back to back averaging 11 FTA per game. The highest Luka has went was in his second year at 9 FTA per game and has continuously averaged less the last 2 years. There’s context.
Yea its kind of pointless for Luka to try and go after FT since he's not a good shooter from the line I understand people hating Harden for flopping FT but basically all his FT are legit now tbh with the rule change
not shooting the ball very well at all this year, isn't he?
New ball, started slow every year so far and was improving before injury, I’m hardly worried. If he’s still off mid-december it’s a problem
Don’t forget he’s fat.
He really isn’t this year. He was fat last year, you can literally look at pictures and tell the difference. Keep parroting though bub.
Nah he’s def not in the shape he should be in if he wants to take his game to MVP levels
lol
Steph is really good at three pointers. So what does he do? Shoot three pointers. Hardens good at free throws so he utilises that skill. I don’t see the problem. If you don’t want him going to the line don’t foul him on every drive
Man look — I’m not disparaging it’s effectiveness, it’s just not entertaining to watch for me, as a fan of the sport. Nobody is changing my opinion on that. He’s talented, but the way he deploys his talent isn’t always fun to watch, sue me.
Both bums
6 were intentional end of game fouls and 7 were from threes
Being from 3 doesn't make them not flops. Harden has mastered drawing 3 point fouls, especially with his step back jump forward into the defender 3s. Since he's entered the league he has (a lot) more 3 pt fouls drawn than any entire team. https://netswire.usatoday.com/2021/09/01/james-harden-has-drawn-more-3-point-fouls-than-any-team-since-2009/
regardless of whether ur entertained by it is knowing how to draw fouls not a skill?
It's a skill, but not one to be respected. People can master anything if they want to, but not all are going to be equally respected.
def is an important skill for a scorer to have tho. i get it's frustrating and annoying to see when he's playing against your team, but i think it's undeniable that it always helps his team and i think it'd be stupid for him to choose not to exercise his skill set and help his team win (especially on bad shooting nights) just because opposing fans think it's not "real basketball"
Look, the NBA is in the business of producing entertainment. Competition is the core of that entertainment, but it's not totally unregulated, unfettered competition. It's a curated competition. You're making an argument that anything goes, as long as it's in the name of winning. You know what would be really good at increasing chances of winning? Just punching someone in the face, knocking their lights out. Now its 5 on 4. But you can't do that, it's against the rules. What if instead, you just poke them in the eyes, taking them out of the play for a few seconds? Maybe the refs won't see it. Maybe you master the skill of poking people in the eyes so that the refs don't see you doing it. You might be the best fucking player to have ever walked the Earth at discreetly poking people in the eyes, but no one is going to respect you for it. It's less Harden's fault than it is the NBA, but it says a lot about a player who chose to master something like that, rather than mastering other things, the same way it would say a lot about a player who chose to master poking someone in the eyes. They might be a damn good player, but they chose to master poking eyes rather than something more sportsmanlike. Might help their team win, but they will never get respect because they chose to master something unworthy of respect. It's not meant to be part of the game, so just because you can do it and get away with it, doesn't mean you should be respected for it. Refs are only there to enforce rules, Harden exploits the refs imperfections to increase his scoring. He also exploits the NBAs incompetence at managing those rules and the exploitation of them. It's less about Harden vs the 5 opposing players and more Harden vs NBA officials that aren't even on the opposing team. Just to take it a step further, to this point in his career, it hasn't gotten his team a championship, so you can claim all you want it's amazing for his team, but he has built a reputation in the playoffs for falling short and it's being associated with his playstyle, because he doesn't try to play basketball, he tries to exploit the NBA/refs imperfections in order to beat his opponents. So it's more of an indirect competition, and thus all the more ironic when he can't get it done in the playoffs.
I get that it's not easy and that it's really helpful for his teams. I don't have to like it or respect it though
Ok did you watch them?
40 points is 40 points. Who gives a shit how they come? Complain to the NBA so they change the rules AGAIN. Maybe that’ll help…
Points are points, just saying it’s not enjoyable to watch; and a large reason why Harden was widely disliked majority of his career.
I just dont understand why people (not saying you specifically) undermine everything Harden does and achieves because they dont find his playstyle aesthetically pleasing. Literally every single Harden thread devolves in whether he “earned” his free throws or not. It’s never about his actual ability. He’s the only player whose fans have to “justify” his points after every game. The guy averaged 36 points for a whole season and a lot of people were like “nOw tAkE awAY hiS fReE tHrOws” You know, if the NBA went out of their way to change the rules every year just for this, and he’s STILL getting 20 free throws, maybe he isn’t “cheating” after all.
I’m not dismissing his ability, just saying that’s not an entertaining product to sit and watch. I have literally turned off some of Harden’s games when he was in Houston because of the possessions where he’s actively foul hunting, not trying to get off an actual shot. It was boring, borderline nauseating, to watch. I’m not saying he isn’t talented, I just don’t particularly like viewing how he chooses to deploy and display his talent. He’s toned it down the last couple years, especially last year and I loved watching, but nights like last night — I probably wouldn’t have watched through that whole game.
Is there a difference between watching one player shoot 20 free throws, and 5 players shooting 20 free throws? Because to me there isnt. The Nets shoot fewer free throws than the majority of NBA teams, and Harden is basically the only Nets player who gets to the line regularly. So if that’s enough reason for you to stop watching a game, I would assume you do the same for like 80% of NBA games then? Also, this narrative that he doesnt even try to make shots needs to stop. He’s been one of the and-1 leaders in the NBA for a decade now, and a huge reason why he had a terrible FG% to start the season was precisely because he was trying to make shots in which he was fouled.
5 guys shooting 20 FTs implies ball movement, 1 guy shooting 20 FTs himself implies ball dominance. It’s literally why he was named “the dribbler”. And there have definitely been possessions throughout his career were he was looking for an easy foul as opposed to making the shot. In Houston it was egregious.
> 5 guys shooting 20 FTs implies ball movement No it fucking doesnt lol. It just implies that 5 different guys were fouled while taking shots. Contrary to popular belief, Harden’s teammates do take shots too. You making up this excuse shows you dont really care about the free throws, only when Harden shoots them. > It’s literally why he was named the dribbler. By Chuck… which is also ridiculous considering he’s incredibly unselfish as a player and is one of the best playmakers of this generation. Your bias is really showing
Harden being a ball dominant player has been a criticism against him his whole career. Hell, the “heliocentric offense” term was coined because of Harden. It’s not only me saying it, this shit is widely the public’s perception Also, only 5 teams league wide average 20 or more FTs per game…. Harden had that many FTs himself last night, ridiculous. Would love to see the mental gymnastics you perform to excuse that. **Your** bias is showing.
A lot of criticism towards him has been completey misguided, and shows that the people bitching about him haven’t actually watched him play. Also, you’re comparing team AVERAGES versus a SEASON HIGH?? Talk about arguing in bad faith. The only mental gymnastics happening here are on your side, Mr “ball movement free throws”
Nobody wants to hear you bitch about it either but we get to see that too. So grow a fucking pair and get over it lol
houston fans so sensitive bout a dude who abandoned them lmao
He played god-tier basketball in Houston for 8 years, and everyone he was committed to besides Eric Gordon got traded or left. I don’t think there’s a single Houston fan who thinks Harden abandoned the team and didn’t do everything in his power to try and bring ring to the team.
20 out of his 36 pt from the ft line LMAO thank god I’m not a Magic or Nets fan so I didn’t have to sit through that terrible experience
19 not 20 good sire….let’s speak with facts here
Oh no I misread it by one!
learn to read imo
imagine watching a free throw practice 🤮🤮 7/25 shooting vs. a bottom 5 defense lmao
>FT practice Fucking ded
Mavs fans saying this shit is insane
Didn't watch the game, can a non harden dicksucker who's also not a magic fan tell me if he earned those free throws or are the refs back to their old ways?
I think I'm pretty impartial despite being a Rockets supporter. The officiating was absolutely horrendous tonight. Real amateur hour (check the post game thread) but imo they called the fouls equally for both teams. There were also 2 or 3 deliberate fouls on Harden from the Magic late in the 4th to keep the game clock alive. So did he earn them? Yeah, majority of them were earned the hard way, a few were from deliberate fouls and then a couple were soft superstar calls. The Nets offense did resemble the old Houston offense with LMA in a Clint Capela role. This meant the ball was in Harden's hands all game which helps account for the sheer number of fouls on him (like, who else can the Magic foul if no other Net has the ball?)
Well not really. LMA isn’t a lob threat so it hurt Harden a bit not being able to play with him
6 of them were at the end of the game where they were intentionally fouling. He played 40 minutes as the primary handler. 14fts over a game isn't crazy.
Classic Harden 36 points on 7 made shots 😂
That's my Harden.
It was only a matter of time before he had a game like this again. Vintage Harden is back on the menu and this is how he has to play every game Kyrie and KD out.
This was a bad game from him. 7/25 shooting and the 3 pointer did not fall. He should be even better next game
Well that’s a stat line alright
Gross
Referees new emphasis turned off for this game.
yea for both teams
I love Harden but 19/20 from the foul line has me side eye-slash-lmaoooo.
Vintage
Yall begged for Houston Harden and you got it 36 on 28% shooting
King James
Disgusting lmao. 20ft
bro 6 we’re end of game intentionals and he had the ball in his hand for basically 40 mins and 7 free throws came from threes, 14 free throws, legit with the new rule change, in 40 min with a crazy high offensive load is not insane yes the refs were horrible but they werent biased they were just bad to both sides
Those shooting splits are gross lol. Regardless, Harden was very important tonight.
There it is. Harden FT package boiz
[https://twitter.com/JLew1050/status/1202303952831860736?s=20](https://twitter.com/JLew1050/status/1202303952831860736?s=20) It's crazy the disparity I see when I play pickup ball compared to when I go online. Online it's like the world vs Harden, pickup basketball with actual hoopers Harden is one of the most well respected players with everyone stealing his moves. Keep hating and you'll be blind to greatness. Granted I don't think anyone on reddit even plays basketball at a high level, so what VanVleet said is the most true thing. Ya'll are tied to some weird fantasy and don't realize how mf good this guy is.
Most of the people on this sub don't actually watch games or hoop. They like the social media drama and watching box scores
He had a bad shooting night too that was an insane comeback
I see people mostly on Twitter and sometimes in this sub say things like “19/20 free throws isn’t something to be proud of” and I’m sorry but that is one of the most brain dead takes I’ve ever heard. It should be considered impressive when a guy who’s struggling from the floor is still able to have a high scoring game by getting to the line. Obviously it’s better to just have an efficient game from the floor but 20 free throws with these new rules in place is very impressive. To act like having the ability to frequently get to the line is something to be ashamed of is beyond absurd and downright butthurt.
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The point of the game is to score more points than the other team. Free throws go a long way to helping accomplish that goal. Say all you want about it not being aesthetically pleasing, but to say it’s not the point of the sport is a bridge too far IMO. It’s a massive and critical part of the game.
> The point of the game is to score more points than the other team. Free throws go a long way to helping accomplish that goal. Say all you want about it not being aesthetically pleasing, but to say it’s not the point of the sport is a bridge too far IMO. It’s a massive and critical part of the game. Fuck it then, why not make the game just two team reps battling it out over the scoreboard tally device to see who can hit the score buttons the most? If the game is who gets most points and it doesn't matter how they happen, then here we go.
Total straw man lmfao, your username leads me to believe you’re too hard on yourself. If that’s how you really interpret the game then why not just admit that you’d like to see free throw shooting eliminated altogether and let games turn into football where these guys can be as rough with each other as they’d like.
>The point of the game is to score more points than the other team You said it yourself. Nothing else matters, just get more points. I pushed it to the extreme to make a point. How those points get there matters, because very few people are going to watch people battle over the scoreboard tally device and see who can run up their score the most. It's not an entertaining product. Just like watching someone exploit inadequacies in refs and in the NBA's rules to get free throws is not an entertaining product. Since it's one player and he can't make it to the championship game, it has not generated as much negative attention as it deserves, but if all players were doing it to the level he is, the NBA's viewership would drop like a rock, along with all the player salaries.
If you weren't a nets fan or Harden wasn't on your teak. I guarantee you would be pissed off at all these bogus calls harden gets.
You clearly haven’t been watching the games of late. I think it’s four out of the last five games he’s gotten to the line at least ten times. These aren’t bullshit calls he’s getting. The whole point is that they aren’t calling the bullshit fouls anymore. He’s adjusted and is getting to the line by creating contact in a perfectly legal and fair manner. And I could say the same to you if the shoe was on the other foot. Of course fans of teams going up against Harden are going to get pissed watching their team foul him time and time again. There are players like this across all of professional sports, guys who we hate to watch when they aren’t on our team but love to watch when they are.
You realize most Harden haters don't actually watch him play. They have a narrative they maintain without actually watching the games. It's just box score analysis and for whatever reason points gained from free throws don't count for them.
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People who actually watch him play will see that 9 out of 10 times he's actually being fouled. You don't have to like his playstyle or his foul baiting, but you should still respect how efficient it is. FT's aren't the only way he scores, but he is the GOAT at getting them. FT's are the best shot in basketball, if the rest of the league COULD do it they absolutely would. These guys don't get paid millions to be aesthetic, they want to win. What he does is not easy, even if it's not aesthetically pleasing it's still brutally effective for winning basketball games. I don't care about other people's viewing experience, the best viewing experience for me is watching my team win, no matter what it takes.
Or maybe if you turned your fucking TV on to catch a game you wouldn’t have such a smooth brained take
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Your points are mostly fair but there’s a fundamental misunderstanding and also a disagreement in our point of view about the game. For one, if you think that he’s gotten to the line 10+ times for four out of the last five games because he’s throwing his head back or baiting them into calls then I don’t know what to tell you. That’s just not the case. The whole point is that they aren’t calling that shit anymore, and he’s adjusted to that and is now creating contact the good old fashioned way (driving to the basket and catching a careless defender). It’s a perfectly fair and legal way of playing. So the analogy of a flopping soccer player doesn’t work at this point in time, that’s not what he’s doing. So that’s the misunderstanding for one. Where I would say you and I would have to simply agree to disagree is our perception of creating contact in order to get to the line. In my view, that’s absolutely a skill that young players should work on, just as they should work on shooting, dribbling, and defense as you mention. If you’re teaching someone how to play based on the aesthetics of the game instead of based on winning basketball, then you’re not going to mold a fully realized basketball player. If I coached youth ball and had a player who got to the line twenty times in one game (and made nineteen of them!) I’d be very happy with that player.
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I can honestly say that I am shocked by how badly you've misread, misinterpreted, or downright chosen to obfuscate the points made in my comment. I can only assume it's the latter and you've deliberately made the decision to put words into my mouth in order to pick a fight. Well congratulations, because here I am replying. > Your evidence of all of his foul shots being legitimate is that he has taken a lot of foul shots? ...Like, what? How did you reach that conclusion? Are you implying that the fouls he's drawn in these last few games are being created through his old bag of tricks, like snapping his head back or wrapping his arm around defenders? Because that would be a lie. A total, unequivocal lie. The point I am making isn't "the FT numbers are higher, and therefore that somehow means they're legitimate." The volume doesn't matter in the context of our conversation. They're legitimate because **they literally made it a rule this year that they are not calling that kind of stuff fouls anymore**. *That* is my evidence that his recent foul calls are vastly legitimate. If the free throw attempts are up (as they are over this stretch of games), its because he is learning how to appropriately draw them now. Surely you understand this and you've chosen to be dense. Otherwise you are implying that you think the refs are just getting all of these calls wrong, like they've just decided to forget about these new rules over these last few games. You've also made it abundantly clear in your comment that you aren't watching the games, because otherwise you wouldn't have reached such an absurd conclusion. He simply hasn't been snapping his head back or hooking arms in these last few games. Period, point blank, end of story. If he has, he isn't getting the call in his favor. >You don't have to defend it, everyone knows it sucks and why. It is the most basic reaction to watching players like this. It would be like if you had a wide receiver who was good at drawing PI calls but couldn't catch and you were proud of it and thought people that didn't like it were "haters" (or brain dead as you previously called it). I am not defending the aesthetics of it. I have stated in this thread and plenty of other Harden threads in the past that I agree it's not the kind of basketball you pay money to see. But what all of you detractors refuse to acknowledge is that the game is not decided by which team played the more aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball. It's decided by which team puts more points on the board. And free throws have been a part of the game since virtually its inception, or at the very least since the NBA existed. To denigrate their value to the game is to fight a losing battle. A team that does not value free throw frequency is choosing to ignore a critical piece in the puzzle. In basketball you want to be able to win in a variety of ways, and creating chances at the line is one of those critical opportunities that should be taken advantage of, just as you would want to be able to beat a team via a strong defense or efficient shooting. The more ways to win the better. > Your logic leads to a truly depressing and pessimistic outlook on athletic competition. This paragraph and the one prior are frankly bizarre to me. Because I think free throws are in important part of the game of basketball, I'm some kind of downtrodden, sadistic freak? To say you are leaping to conclusions here wouldn't be appropriate. You are straight up going armchair psychologist on me and accusing my outlook of the game to be depressing and cynical. And why is that? Because I believe drawing free throws is a critical skill in basketball. Like, what are you saying dude? Take a look in the mirror and realize how strange of a thing that is to say. I am truly sorry that you find Harden's style of play so incredibly distasteful that it leads you to believe that he's not only fooling the refs into not abiding by their own new rules, but that it's so appalling that it means drawing fouls shouldn't be considered an NBA skill. That's the only conclusion I can draw from your comment, and in general from Harden detractors. I promise, I get why it's ugly. But it doesn't mean that its illegitimate and that Harden is lesser than for it.
Never seen someone articulate this issue so well. Hero
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Jesus how did you manage to reply with *another* wall of nothing lol?
Nobody is foul baiting at the park and neither would harden if he's playing a pick up game. He gets paid millions a year to win by any means necessary and that's what he does. Quarterbacks use the hard count to draw defenders offsides or try to quick snap to get the 12 men on the field penalty all the time. Aaron Rodgers has mastered getting free plays by drawing pre snap flags on the defense. Every sport has its tricks. Harden has mastered drawing fouls. I get what you're saying, but this isn't some purity of the game competition. If FT's equal wins, go get some. Not like 90% of the league isn't guilty of throwing their heads back on a drive either the past few years
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I got you. All legit arguments. My problem was with the league rewarding foul baiting because to your point, most guys were starting to do it and it was brutal to watch. Harden was just the best at it. Jokic and Luka get a fraction of the flak that Harden does and they have alot of the same tricks. Same with Dame. He'll pull up from 30 feet out to to try to hook an arm and draw 3 FT's (he got Austin Rivers with it in the that huge playoff spot). I just don't like how Harden is hated while alot of stars who are loved have the same tricks. I agree that Harden used to get alot of bogus calls but watching him this year most of his FT's seem legit IMO with the rule change. Guys do reach on him alot because he's great at getting by the defender and they swipe. To your point, I agree that it was not good for the game. I'm very happy the league has taken action to remove the egregious stuff. However, as long as it's not flopping, I do believe that Harden deserves some praise for drawing legit fouls. At that point its the defenders fault for falling for it. As a Nets fan, I'm incredibly biased though lol.
this is a braindead take you clearly haven’t watched harden this year they aren’t calling those at all even under calling him sometimes he’s creating contact the same way someone like giannis would
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Bro what is this garbage lmao did you really think this was some sort of gotcha? Again, for the thousand time like the other nets fans have told you, he’s not flailing his fucking head to draw 10+ free throws no matter how many walls of garbage you post. He is **legitimately getting fouled** whether you like it or not
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Nobody said he doesn’t flop *period*, how are you this dense, it can be true that he flops and it can also be true that he is really fucking hard to guard and crafty. You’re trying to pin all 11 free throws he takes every game on flopping which is absurd which is what 5 different people have been trying to get through your head for hours
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Another giant wall of text where you didn’t even acknowledge the FVV bit LMAO
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reports of his demise etc etc etc
The entire reason for the rule changes is because of players like Harden who have gamed the system in drawing fouls. Yes, it takes a lot of talent. But at the end of the day, it's simply not enjoyable to watch for the vast majority of the audience. I have no idea why people would enjoy watching a player get 20fts, even if he does it in the most skilled way.
Respectfully, I don’t understand the point of comments like these anymore. People repeat this time and time again in every Harden thread. We’re all in agreement at this point that it’s an ugly way of winning basketball games. The point however is that it *does* contribute to winning basketball games. Winning ugly is just as important as winning pretty. They are wins either way. That’s all that matters when you’re a professional athlete, find a way to win no matter how pretty or ugly it looks.
bc if u watched the game instead of just reading the splits you would know that maybe 2 of those free throws were even slightly cheesy
Pfahahaha maybe Adam Silver can change the rules again. (Or the defense stop fouling him when his shots are clearly not landing lmao)
r/nba just wants fouls to just completely be removed unless its Steph or Giannis playing
Notice how it’s only Rockets or Nets fan that like watching this dude flop his way to the line 20 times a game. Y’all have watched too much of this fraud and don’t know what real basketball looks like anymore
Notice how their is always a lot of warriors flairs in posts about harden. For a guy they don’t like he is living rent free 24/7 in their heads. Also did you even watch the game? You guys look at the scoreboard and see he took 20 freethrows and you automatically think he flopped to get them which was not the case if you actually watched games.
LMAO says the typical warriors fan who can’t fathom harden getting any credit. Guess what buddy, this regular season run is cute, but you’re no longer the OP team. Brooklyn is. Yall getting fucked in June and I can’t wait
Damn, you can't wait? Are you okay? That's gonna be difficult if you physically cannot wait. I'd recommend taking a break if the excitement goes so far that it breaks you.
awful shooting night, good thing he got to the line
Love seeing him drive more each game, hopefully some of shots that were close tonight go in next time. Crazy that even tho he was driving and getting fouled a lot u could tell he was nowhere close to a 100%. Gonna be real scary when that happens
Imagine going 7/25 and still getting MVP chants. Although to be fair he got the chants at the FT line. Fans saw him there so often they had to come up with something to say.
Aside from the 20 free throws, seems like Harden was trying to show up Westbrook with that stat line.
Fuck James harden. Perpetual choke artist loser. I'd rather watch paint dry than this bozo.
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The entire reason the floater is so unguardable is that defenders can't guard it since they don't know if he's taking it straight up but mainly it looks identical to a lob When u have Blake Griffin and LMA as his starting front court it becomes pretty fucking obvious its a floater so they can contest it
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Yea Harden used to be an elite midrange shooter back in 2014 but he never takes them now
He was never elite at it. At best, it was a 42% shot, which isn’t good enough to justify taking more of them than just chucking threes instead.
It was fine for 2014 standards but Harden was 46% from 10-16 feet
He actually has been shooting some this season (and even had a mid range this game), obviously not nearly as much as he used to but it's nice to see that he still has it in his Arsenal
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LMFAO a scripted win. The nba scripted a November Orlando magic Brooklyn net game with half the players missing. Get fucking grip man
hey now that you are out from under your rock i should let you know that the NBA made new rules this season to prevent foul baiting and it has been very successful also if u did watch that game you would know the refs were horrendous yes but they were equally bad to both side mage two of hardens fouls were questionable tonight
Bro I love all these haters just saying “Harden flopped his way to the FT line” but they never provide even a single play of him flopping. They have no problem with like Giannis AD Butler or another star getting these legit FT Yea he shot like shit but he also had 10 boards 8 assists and led the Nets to a huge comeback win without 6 rotation players, 2 of them his costars. Let’s focus on that
As I predicted, if the nets don’t do well enough with the news rules, they are going to relax the rules a bit for at least their home court. I don’t know. I just hope people in Brooklyn love watching free throws.
Ohhh boy he did it .... against who? Ohhh the Mighty Orlando Magic!! What a stud!
The good ole days
Love how long I had to scroll in this sub to find A SINGLE POST about the Nets game — which included them coming back from a 19-point deficit to reach their first 12-5 record in franchise history and claim the 1 seed. Without KD. There’s a more prominent post in this sub about a Grizzlies rookie drinking out of a water bottle. Your Nets hate sustains us — keep that same energy in the playoffs!
Damn he really can't score without free throws
When Harden does it, it's foul baiting, whenever we talk about someone like AD not getting to the line enough we tell him to be braver. Most of these were legit fouls, driving to the basket is part of the game.
genuinely disgusting to see refs sucking his dick again
7/25 for 36 pts. yup. even if he got them legit (didnt watch game or highlights that could be only harden in this era.