In this particular case, the question of whether how James Harden plays basketball is "fun" or not. Because we tackle the tough subjects here at Reporting on Marvels and Legends!
The popular consensus for a time was no, it is not fun to watch Harden dribble the ball for 20 seconds, trying to get his defender off-balance so Harden can jump into him, chuck the ball in the general direction of the hoop, and get foul shouts. Because watching people shoot free throws is not fun. Unless they're really terrible at it, and then it's fun in the schadenfreude sense.
There's always been pushback, but it's become more vocal recently. ESPN had an article on their website with a bunch of quotes from people (almost all of them associated with the Houston Rockets, the team Harden plays for) arguing that actually, Harden's style of play is indeed fun and cool. The Ringer had one pointing out Harden would still lead the league in scoring even if there were no foul shots, which was supposed to prove something. Mark Jackson got on his high horse about it during a televised game recently, wondering aloud how anyone could watch James Harden play and not find it entertaining. I wonder how anyone could enjoy Mark Jackson commenting on basketball, but humans are strange. On and on and on.
I fall in the camp of not finding Harden entertaining to watch. Last spring, I understood the exhaustion some fans had with the Warriors making the Finals again, especially playing a Cleveland team that appeared completely overmatched. But I still found it infinitely preferable to having to watch any more of Harden's game. That doesn't mean I think he's unskilled. The guy's control of the ball, his balance, his ability to manipulate his defender into a position he can exploit. Whether it's to draw a foul, go past them, or get them distracted so a teammate gets open, he's not doing that stuff by luck. He's not an elite shooter, but he's pretty good. He's figured out how to play certain parts of defense credibly (he's apparently very good at standing up to larger players who try to back him down in the low post), and the Rockets mostly hide him from the rest.
But that doesn't make it a style I like, because so much of it feels like he's finding loopholes, or messing with the refs' perception to his advantage. There was a game last year, Paul George was guarding him, and as Harden drove to the hoop, he hooked George's arm with his own. Then he took a shot and made a big show of how his arm was tangled with George's, like George had initiated the contact. And it worked, they called George for the foul.
It's like watching Greg Maddux pitch. He throws a pitch 3 inches off the plate, the ump calls it a strike. He throws the next one 3.5 inches, well, it's in basically the same spot as the last one, so the ump has to call it a strike again. Now the hitter has to guard that much larger of an area, becuse he knows the ump is giving Maddux that call. So now Maddux can throw something even farther outside and the batter will get fooled and chase it. That's skill too, getting the hitter off-balance, getting him to do what the pitcher wants. But it feels more like a skill related first and foremost to tricking the umps. and using them to help beat the hitter. Great if you root for the team he's playing for, lousy if you don't, or if you feel like it's trying to win the game via cheat code.
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2 comments:
Since the only basketball that I watch is the UConn women...yes, I am an alumnae...I am in no poaition to judge.
But you present your arguement so very well...that I am going to agree with you. It sounds like some grade-A chicanery. I agree that it can be enjoyable, but subtlety is always key.
I know Harden's far from the only player that does this stuff, but he seems to do it a lot more often (or he's a lot better at it than everyone else).
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