Rockets star James Harden has put together one of the best single-season campaigns in NBA history this season, but not everyone is a fan of his game, apparently.
Harden had an extremely efficient performance in Wednesday’s win over the Clippers, dropping 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting. His isolation style didn’t rub Clippers announcer Don MacLean the right way, though. Check out what MacLean had to say about Harden during the game.
“I just feel like this style, what Harden does, is manipulating the game somehow,” he said. “Almost like cheating it somehow. And I don’t really have a thought beyond that other than I’m watching something that isn’t basketball. To me, basketball is player movement, ball movement, designed plays. Not just a guy walking it up and isolating every time. That’s why I brought up that point earlier: Who else could do this? It’s not like that within the system, he’s getting all these numbers. The system is built for him.”
"This style, what Harden does, is manipulating the game somehow. Almost like cheating it somehow" 😳 https://t.co/Rygn1GL9TU
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) April 4, 2019
Sure, isolation is a bit less team-oriented, and highlights the play of one individual player, rather than five. Traditional basketball fans and analysts prefer to see the ball as well as players moving, creating open shots, rather than a few rhythm dribbles and a stepback jumper.
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