Of "Shaqtin' A Fool" for the 2015-16 season. :grin: [youtube]jDphRaYEIIA[/youtube] Last night on TNT's Shaqtin' A Fool "Best Of 2015-16" Edition, James Harden was spotlighted yet again (starting at the 3:22 mark in the video above) in a montage for his atrocious "efforts" on defense this season. In all seriousness though, it's a damn shame that anyone can go from deserving League MVP (voted by his peers, **** the biased media) to Shaqtin' A Fool MVP sideshow, all in the span of just one season. It sucks even more because he is in a Rockets uniform, but this has long been inexcusable and can't be defended or justified at all. As horrible as his defense has been this season, maybe all these videos, playing for Team USA in the Olympics this summer, and hopefully NO Kardashian drama, will motivate him to be at that MVP level he played as last season and give us Rockets fans a legit hope at a championship while he is in the early stage of his "prime".
The problem with clips in isolation is there isn't a ton of context. I think on that Chicago one, for example, James had two fouls. On the whole, though, you can't excuse most of that. But no one he's #1 Shaqtin a Fool.
Any player with Harden's usage is going to have gaffs. It's like looking at a team's scoring when their pace is high, and then trying to extrapolate information on their field goal percentage. A team that scores a lot of points doesn't necessarily make shots at a higher efficiency, rather they make shots at a higher rate (shots made per unit of time). Look at Kobe during down laker years as reference.
There's still no excuse for the Chicago lapse in the video either. 2 fouls or not, there's no way you should ever lose the person you're supposed to be defending while standing still like a statue. That doesn't excuse James for those gaffs because they were all on defense, not offense. To just stand there and make no effort and let the opposing player get to the rim at will just feels outrageous. Growing up, all players are coached very early to stop the ball. That is ingrained into their heads at a young age. If that fundamental is never applied, then video "low-lights" like these are made on a constant basis.
There are people who want Harden's head because is "turnover prone". Steph Curry has a ton of instances where he let's guys go by him, but without the YouTube and Vine videos it's hard to stand up and take notice. Harden is a villain, so is Dwight, they both should just accept it and move on.
Think it was Morey and even Worrell on Root who made comments recently that Harden can go for 40pts and 10 rebounds (the most ever with 5 - equaling AI and MJ) but it just takes 1 idiot to post a defensive 1 second lapse on Youtube and everyone jumps on it bagging Harden's defense.
I get it. We're at a impasse. People who won't acknowledge Harden's lackadaisacal play on both ends keep saying things like this. After all this time, it's not just Youtube fooling people. Both sides of the floor matter - a lot. The reason this argument will continue indefinitely, though, is because this team's defense is broken. Harden is just a cog in a broken machine, this season. [edit: typo]
Incredible numbers. Yet... if Corey Maggette, Kevin Martin, Allen Iverson, or Michael Redd were putting up these numbers they would still be defensive sieves. This tells part of the story of a phenomenally talented, yet flawed player.
this is good. Good things never happen when the rockets get praises and props. Only when they get ridicule and being under the radar.
How is this type of attention anything but a positive for the Rockets/ I hope Harden gets embarrassed to oblivion to the point where he actually generates the work ethic to improve his defensive stamina.
I agree 100%. Hardcore basketball fans know that Steph is an equally bad defensive player; when GS plays teams with a really good PG, they will cross-match and put Steph on a different positioned player so he wouldn't get eaten alive by the normal PG matchup. OKC is a good example; Steph would be put on Roberson (their SG) to play help def. and double team, and Klay would actively defend Russ. But most "casual" fans, for some stupid reason, don't care when it's Curry (or even Lillard or Kyrie) who plays horrible defense. There won't be any vines, memes, gifs, or YouTube videos made for any of them; but fans would have no mercy if it were Harden (or Kevin Love). And yes, if I were Harden, I would embrace the hate and smile wearing that villainous black hat. But I strongly believe the hate would be lessened significantly once Dwight leaves (as we all think will happen).
They only made him the mvp of shaqtin for views. They just hopping on the Rockets/Harden hate train like the rest of the media and casuals.
I believe MJ said it best when they set the record for regular season wins - "It don't mean a thing without the ring!" James is an incredibly talented player... but he is a stat padder...
With all due respect, OP, that's a crap title. Post a thread about Shaq's babbling bull****, sure, but try to make the title reflect the subject matter a little more closely next time, in my humble opinion. I would have been happy with: Shaq is a Fool! ;-)-