The worst one was last night on reddit. Dude was a Warriors fan and drafted a 10 page essay on why it was a travel which NO ONE read. Of course, because it is anti-Harden it got 8k upvotes and was top of r nba. I have the sequence memorized and the more I think about it, the more I realize the offensive genius of James Harden. That shot is very difficult to knock down. 2 steps with momentum going away from the basket. Harden is a master and has been doing for a long time. Here is the sequence (all from memory): Forward step Begins gather Ends dribble Left (front) foot back Right (back) foot back (NOT LEFT FOOT BACK AGAIN, THIS IS WHAT THE WARRIORS FAN ON REDDIT TRIED TO ARGUE and YES that would have been a travel) At this point harden now has his front foot to pivot off of and he just goes up to shoot it. Very basically explained, you get 2 steps and a pivot. This explains it PERFECTLY. Watch the video guys.
go be a warriors fan, seriously. or go post on reddit, you would fit in with those losers at r nba. Some of us actually recognize game and appreciate skill when we see it. The rest of you are just haters. I am the first to admit when Harden travels, because he does not need to to win.
They are like Steve Kerr. They just troll and hate, whine and complain hoping they get their way. Gonna sit there and whine then delete your tweet like a b****.
yeah, I saw that thread Didn’t dude say he was some ref from Germany? We got people analyzing 1 shot from Harden in the 1st half of a playoff game like they’re forensic scientists, it’s so annoying.
previous years when each of harden's step back were only worth 2 pts and the rockets were around 55 wins, it wasn't really a big deal but this year its worth 3 pts or 3 foulshots or a 4 pt play at a crazy volume and efficiency with the rockets 1st seed overall with 65 wins, haters and opponents are now whining and crying saying it needs to be banned LOL
If people did this to LeBron or Curry they could make a 10 minute reel from just this season and post it on YouTube.
Lebron especially...he travels A LOT people only get triggered by Harden tho...losers will say he’s ruining the game, cheating, and will even wish injury upon him at least they now refer to him as a top 3-5 player while they hate...just a few short years ago we were seeing Harden vs. Klay debates by these online “experts”
I'd have to disagree with you on the one thing. The left foot does come off the ground and back again (at least in the video you linked). But I think this falls under the rule that the second step is legal if both feet land simultaneously. I think some people are trying to analyze it in extreme slow motion to argue that the right toe touches the ground before the left toe on that second step/hop back. In slow motion, it's always going to be the case that one foot lands slightly before the other. Nobody watching that in real time is going to say that second hop/step back is two steps (which would make a total of three). Same thing would happen on the last hop in a crab dribble...one foot will always land slightly before the other before a player jumps off both feet to shoot, but it's certainly not two steps. People are reaching/nitpicking now.
It doesn't explain it "perfectly". The smart folk who are calling it a travel are suggesting it is indeed the left foot back again that is the 3rd step. The left foot that lands behind the 3 point line. That foot isn't "counted" in the video. My - as a Rockets fan - rebuttal would be its a jump stop. The feet don't land perfectly simultaneously, but its pretty f'ing close. Bang Bang play.
You get 2 steps then a pivot, but if that is what they are arguing then he forfeits his pivot foot and it is not 2 steps, but a hop after the first step. It is the same as this but backwards. You do not get a pivot after the hop in this video and you can either shoot or pass.
No its not the same because the one with the hop in this video, the hop is step 1 and 2. The first step is a gather step, cause the dribble is still technically live. In the Harden case, its gather, step, and step/step. The question is if that last bit is step 2 / step 3, or step 2 simultaneous landing?
In HS and college they call it by the rulebook. The spin move you see guys like Butler use in the NBA is a travel, but they do not call it. Based on the speed, not in slo-mo it looks simultaneous. Everything happens so fast. durvasa was right earlier in that technically he is not allowed to put his 3rd foot down even if it was to shoot it if you consider it a 1-2 and not a 1-hop. It's close, definitely not blatant. Harden is getting a lot of attention. If he missed the shot none of us would be discussing this lol.
The problems a lot of people are having is that: a. They're using the same blanket terms to differentiate two different things b. They're using an outdated interpretation of the rules. This is a pound stepback (offensive player pounds the ball hard and then steps back into the shot) This is a pullback stepback (offensive player is driving forward and then retreat dribbles or crosses between the legs before stepping back) They are both legal. The reason the second one is legal is because of the gather rule, which from reading this thread I can see being armchair lawyered into the wrong definition. 2009 the league wrote the gather rule into the rulebook (also Harden's first year in the league). Traveling Violation: NBA on rule change Here is how the rule is interpreted in application by refs: Beginning @27:20. "The big misunderstanding is when the gather happens, so when the dribble is stopped. And a lot of people just assume because, like its almost like they have to rewind in their brain ok well he stopped dribbling there and I counted steps and now it's a travel. If the ball is still moving in his hand, the dribble is still alive. ... And the weird stuff comes out of the woodwork now when people want to argue this saying, 'well he took 3, he took 4 steps after the ball bounced the last time' and I'm like 'what does that have to do with anything?'. The dribble doesn't stop, the steps don't start on that bounce. The steps start when the dribble is discontinued. Which isn't until he gets his hand like underneath the ball or grabs it with the other hand". The gather doesn't happen the last time the ball bounces. The gather happens when the ball is secured with both hands to either shoot or pass. "Dribble discontinuation" is the more appropriate way of looking for where to start counting the steps. \ __________________________ So going back to Harden's play the other night: He takes the large lunging step forward and pounds the ball; the ball has clearly not been gathered at this point as the ball is in only his right hand; both feet touch the ground while the ball is suspended in his hand with his hand on top (does not carry) His back foot stays down while his front foot glides back and he goes from the lunge body position into a triple threat body position; his hand is still over the ball at this point and the dribble as not been discontinued After sliding his front foot back in the air, he takes the kickstep to step back behind the 3 pt line; he also now has both hands securing the ball ***THIS IS THE GATHER STEP*** His feet hit 1-2 behind the 3pt line and he shoots. This is why it is not, and will never be called as a travel at the NBA level. The rhythm and mechanics on this move are consistent, Kyrie, DeRozen, Butler etc. all do a similar pullback stepback. Once you know what to look for, you can see why this is not a travel (as the refs have stated and as it is being called in practice).
Yeah, in real time it's about as close to simultaneous as you can get even though it isn't actually simultaneous in super slow motion. Call makes sense to me.
Fact is the Rockets won by 3 and if this was called a travel then the game possibly goes to OT. Many fans want the Wolves to upset the Rockets in the first round. Maybe they are scared Thunder, or Warriors fans. Or they could just be Spurs or some other team's fans hating. If it's a hop (simulatenous feet landing) then it's legal. Slowed down it does not look simulataneous, regular speed it does. If you do not count it as a hop, then it is a 1-2 and the reason they would not call a travel is because he was already going up to shoot before he put his foot down. If you are a ref and you're not sure, then you are like, hmmm, doubt he makes it anyways. SPLASH, too late to call it.
Rachel Nichols b****ass trying to ruin Harden. Never have I see a superstar and incoming MVP getting so much negative scrutiny about one of his eye-pleasing moves. "James Harden's beard is too oily and disgusting and irritates opposing players. Must institute a No-Beard rule next season."
Let's be real, this is only a big deal because other fanbases hate Harden. If it was Giannis or Curry or another beloved NBA star, people wouldn't give two ***** about it.
