Desperately Seeking Contact, our nights with James
Harden's standard style used to include a grubby, blood-thirsty craving for free throws, but now they're not coming at the rate he prefers. Why?
James Harden wants you to know that he's not getting the calls. And while he says, "I don't want to talk about it" — he really, really, has quite a bit to say.
The gist of the complaint is inconsistency. Which, to some degree, is a fair point. When the school stops the bully who has previously operated with impunity, it's disorienting. You get used to playing a certain way and it's hard to adjust. If, in the past, you got an advantage from playing basketball like a dick — like, say desperately seeking contact at every turn and feigning astonishment when things don't go your way — why not take advantage of it?
Also, I would love for a whole harem to strippers to release a book about Harden called, "Desperately Seeking Contact, my nights with James."
Harden's standard style used to include a grubby, blood-thirsty craving for free throws, which led him to throw and contort his body in any variety of ways in order to draw fouls. And really, Harden still has the deep longing for the free points, he's just upset they're not coming his way.
I suppose not liking Harden (or any athlete) falls into that ineffable bucket of mystery where a few select things get interpreted in such a way that you just can't appreciate their craft. Harden's skill level — particularly his creativity, passing, and playmaking — are top-level. But I don't care.
I don't like James Harden. I especially didn't like Houston-empowered James Harden. I don't like the heavy isolation, spread-floor, data-driven, pick and roll hunting-a-mismatch on repeat until you get a three, a drive, or a foul. It was like watching a horny, bearded, computer nerd play basketball.
I especially don't like all the ass-clown foul baiting.
But I do like that — in a delicious twist of irony — Nets coach Steve Nash has to try to defend Harden. Nash famously made it known that the common chicanery of Trae Young "isn't basketball." And now he has to defend one of the progenitors of the "non-basketball move" — one of the poster childs of these rule adjustments. He does a good job trying to diplomatically straddle the line between advocating for one of his stars and also agreeing that, yeah, sometimes Harden pushes the line.
But it used to be a part of the game. Because it was allowed.
A dear friend once gave me some sage advice that applies:
You'll have an abundance of what you tolerate.
It's probably frustrating for Harden. He probably does get fouled and have it not get called. Even if he's averaging more overall free throws than last year, there probably are missed calls. It's not fair.
But you know what else isn't fair? Falling down or whipping your head back or exaggerating contact in order to get cheap points.
About last night...
Aye, yo, Ayo Dosunmu!
Dosunmu started the game 9-9 from the field and finished with 24 points on 10-14 shooting. And he's doing it on both ends:
The Bulls nearly coughed away a 28-point lead in the second half, with a buzzer-beating three closing the score to just one point. The Thunder harassed Chicago's guards and made it quite the game. But I keep coming back to Ayo Dosunmu, who is living the life that we all envision ourselves having when we play 2K.
Hometown kid, plays for Illinois, gets drafted to the Bulls and shows out in his rookie season. When evaluating him pre-draft, I saw his height and lack of burst as major limiting factors in his development. I wasn't alone — The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor had him as the 31st best prospect. He was drafted 38th. Now, he's got the crowd yelling, "Aye, yo!"
Just this past Sunday, we sung the praises of Chris Paul — but we also said the Suns are the best team because you could make the case that either him or Devin Booker are not only their best player, but darkhorse MVP candidates in their own right.
The Jazz were without Mitchell, Gobert, Conley, and Bogdanovic — admittedly their four best players — and gave the Suns a game. I keep coming back to Booker and Paul, who have been so unbelievably steady for Phoenix over the past two seasons. CP3 is in his second prime, while Book may be at the apex of his first.
Their ability to get it done with the combination of Biyombo and McGee in Deandre Ayton's absence could have a drastic impact on their team moving forward. McGee and Biyombo do all the little things Ayton does at a fraction of the price. CP3 and Booker need their bigs to rebound, run, and roll. Could this extended showing for Biyombo prove Ayton to be expendable, freeing him up to sign with the only team with projected space for a max contract this summer?
Will Daryl Morey's blind love for James Harden cost the Sixers their future? Or is this a leverage play, signaling that the Sixers and Klutch Sports are working together to drive the price up for Simmons so he can get outta town sooner?
