D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

Without even reading the article, IMMA call BS on "Harden stops and pops faster than anyone in the league".

The dude is built like a linebacker (or whatever you have in that foot-ellipse sport of yours), so there is a fair bit of physics involved. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that guys like Lillard, Curry, Wall do it much much faster than him, simply due to size and quick release.

And finally, (@tada and you): that is not technique. That's a travesty:

 

No one was complaining when Lou was drawing fouls. Homerism much? Even if there's some acting involved, and whether you feel it degrades the game, it is a technique, and a highly effective one at that.

The foul in that video is controversial but it isn't a shooting foul so I'm not sure what you're trying to get at.

 

Controversial? Ok. I see.

I apologize for having started an obviously fruitless discussion.

 

Yeah honestly I don't like it either.

 

was this meant as a rebuttal to my point? harden wouldn't be a great player without the unprecedented treatment he receives from officials.

i really hate stern for making most fans accept "star power" as a reason to arbitrarily enforce the rules of the game.

and controversy involves disagreement. there's no room for disagreement on most of harden's junk, especially that from above.

and i didn't enjoy watching lou do it, either. it's lame. when kobe did it, the league changed the rules to stop it. when harden does it, they change the rules* in his favor to keep a big market alive.

*sorry, changing the rules would imply that rules are applied evenly.

 

Hey, I don't like it either. I just ignore any visual diarrhea Haren excretes by refusing to watch Houston games. Problem solved.

The discussion was why Russell isn't getting the Haren treatment late in games. And I've made my case.

 

Yeah I agree with tada. Superstars have always gotten calls. When you play at that level you're gonna get those whistles and even without the phantom calls there is no denying Harden is an elite talent. His handles, his shooting ability, playmaking, has an array of floaters, flip shots, the euro step, mid range, step back, fadeaway, etc.

 

Try reading before u call BS

https://www.google.com/amp/www.wsj....dens-secret-talent-is-slowing-down-1486667420

If you cant access. Do a search on google with the articles title and use that as the link then it should be free

 

Kobe says hi. And not even MJ got Harden calls.

 

Ok. Now after reading it I'm going to continue to be extremely skeptical.

Having a good brake is nice. Claiming that otherwise average athlete is best at pop up or step backs is quite a leap.

 

Looks like the kid has the potential to be pretty special....

 

was the case that harden is great or that star calls exist? i'm confused. harden isn't great without those refs.

yeah. i'd go further. he'd be an allstar. reminds me of prime gilbert arenas. but no one tried giving gil the mvp. no one tried giving hawks joe johnson the mvp, and i think he was clearly a better basketball player than harden.

as real said, this stuff didn't even exist before. running down retreating defenders, hooking defensive players' arms, mobile swingthroughs...it's madness. and it's not basketball. thus, harden isn't a great basketball player.

 

Both.

I'm a bit confused as well because on the previous page you said he isn't "good" without the refs, and now you're saying he isn't "great" without the refs but he'd still be an allstar?

My definition of an allstar is both "good" and "great," something Russell should aspire to be, and I'd be ecstatic if he makes it that far. If he becomes an allstar, Russell will definitely get those late game calls.

 

said he wasn't "great". i'm not even sure he's "great" with the refs, quite frankly.

and i saw zero difference between what russell got called for and what harden gets calls for. exact same maneuver. one guy has more endorsement money. in other words, yes, i believe it's largely human bias/error, not "skill".

 

Ok, we can agree to disagree on that part, because I do think baiting/acting/drawing (whatever you want to call it) fouls is a skill.

It may not be good for basketball, but some players are more competent at it and I just don't see how that can be argued. I mean, we witnessed 1.5 years of how "skilled" Lou was at it. Only a select few can pull that off.

 

i think some are rewarded early and some aren't. the latter abandon the strategy and play basketball. the former get taco bell commercials.