Pete Chillcut!

SuchSuch - I wasn't ignoring anything, the question was addressed to, Rob. However, I don't see Harden being a big flopper. Most of the fouls made against James is when he is moving toward the basket / in the act of shooting. Sure, he sells it, but I've seen nothing to the extent of "changing rules" as you were referring.

Why celebrate in March is a good question that I don't have an answer for, but I will see what I can discover.

Bytor.. come off it man. Ive been a big harden in the past but his flailing arms flop is getting worse than KD's.. its too the point where i honestly would support an Andrew Bynum or Dexter Pittman moment and that shames me but SOMEBODY got to make Harden EARN all those lame FTs

And i never suggested changing rules, rather just enforcing the new rule already in place. The KD rule states that players must clearly be in act of shooting not merely just throwing their arms in the air. And yes, just check youtube you'll find plenty of examples. Im not denying that Harden gets real contact, im debating that he is ever actually in the axt of shooting hence a shooting foul!

My take on Harden and flopping.

I am from the old Barkley, Anthony Mason, NO SOFT FOULS school of thought. The flops will stop as soon as power forwards and centers begin to smack the lane penetrators around again. Once you are knocked down HARD you will not seek to create flops. I hate flops. I hated it when Jordan would do it. I hated it when Reggie Miller would do it. The king of flops in my book was Karl Malone. I hated that fuck.


This Texans team is built to get 20 points a game from free throws and then around 40 pts a game from three point shots. mcHale was and always will be a cheater, so now he teaches our Rockets how to cheat.

the real reason they honored the 10th anniversary in March is that this was when everyone could make it to Houston. nothing more than that I am sure.

My all time top 10..

MJ SG
Magic PG
Lebron SF
Duncan PF (ugh i hate the guy but respect his game)
Shaq C

Bench
Kobe SG
Nash PG (yup)
Pippen SF
Karl Malone PF
Hakeem C

Third team (runner ups)
DWade SG
John Stockton PG
Larry Legend SF
Pat Ewing PF
Kareem C

Agreed completely hence why i was calling for bynum/pitmann.. no. I don't really want a dirty play but a nice, clean and legal OG HARD FOUL is clearly necessary at teams are scared cuz like KD last year the refs have clearly anointed Harden with the MVP and nobody wants to get eejected or suspended as the bad boy era is over. NBA is a more successful brand and business now and i for one agree.. it was RACIST to have all the "big black guys" fighting on the court all the time, i applaud the way the league cut down on immature and inappropriate shit like that BUT i still support some hard fouls here and there.. whiteside knocked lebron on his ass so hard it reminded me of the Shaq Effect and made me nostalgic but it WAS NOT a dirty play and Lebron had no hard feelings..

THATS WHY I LOVE YOU ROB. YOU'RE A STRAIGHT SHOOTER

And growing up laker nation im glad we can share our mutual disgust for Karl Malone, the only reason i celebrated MJ and the Bulls is they always got my revenge against West Conference rivals like Portland, Utah, and Phoenix

I think it has more to do with:

A) Harden is faster than most expect.

B) Most players aren't sure how best to defend him.

I believe Harden's game on both sides of the ball has greatly improved due to his time as a starter on the "All Star" team he was a member of this past summer.

In my opinion, Olajuwon's game, moves, fundamentals were far more superior than Shaqs.

John Stockton holds two of the NBA's All Time statistical categories and you still have them third team......

Bytor your points are true for those times when Harden legitimately goes in the paint for a REAL shot attempt but what about those times he just drives and throws his hands in the air? Proof is in his total lack of "and-1"s and how he has as many FTA as FGA in many games

ALSO I TOTALLY AGREE THAT HAKEEM'S "MOVES" IN THE POST WERE FUNDAMENTALLY SUPERIOR TO SHAQ BUT SHAQ WAS MUCH MORE OF BRUTE FORCE that nobody could defend or stop. Indeed, if shaq had actually gave fucks about basketball and honed his craft he could have easily managed a 40/20 average across a season.. guy actually SUCKED at basketball things like dribbling and shooting but made up for it with sheer and overwhelming physicality

And i have Stockton as 3rd because Magic won 5 championships on 9 Finala Appearances and 11 WCF and i personally believe Nash to be a superior ball handler and definitely better shooter

James Harden has one of the all time highest FGA to points ratio in league history, unlike crap shooters like Kobe or Allen Iverson who regularly needed 30+ attempts per game to make their averages.

The only Rockets games I see are the ones that are Nationally televised. I simply haven't heard anyone else complain or point out that Harden's MVP season is due to flopping.

Olajuwon swept a younger, bigger more dominate Shaq in the NBA Finals!

Bytor, again, its that he has as many FTA as FGA is the smoking gun to his flopping.. and the lack of "and-1"s.. again i actually like Harden, but the flopping is just embarrassing at this point. Rob gets it. Deep down inside, you know you get it too..

And no, young Shaq was NOT more dominant Shaq, dominant Shaq was LA Laker era Shaq when he simply outmuscled every defender in the league. This is not diss to Hakeem btw, again I already said Hakeem was "the better basketball player" but in the end clearly Shaq was better with more rings, Finals appearances, and Conference Finals.. now Kareem has better stats than Shaq but 1-on-1 who thinks Kareem could even remotely defend Shaq?

Shaq vs. Oljuwon was set up as a pay-perview, but Shaq backed out.

Shaq NEVER did this to an MVP

Oh, its a fair debate, i just personally think Shaq is the more dominant center than any other in NBA history.. remember Hakeem had other bigs to help him, Shaq never had a "twin towers" kind of team

Harden literally has almost twice as many FTA as Lebron yet they both drive to basket at similar rates, have similar stat lines, and similar points in the paint numbers... hmmmmmmmm

James Harden goes off for 44 points tonight at Indiana!


The "Twin Towers" aka Dream and Sampson only played three seasons together......but they did send the Showtime Lakers home!

Dream didn't have a single "all-star" type teammate on his first championship team:

Scott Brooks
Matt Bullard
Sam Cassell
Earl Cureton
Mario Ellie
Carl Herrea
Robert Horry
Chris Jent
Vernon Maxwell
Richard Petruska
Eric Riley
Larry Robinson
Otis Thorpe
Kenny Smith

Thanks for clarifying. I still vote with Shaq and love Hakeem for different reasons. Harden tonight had ten made field goals, 21 made free throws.. 21 FGA, 22 FTA.. Sighs..

James Harden as Rocket vs Indy with Paul George:
4 gms, 79 pts , 22-74 FG (30%), 20-26 FT.

Indy without Paul George:
2 gms, 89 pts, 22-39 FG (56%), 35-37 FT

Tonight was the 27th time since '85-86, a player has scored 44 or more pts on 21 or fewer FG. No one's done it more than 2x...except Harden, he's done it 4x

Again, isn't that really the problem? Harden scored just 23 of those points on FGs..

I know im just basically trolling you at this point, and honestly i just cant seem to resist the temptation

wilt chamberlain was more DOMINANT than Shaq.

100 pt game?
average of 40 pts a season?
average of 50 POINTS A SEASON?
9 TIMES average of 30 pts and 20 rebounds for a season?

shit son, Shaq comes in at number TWO

BTW, Rockets hit 93% of their free throws last night. not too shabby

Wilt played in an era where the tallest centers were 6'8" and dudes didn't jump
I love Wilt but we can't honestly compare either he or Bill Russell's numbers to post merger players.. and Shaq would have knocked wilt flat on his ass and Hakeem would have Dream Shaked wilt and straight broke his ankles

No way man. Wilt the Stilt was a human basketball and sex machine.

BTW, Dream was always listed at 7'0", but he was actually more like 6'10"

I disagree, i agree more this avery Johnson said that contemporary NBA players would be able to put up Wilt numbers against that era's level of competition

Maybe, but by that same criteria Shaq is an overrated lummox who just happened to be bigger and stronger even when out of shape, than the rest of the NBA when he played.

Thats not true, shaq played against some athletic dudes but i concede your point. To be sure Shaq may be the biggest and strongest dude ever to play in NBA just like Hakeem is definitely the best ball handling big ever and kareem is best shooting big

Just saying, that in 40 years, most B-Ball players might look more like Shaq than the players of today, and you would be stuck with the same conundrum of having to judge Shaq based on the players in 40 years.

Wilt was the greatest college B Ball player EVER

Interestingly i disagree.. the D'Antoni Impact is in full effect solidified in concrete by the recent successes of the Heat and Spurs.. the last "big team" to win it all was the Lakers..

Now its a point guard, floor spacing, stretch-4 kind of NBA.. further all the emphasis on pick and roll offense has made the big, lumbering, rim protecting big more of a liability than an asset. Chris Bosh was the NBA best pick and roll defender at the 5 spot.. think about that for a second. .

The pace and space NBA requires centers who are longer than tall, quicker than strong, morw limber than lumber.. i think that in next ten years as the new generation develops talent the era of dominant bigs will be as much a distant memory as the NBA brawls of yesteryear

true...

where are all the giants?

This style of play is phasing them out... look at roy Hibbert, biggest big in NBA but simly too slow and cumbersome to keep up with the faster pace of today's game. Personally i like this wra best, its everything that was great about the high octane 80s just with more talent..

Think about it, in 80s there were what, 4 contenders and 3 or 4 really good teams?
90s had about five contenders but about 6 really good teams..
Now there are like 8 legit contenders and about 10 or 12 really good teams, this is by far the most talented the NBA has ever been by far and in the end talent trumps size

Really?

I feel that the NBA is so diluted, with so many teams barely making a .500 record. There are fewer and fewer teams that are actually contenders.

In the 90's you had the Bulls, the Suns, the Rockets, the Knicks, the Blazers, The Jazz, the Sonics, and the Spurs, all amazing talented teams.


The 80's were indeed just 4-5 contenders though....
I guess it is just the same, but I miss the days of watching giants

Check the stats and win records this is by far the most talented the NBA has ever been..

Also just the eye test alone suggests this, even the total shit teams actually play basketball better than the shit teams of 80s and especially 90s despite having losing records

Check the stats and win records this is by far the most talented the NBA has ever been..

Also just the eye test alone suggests this, even the total shit teams actually play basketball better than the shit teams of 80s and especially 90s despite having losing records

yet, no one can make a jump-shot...

You just watch too much Morley ball, some of the best teams are great shooting teams like z warriors, Hawks, Cavs, Blazers, Spurs, wizards, the lebron era heat

I drank the Morley kool-aid

fucking bucks.

Give em credit it was their first season sweep of the heat since 1990! Also apparently Jason Kidd as a coach is real deal

Michael Jordan recently included you on his pickup team of five along with Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen and James Worthy. Who is your all-time starting five? If you were playing pickup, which four guys would you want to make sure you kept the ball?

Olajuwon: Of course, Michael Jordan. I will pick Shaq, James Worthy and John Stockton.


Can you imagine a team with a starting five of Shaq, Jordan, Dream, and then Worthy and Stockton moving the ball around?

Jesus. That would make the Earth shake Shaq would play Center I guess and Dream would play Power Forward. shot blocks, no layups, pain