When the NBA announced a series of rule changes aimed at limiting foul-baiting, the community instantly directed their focus at James Harden, who has become rather notorious for his ability to exploit foul calls and get free trips to the charity stripe.
It’s only natural to think that, with one of the biggest aspects of his game neutralized, Harden would see a major dip in his numbers.
This season, through 5 games, Harden is only scoring about 16.6 points per game on 35% shooting.
And while it’s unfortunate that things have changed for James, there is no questioning the satisfaction the new rules are bringing the fans.
Other than Rockets fans/media selfishly defending the Harden BS over the years (via Ryan Russillo), I never understood anyone arguing anything other than it being terrible for the sport. It wasn’t something to counter, it was awful to watch. I hope the refs stay the course because it’s long overdue.
“The Ringer” founder, Bill Simmons, likes the change as well and is calling on Harden to adjust his game just like many others before him have had to do.
I’d like to pledge my undying and eternal support of RR’s sentiments. Also — Harden smartly exploited loopholes in the rules, they changed those rules, and he has to adjust just like other greats had to adjust to rule tweaks over the years (Wilt, Shaq, Kareem, MJ etc).
Harden is not the first player to have a rule-change impact his game, and he’s not even the first to have forced a rule change because of his game.
It’s a natural part of the league, as the rules try and catch up with new trends and an evolving game.
The question is, how will Harden respond? The Nets are going to need him to get back into his superstar form if they are to make any kind of noise in the postseason and, so far, things haven’t looked good.
Either way, these next few weeks and months will be a big test for the Beard and whether or not he’s good enough to overcome this change.
