[Highlight] Harden hits the step-back to tie the game at 117
James Harden is on my team wow
I miss watching him play so fucking much.
People bash him for his style and how he exploits fouls but damn he could absolutely cook in his prime. Such a treat to watch.
Edit: and stay cooling now.
The foul-drawing really does take people away from the fact that peak Harden could dress down defenses by himself.
This is currently how I feel about SGA. Like his smooth middies and footworks are just so fun to watch but I don’t like when he flops out of nowhere
Unfortunately thats just part of being good at the game now, they wouldnt do it if it wasnt encouraged. Sucks to see
As a pacers fan, I completely agree. The random flops, push offs(every body does it), and travels/pivot foot changes in his footwork just make it not fun to watch. He absolutely is a certified bucket and would be either way.
Watching Brunson is similar. His post up, little shoulder nudge into a fadeaway midrange is a treat to watch.
I mean what can you do?
If you can get 1 additional shooting foul per game, it could literally be the difference between 2-3 points a game, that’s the difference between a playin team and a playoff team. The difference between shooting 47% from the field vs. 50% from the field.
That one call a game you flop is worth millions and millions of dollars.
Idk man, “exploiting” is such a harsh word. Is it exploitative to have people pay you to recycle their green waste, only to turn around and sell them the fertilizer you made with it?
That’s just farm-raised, GMO-free gardening, friend.
He can still cook. I loved him on the Sixers even though it’s the playoff choke job. If he could have gotten a full season with a healthy Joel we might have a championship.
Although he does have the tendency to choke, he’s also had really bad luck in the playoffs. All his star players been injured or otherwise out of the game (CP3, Kyrie, Embid, Kahwai/George). Hard to win a championship missing a third of your salary cap. Not the biggest harden fan but I would like to see him win this year.
Yeah unfortunately for us he couldn’t carry the team, and we had two chances to close out the Celtics. I’ll always be glad we had him though every time I see Maxey hit a step back 3.
James Harden has always been on my team
James harden is where the heart is
I’ve got faith of the heart
Lebron and Kevin love arrive in July
Enjoy him bro
I miss him
Sorry fam. Hope you enjoy Darius. When he plays he’s really good. Problem is “when he plays” is a bit difficult to predict.
Yeahhh, we’ve had that same issue with Kawhi for many years
Cavs fans was mad they traded bum garland for this man lmao
crazy
Cavs whistle so bad not even JAMES HARDEN can get a call
He’s had a bad whistle for a while now
Mitchell has had a terrible whistle in Cleveland too. It really feels like a Cavs thing at this point
Cavs need to get Harden, Luka, Reaves, Dani and Embiid to test this theory fr
there is an opening scene from one of the first naked gun series where khomenei, gaddafi, idi amin, gorbachev, castro and arafat are meeting to plan a terrorist act. that team you listed would be the basketball equivalent of that
most people don’t watch games outside of their own team, LeBron and Curry. Harden’s been the scapegoat of Silver’s “crackdown on foul baiting” campaign for years now
Most people don’t watch games, period. They usually just catch highlights of their teams if they even bother.
Pretty much started right after he left the rockets
He was robbed in game 7 vs the KD warriors in 2018.
I still think about this maybe once every single game day
We made one of those thousand 3s everyone likes to give us shit about. The refs just waved it off and called the clear landing foul +1 as a touch foul
Facts once he joined the Nets people said his game would be affected by Adam silver New rules
Wasn’t the rules, for whatever reason him, Curry and Bron get mauled without getting calls.
Silver implemented the rules to supposedly Crack down on guys who forced fouls on defenders hoping to get a whistle from the refs to get free throws It targeted offensive guys like Harden who were accused of doing non basketball, over
Were selectively implementing those rules part of the changes?
Yes
Ya not as good as his Rockets days for sure but that makes sense since he was in his prime and they caught on to his tactics
Just wait until you get Scott Foster doing a game 7 for you.
But with this specific play, Harden jumps forward about 1 meter during his shot. Like look at the video watching specifically where he takes off from and where he lands. The contact, in my opinion, is entirely because of that. Therefore, if anything, based on the rules that the NBA has formally instated (but never actually call lol) it should actually be an offensive foul. I’m in the minority here, but in this specific play, I think the no-call is just fine.
You don’t know what 1 meter is. I’ve watched the video 3 times. He jumps straight up from just behind the line but kicks his feet out as he starts to come down. He lands just inside the line ~8 inches away from his jumping spot – at most. Which is less than 1/3rd of 1 meter. And he doesn’t jump into the contact at all.
if you’re stepping back and jumping your legs are naturally going to swing back that way with the momentum anyway. he’s not trying to land on hardaway’s feet
Jumping forward 1 meter would put him WELL inside the 3 pt line btw. Not even close.
Is there a fanbase that doesn’t think they have a bad whistle lol
It was a great shot, but also obvious flopping. Both angles show nearly zero contact as he flings himself backwards.
Generational foul baiter.
I bet cavs fans didn’t realize how good he still was
I thought I was hallucinating when I saw Cavs fans reacting to the trade as if it wasn’t a clear upgrade for them
I know lol I was trying to figure out if they were overrating Garland or Underrating Harden
Underrating Harden. A huge portion of the NBA fanbase just absorbed the popular online narratives about him, and his PR has been awful for years. It’s actually been refreshing to see r/nba slowly change its view of him over time.
Almost all of his teammates have loved playing with him, and most of the fanbases he’s played for speak highly of him. The one real exception I’ve noticed is Nets fans, which is funny because he probably sacrificed more for them than for any other team. He def took years off his peak trying to play through a bad hamstring in the playoffs for them and was still the most available of the big 3 during his time there. There was an extremely noticeable decline in his burst and lift after those playoffs.
It’s hilarious seeing every fanbase be skeptical when they aquire him like, then they’re like wait Harden is actually a good player? But the Mavs commentator called him a bum!
It’s still fuck that clown, btw
Brian Dameris u bum
Didn’t that dude go into hiding when harden went on tears lmao
Bro didn’t say a goddamn peep for months
He really thought he cooked with that shit and all it did was secure him a first ballot induction into the Buffoonery HOF, and add ‘The System’ and ‘The Problem’ to Harden’s list of nicknames
Yeah and then they get to the playoffs and bro drops 7 points in a game 7 and they realize everybody is right and winning one game in February doesn’t change a decade of playoff failures
nets fans have no right to be mad at him ill never understand it
They should be even more mad at Kyrie
He has like virtually no PR, barely uses an agent, dude is just chill and the flack he gets is so dumb lmao
He has pretty reasonable to good reasons for bailing on teams that I think the media hates defending, they’ll harp on his choking in the playoffs but ignore how he’s also willed some teams pretty far including some tough runs against the Warriors dynasty. He just wants to be a number 2 and since leaving has been forced to be the system everywhere over and over
It’s the fact that people keep saying that he quits on teams that blows my mind. Every time he’s moved, there has been a HUGE reason that had nothing to do with him
OKC: this has been talked to death, and most people get it without question
Houston: He gave everything to that team, they give him everything they could, then new ownership was coming in and the general contract windows were just not gonna keep working going forward
Philly: Anyone who doesn’t think this is on Embiid by this point just doesn’t watch the Sixers
Brooklyn: Kyrie was a fucking lunatic that blew this entire team apart with his selfish attitudes and actions while KD just kinda sat and watched it happen
LA: If you defend anything the Clippers do after this year, you know you’ve got some sort of learning disability, right? I am sincerely proud that you were able to understand this sentence, but I also don’t think your opinion on the matter is worth noting
Where was ANY of the times he left his fault?
Ding ding ding.
To add to this, the media LOVES player empowerment and guess what? This IS peak player empowerment. He is forthright with wanting to not be the #1 guy and getting paid his value because he has been burned. He took cuts in Houston, he took cuts in Philly, did he get the money back? Yeah eventually but for the better part of a decade he’s been a top 25 guy at worst (even now) and for some parts of that a top 5 guy.
But yeah on the Nets he comes in to be the 2-3 option and ends up #1 due to availability, same thing in Philly, same thing in LA. Nets got the worst of it, Philly got some great mentorship to Maxie, and Clippers still got 26 year old Garland who could retain some great value.
I get I’m biased and being a homer but genuinely the only thing a person can hate is the fat suit which regardless is him just pressing the point on wanting out faster
Yeah he’s clearly the best player on the Nets before he got hurt but for whatever reason most people only remember the KD’s carry job against the Bucks while Harden was playing with one leg, also most players that play against prime Harden respect him a lot like I wouldn’t imagine Draymond would be constantly glazing Harden because the Warriors and Rockets rivalry but here we are.
I only started watching the NBA in like 2019⁄20 (?) season very casually through playing 2K. Obviously I was on Reddit so I found this sub and was mostly box score watching or highlights for a while until I really started watching games the year after.
When I first watched James Harden play a full game, I was shocked. I thought this guy was supposed to be literally Hitler, and here he is with this incredible dribble breakdown into a difficult step back 3 with the foul because the defender was draped all over him stumbling over himself, wtf this guy is actually good???
Since then I refuse to weigh in on any player unless I can say I have scouted it with my own eyes lol
I appreciate that you went and actually watched a full game of his. Every time someone says his offense is boring because he’s “always foul baiting,” I know the person hasn’t watched one. The vast majority of his possessions are him doing something amazing, and it’s simply not his fault that he’s legit getting fouled all the damned time
one thing I’ve learned is to never underrate one of the perennial MVP candidates of the 2010s. Those guys all aged pretty well.
It would be fun to see a team of 35+ old head MVPs get together and demolish the league. It’s always failed before, but this generation has aged crazy well.
A huge portion of the NBA fanbase just absorbed the popular online narratives about him, and his PR has been awful for years.
Harden doesn’t have a PR team. He also doesn’t have his own presence online. During the whole time with the Rockets the only personal news about him that ever gets out are strip club related. I don’t think that has changed, but I do admit I stopped following any news about him post-Rockets. But my take on the man is that he literally does not care what people think of him, nor does he want people to know his life.
I am as annoyed as any Rockets fan about his playoff failures, and he has been a major playoff failure relative to his regular season process. But I have always respected his privacy and him not giving a fuck about people’s perception of him.
Yeah, no one actually knew shit about his personal life until Starting 5 dropped. People were still making those strip club jokes in 2025 and then they found out he has 2 kids and has been in a serious long term relationship for some time lol.
If you wanna see some non-political groupthink then r/nba is perfect for it.
I’ve seen so many people adamantly argue things without even knowing why they’re making the argument. James harden’s rep is one of those subjects.
That’s why I no longer engage in arguments in this sub.
I think it’s more the win now crowd vs the keep the window open longer crowd. Trading Garland out for Harden definitely can be questioned if it doesn’t work in a 2 year time frame. At least with Garland he is obviously much younger and has more time to grow.
Harden is definitely an immediate upgrade but after 2 years we’ll see if it was worth it.
Garland is younger but his body is already worse off than current Harden.
There was no legitimate contention with Garland on this team so I don’t see the window as shorter. It’s an upgrade
Oh I agree, I just think there is definitely a discussion there. Garland is also only 26, who knows what he’ll be when he hits 30, maybe he shakes the injury bug, adds some muscle/weight. I think it was the right move for the Cavs right now since Garland is such an unknown but Garland definitely has the talent to be an all star for the next 10 years.
He’s been getting injured consistently since college. A full season + playoffs is too much for him. I’d be surprised if with age and recurring injuries that he comes right for a long period of time.
He can make all star again, but I dont think you can win with Garland. His health, defense, size and contract is too hard to work around.
Both. People looked at Harden’s age and thought “yeah, man’s cooked”, not realizing he’s still very much an incredible lead guard that can definitely give you 40 when his shot’s falling, or 20 and 10 dimes when his teammates can shoot.
But Cavs fans and neutrals alike here were also like “but Garland’s such a promising young talent!” as if he hasn’t plateaued out of nowhere for two seasons that should theoretically be development years still.
I genuinely think that Harden, even in the back half of his 30s, is going to be more valuable than whatever value the Clips think they can get out of Garland for the remainder of his current deal. And he’s gonna get another big deal too…for likely worse overall production and value than whatever Harden would’ve theoretically given.
Both
Cavs fans were really high on Garland. Also they didn’t watch alot of Clippers ball
It’s James Harden
I was downvoted in the cavs sub for saying that I was hyped for the trade lol
I also saw some media rating the trade as C- for the cavs and I was stoked
How it is bad to add a top 75 player all time who is still producing at an elite level?
Top 75 is almost reductive
The Cavs sub sucks lmao. I wanted to like it but the sky is falling every 5 mins there
Those were garland Stan’s, embarrassing.
Feel like most fans don’t watch anyone outside of their own team
Has to do with two things. First is that trading a 26 year old two time all star whose value is the lowest it’s been in a few years due to injuries for a 36 year old in need of a new contract is a garbage value proposition no matter how you slice it. Second is that we don’t really need Harden for the regular season, we need him to get us over the hump in the playoffs. And his playoff track record is pretty well established at this point.
Garlands value wasn’t going to increase by waiting. They should’ve done it years ago at the start of his contract when it was clear he couldn’t hang in the playoffs.
Considering what a better player in Trae went for, I think Cavs did very well.
Some of us are ball knowers come on.
It’s been pretty bad lmao
You would think based on our subs reaction that we just traded Westbrook
Lmao those are delusional fans even Harden haters can’t deny that Harden can ATLEAST be a threat from 3pt range vs Westbrook who is being left on an Island.
Like he is an all timer, and he wanted to come here. Be happy lol
Facts, he’s old but he’s still playing well why won’t you be so excited and tbh Harden fits Cavs playbook more than the Clippers.
2 seasons ago there were people in large numbers on this sub suggesting that Harden should be benched for Westbrook after the Clippers’ rough start.
Harden is on track for back to back all NBA seasons while Westbrook has continued being passed around like a blunt.
I’m really only surprised about how good his defense was tonight
His defense is great…when he wants to use it. He’s been carrying teams for so long he’d spent most of his energy on offense.
It was absolutely insane watching the national people act like the trade was a defensive downgrade.
Like….have they never watched Darius Garland? Even if all Harden did was stand with his hands up in the air it would be more effective defense than Garland provides. At least Harden is big & long enough to effect shots, let alone when he’s actually trying.
He’s always been a great post defender, and is clearly capable of good perimeter defense. I also think he doesn’t get nearly as much credit as he deserves for being pretty deferential to other stars on his team ever since he left Houston. Not all former MVPs transition away from the #1 role so easily.
Ikr, people don’t often enough watch the game with their own eyes.
No one was a bigger critic of the “there’s only one ball” argument when Houston got Chris Paul than James Harden. He’s been very happy to let others shine around him or lead his entire career
If he tries he’s average except he’s a terrible help defender.
He’s bigger than I thought - like if he tries he should be able to be physical enough with most guards.
He just has a habit of standing around too much for my liking (this goes for giving up offensive rebounds as well)
People forget Harden was drafted as a defensive specialist.
Man used to guard the likes of Kobe on the Thunder
Folks idea of defense is very narrow - basically can someone play on ball defense or block shots. Harden has some of the best hands on D I’ve seen. He alters at least 5 pickups a game with his hands. He might not fill the gap with his feet but he alters the drive
This. In his Houston days, I was always entertained watching other teams try to attack the perceived mismatch when he was caught in the paint. Dude wouldn’t budge an inch against taller guys.
100%. Ppl think bc he’s not super twitchy that he’s a pushover defensively, then they realize he’s 6’5 230. Can’t hunt him like folks did Garland. Gives Cavs so much flexibility
I’ve simply been too big a hater to acknowledge that until he got here lmao
I had to tell fellow Cavs fans to chill cause I knew we were getting one of the best scorers of all time and a guy who can hit clutch shots. Literally they get caught up in their feels.
I absolutely did not know he still had this typa game. But tbf who watches the clippers except clippers fans?
(x4)
Been following him all season. Late career reincarnation. Fuck yes everyone was dooming I was fucking celebrating this trade.
He was an all star and all NBA last season. He was injured in 23 and it looked as though he needed 24 to come back from it.
I wish he was a rocket again and wanted him over fvv but it was clear that Ime didn’t want him.
I did not.
They was mad they traded garland sorry tail for him
how tf is that not an and 1?
Suspicious refereeing in that Cavs Nugs game all night
First half Cavs were getting whistled for every little thing. Second half a lotta calls went our way but very uneven game with terrible rhythm all night.
nuggets and jok get a very good whistle. it is what it is
Cleveland was getting a bad whistle all night. A couple of baffling calls down the stretch that didn’t go their way
Lost both challenges as well, when the nuggets expert thought they would win both.
that was hilarious lol
You might not be super familiar with Hastings, but that was all sarcasm or at best reverse jinx.
It was just Hastings being pre-salty. It was very obviously an easy overturn/confirmation in both challenges.
Uh.. how do you lose 2 challenges lol, if you lose the first you don’t have a second, right?
Think they meant Cavs lost the one they used, and then Denver won one they used (which since it went against the Cavs was kinda like they “lost”)
Ohhh gotcha
Because he kicked his leg out
I’ve seen him take a regular jump shot. It doesn’t look like this. Here, he is clearly swinging his leg out trying to initiate contact. Great shot, but unnecessary foul baiting though.
He’s already flailing his arms and legs before he even lands.
Harden has been doing this for over a decade, it’s crazy that people are still falling for it to this day.
To me, it looks like James Harden jumps forward. Like he lands about 1 meter (3 feet) forward from where he jumped. I’d say the contact was because of that. Therefore, if anything, based on the rules that the NBA has formally instated (but never actually call lol) it should actually be an offensive foul. I’m in the minority here, but in this specific play, I think the no-call is just fine.
Yeah people wilding man. He literally jumped back and fell on his own idk what people seeing.
Cause the defender lunges his feet forward as well.
On rewatch, you’re right. Defender landed in front of him, and Harden jumped forward. Which, for the shooter, is natural motion. I guess thats a foul? Though Harden kinda just jumped on his back on his own.
Whatever the case, refs didn’t call and Cavs won anyways. Nuggs sucks lmao
He doesn’t jump forward, he actually jumps straight up but then kicks his left leg out while coming down to try and draw contact. I agree that it technically should be an offensive foul, but a no-call is fine since there wasn’t much contact and they barely ever call those to begin with.
Cavs.
I know the NBA has done more to protect the landing space of shooters, but genuinely this should be a defensive foul?
Austin, is that you ?
Cuz he stuck his fucking leg out are you serious?
havent seen anyone bring up pickett 2 hand shoving merrill to the ground on a rebound in the face of a ref as if it wasnt a loose ball foul.
Because he made slight contact when he had already landed and flopped
When Harden can’t even get calls in Cleveland that’s how you know their whistle is bad.
FUCK THE REFS THIS SPORT IS RIGGED LFGGGG
Refs were really bad in favor of nuggets at home. Glad the Cavs won this one
No and 1. These refs need investigated. They genuinely controlled this game. Cavs overcome!
2MR: “We’re sowwy 🥺👉👈”
Someone check their Kalshi accounts
John Michael is a great play by play guy
He deserves a much better running mate than Brad . There’s got to be a different option
He deserves Austin Carr from 15 years ago
I agree, go Cavs.
If we’re lucky Brad will get swept away by Peacock. They seem to like him for some reason.
Let’s sneak Michael Reghi back in there and see how long it takes Dan to notice.
Hes fine but he doesnt have the voice for hype.
He’s fine but he’s no Fred :(
Beards are so back in NEO.
And 1
Should’ve been an and 1
Classic
Harden can’t even get whistles here. Lmao refs hate this team.
Cavs fans were mad they traded garland ass who dont even play lmao
THE DIFF
That feels so kindergarten. Can people not even count anymore?
It’s a Dan Gilbert / Quicken Loans thing. Predates even our humungous scoreboard. I remember game programs talking about how the fans are “THE DIFF” 20 years ago.
So when they upgraded the arena, they added a literal difference calculator to the scoreboard (“THE DIFF”)
It’s just a Cleveland thing – we assume you can do math.
I’m just gonna throw this out there: I’m a big fan of the diff. I don’t care what the actual score is during the game, I care about how many points my team is up or down by. Just having to glance down and see one number with a plus or minus is quick and easy
Brother, we all love the Diff.
Sometimes on these cold winter nights the math gets a bit fuzzy after a few too many Dortmunder Golds. We get it.
It’s not about the Cavs getting whistles or not. The refs intentionally swallow their whistle when harden is involved with the play. They don’t give him the benefit of the doubt because of his foul baiting history. It’s a sad over corrections which sucks for him.
James Harden still breaking hearts with clutch shots. I hated watching this guy hit game winners so much man.
Nice shot but that was a FLOP
Regular season merchant
I think we all miss dg but man harden and Mitchell is a crazy duo
Reputation (non) call
What’s up with moderation in this sub? Why are there identical clips DAILY?
Hmm? This was last night.
Yeah, every day there are 2-3 identical posts on the frontpage. There are 2 videos with this Harden shot, 2 videos of CHA-DET fight, etc.
Larry Nance Jr jump scare
I’m here
That’s a foul too
lmao larry nance is still on this team?
Yes. His dad is a Cleveland legend with his number retired and LNJ is beloved in Cleveland as well.
I guess Iman Shumpert and half the sub are somewhere still hating on this trade.
His step back 3 on Draymond in the WCF years back is still one of the greatest shots I’ve ever seen
They reviewed it just to make sure it was a 3 (he was 8” behind the line ffs), not that it was a foul. lol gg refs
Now do it in the playoffs
Bro how did Harden even get on my team????? This is insanity
Koby Altman is truly the best GM we’ve ever had, although his moves when LeBron was here were subpar. Since then though he’s been on fire
How tf you even gaurd that shit. Crazy
FLAME THROWER
And everyone thought Harden was cooked.
James, they could never make me hate you.
For real though, his handle is SO quick for a bulkier guy. His burst has decreased a little from the hamstring woes, but he is still so smooth with it. He also had three blocks in this game apparently? Wild.
Why’d he fall over
Hes still playing so elite this late in his career!
Still kicking his feet out I see.
He GoT HiT oN tHe sHoT!!!
Everyone wants the one??? You all like SGA ball now?
Everyone wants the one what? Type in complete thoughts.