I think it’s pretty much understood that there are going to be bad calls or no calls in basketball, but that they pretty much even out over time, and so the players themselves do determine the outcome of games.
Well, not so with the Houston Rockets and James Harden. The Fine Whine out of Houston in general and Harden in particular has reached a crescendo already, and there’s only been one game. Going so far as to dredge up last year and submit an actual (and highly biased) “chart” of what calls should or shouldn’t have been made and the exact number of points they cost, the Rockets have presented themselves as hysterical victims of an unjust system.
Well, let me be the kill joy and list this from an ESPN article by Brian Windhorst regarding the great and victimized Harden:
“Last season, during the conference finals loss to the Warriors, Harden lost his shooting touch and his efficiency. He shot a miserable 24 percent on 3-pointers in that series. The 27 consecutive team misses in Game 7 – Harden was 2-of-13 on 3-pointers that night – is what many remember, but he had another game where he was 0-of-11 on 3s. When it truly mattered, he just wasn’t able to deliver.”
It was the refs’ fault, though, so that shouldn’t count.
To be fair, however, we should get Harden’s side of the story: