James Harden‘s singular, ball-dominant offensive brilliance—historic as it may be—has spawned a legion of critics.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, though, mostly sees hypocrisy when it comes to the naysayers: after all, no one seemed to mind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar‘s unstoppable presence in the paint during his Hall of Fame career.
Houston will continue to ride their offensive supernova as far as he can take them, haters be damned.
Per ESPN:
“Nobody was mad when Kareem was getting it dozens of times per game,” Morey told ESPN.
When you ask Morey why he thinks Harden is the greatest scorer of this era, his answer — just like the Rockets’ offense — is simple: “James is generating more points per possession than pretty much anyone in history.”
He also believes that some critics are tougher on Harden because he’s doing this as a guard and not as a big.
“There’s a long-held basketball perception that the guy who holds the ball initially shouldn’t shoot,” [Morey] said. “Even when you play pickup, there’s a rule that the guy who checks it in can’t shoot.”
