Harden not going to cry foul yet
Star waits to see how refs implement ‘James Harden Rule’
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — If James Harden was the least bit flattered or honored that a rule change had been unofficially named after him, the feeling was lost when he was fouled without the reward of a trip to the line.
Twice in the Rockets’ first three preseason games, Harden drove and drew fouls, expecting to be awarded two free throws. Instead, officials ruled the foul was not in the act of shooting, with the Rockets inbounding instead.
In New York, officials looked at the video and indicated they should have ruled the foul a shooting foul. In Tulsa, Okla., officials ruled that he had not yet gathered the ball on his righthanded drive.
In both cases, Harden was steaming after the interpretation of the “James Harden Rule.” But he did not believe it would be a problem.
“It better not be an issue,” Harden said. “I study the game so much. I’m a student of the game. Every year I come back, I try to be better. A foul is a foul no matter where it is being called. It’s a foul. You can’t pick and choose when not to call fouls.”
Technically, there is no new rule related to shooting fouls. The NBA clarified how shoot-
ing fouls should be called. For drives to worthy of two free throws, the player must have gathered the ball before he was fouled. On jump shots, he must have gathered and begun his upward shooting motion. There no longer is the concept of “continuation.”
“Hopefully, we don’t have to pick up too many technicals or argue too much,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said on Wednesday, the day the team had its annual meeting with officials on new rule interpretations. “It’s a hard call. They just need to do the best they can do, and they will, and hopefully it works out.
“It’s a little misunderstood. There’s no change in terms of interpretation. If that ball is on the floor it was always, if you hadn’t gathered, not a shooting foul. Sometimes, they let it go. Now, they have to call it right, if they can get it right because it’s so fast.”
Harden the master
Much of the attention last season had gone to the three-shot fouls that spread around the NBA, with Harden adept at catching opposing defenders reaching in as they go around screens while Harden attempted to shoot through their outstretched arms from the 3-point line.
Harden had held the NBA record for drawing three-shot fouls with 44 in the 2015-16 season. Last season, he drew 122. The next most was Lou Williams’ 49.
“Those are fouls,” D’Antoni said. “If a guy reaches out and (Harden) gathers and goes up for a shot, you can’t blame a guy for being smart. They have to get their hands up. San Antonio gets their hands up. You just have to learn to do that. If not, you get called.”
The key to determining if the foul will be considered a shooting foul is “sequencing.” If the contact is before the shooter begins his shooting motion, it would be considered a common foul, with the team to inbound rather than get free throws.
“It’s hard, but you can’t make a new rule and say a foul is not a foul,” D’Antoni said. “It’s a foul.”
Yet, as much discussion as was devoted to Harden’s ability to draw those fouls, the potential impact on his production is debatable.
Though there is an impression Harden drew three-shot fouls all game long, he didn’t. Harden did draw more three-shot shooting fouls than any team in the NBA last season. But even that amounted to an average of 1.5 per game, worth an average of 3.8 points per game at Harden’s 84.7 percent freethrow shooting accuracy.
The rule interpretation would not cost him that much. Most of those three-shot fouls likely would be considered in the act of shooting. Some would be with the opposing team over the limit and send him to the line for two free throws. Even after fouls ruled to be common fouls, the Rockets would maintain possession. Last season, they averaged 1.18 points per possession, with the benefit of adding another team foul to an opposing team and personal foul to an opposing defender unchanged.
‘Better figure it out’
If those fouls were considered unsightly, the players seemed capable of correcting it. In the secondround series against the Spurs, Harden drew just four three-shot fouls, none in the final four games.
The fouls in question in the preseason have been on drives, with Harden convinced he will be sent to the line when fouled as he was against the Oklahoma Thunder and New York Knicks. He might even benefit from a few missed calls if it leads the NBA to correct an overcorrection.
“Whatever it is, they better figure it out,” Harden said. “I’m still going to do what I do, still be aggressive and try to help my team get wins.
“This is what I do, and I do it at a high level.”