NBA

James Harden's Game-Winner Was Dramatic, But It Doesn't Really Matter

Brandon Gdula  —  @gdula13 Apr 22nd, 2016
Harden's turnaround jumper in the paint helped the Rockets steal a game from the Warriors, but he hasn't been clutch this season.

The Houston Rockets are a hard team to pinpoint.

Sure, they've got some issues -- mainly hustle issues and defensive issues (they were 21st in Defensive Rating this year) -- but they're the 8 seed, an underdog to a historic Golden State Warriors squad.

So -- to the fans without a particular rooting interest in either side -- this a hard team to rally behind because you just never know what you're going to get from the James Harden-led Rockets.

Former Rockets player and current TV analyst Charles Barkley thinks he knows what they offer, though.


Rockets CEO Tad Brown thinks Barkley is qualified to dole out such a statement -- in a way.


But if we forget all of that and focus on Game 3 between the Rockets and the Warriors, they were able to give us the first real upset -- and the first real exciting game of the 2016 NBA Playoffs -- last night, which ultimately came from a Harden spin move on Andre Iguodala.


Eh, sure, you can hate the Ladainian Tomlinson-esque stiff arm, but if you're going to fixate on that, then we have to talk about Andrew Bogut's armbar on Dwight Howard, too.


Believe it or not, that actually could have ended the game, according to some obscure rule that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey must know about.


In all, things evened out in the long run, as Harden's short jumper gave Houston a 97-96 win and this beaut of a win probability graph.


But facing a 2-1 deficit, our algorithms give Houston just a 10.28% chance to win the series and Golden State a 45% chance to end it in five games.