How Kawhi Leonard/Rockets’ James Harden are proof of media biases

Morey speaks about the bias towards Kawhi

The media’s sudden change towards Kawhi was so egregious that it became impossible to not notice. Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey also took notice and spoke about it during a recent appearance on The Lowe Post, which is speared by ESPN’s Zach Lowe.

Morey had the below to say:

“There are games that go down to the last shot, for example the Toronto vs. Philly series comes down to a Kawhi miss. That’s a miss. That hit the side of the hoop. That’s like a 10 percent shot, but it goes in.

They put themselves in a position to win, so they won. But every narrative shifted based on a 10 percent shot. If you’re in a close game and a close series and it comes down to the last shot, really both teams won and lost. You shouldn’t draw massive narratives based on whoever won or lost that.

I know that’s how people do it, but the reality is that’s all nonsense.”

This is alot to digest, and it’s interesting that Morey chalked the shot up to a miss, due to the degree of luck involved in the shot. But this quote is a perfect example of the Houston Rockets general manager, as he’s known to be a big proponent of advanced analytics.

Many believe Morey relies too much on analytics, and chalking a series-ending shot to a missed basket will surely only add fuel to the fire, but he makes a great point. Kawhi’s accomplishments weren’t good enough to draw the “clutch label” or the “best in the league title” before his Toronto days, so why did a lucky shot all of a sudden change that?

As Morey hinted, the series was tied 3-3 upto that point of a Game 7 which was tied 90-90, so the outcome of the series literally came down to two lucky bounces. With the outcome coming that close, it’s easy to understand why Morey believes both teams were equally losers and victors, as neither team emerged as the clear cut dominant squad.

But don’t tell the media that, because that shot immediately catapulted Kawhi to the “best in the league,” which shows how the media’s narratives fit whatever pre-determined biases they have about said player.