Houston Rockets debate: Did Paul George throw shade at James Harden?

Paul George’s Strange Phrasing

Even if he wanted to praise Harden’s scoring ability (as many are suggesting), he could’ve done that in a much better way. The use of the phrase “just shoot the ball and score the ball” revisits an age-old narrative of Harden being nothing more than a prolific scorer.

Although George didn’t specifically say it, his words paint the picture of Harden being a slouch on the defensive end. Him saying “I’m no James Harden” and then proceeding to say “I pride myself on being effective on both ends” would seem to be another jab at Harden, almost saying that Harden isn’t effective on both ends, which we know isn’t true, although NBA Twitter would still say otherwise.

Whether you believe this was intentional or unintentional by George, we can all agree that it was unnecessary and could’ve been prevented. George didn’t need to cite Harden, and even if he was going to, there was a much better way to go about it.

For that reason, George deserves the criticism he’s facing for his remarks.

Next: The Case for Paul George