A couple of nights before the Houston Rockets rolled into Toronto on Thursday, Rockets star James Harden caught a timely earful from a heckler.
“No one wants to see a free-throw shooting contest,” said the fan.
To which Harden replied: “Nobody wants to see fouls, either, goddamn it.”
Drawing copious fouls, of course, is part of the bedrock of Harden’s one-of-a-kind take on what it means to be a dominant offensive player in the NBA. But it’s only one part. Sure, he came into Houston’s 119-109 win over the Raptors averaging 14.9 free-throw attempts a night; only Wilt Chamberlain has averaged more for a season.