What cemented it for me was when he allowed Jodie Meeks to blow by him baseline for a dunk during the Lakers game at the end of the year that forced us to play OKC. He was terribly apathetic on the defensive end.
For a defensive summary to have any value, one needs to ask, what is the team trying to do, this btw is also why public defensive stats are usually near worthless. No greater example than saying Harden was ball watching on that three, when the team clearly had Harden hedging inside to try and provide an early double for Durant. They were giving enough space for Sefelosha to take poorly contested 3's by design
This isnt about Lin. Our teams future for a ring is dependent on our stars (howard and harden). lin just needs to be a good role player like a derek fisher of the Lakers championship teams We need Dwight to dominate in the paint like Shaq and defend/rebound and we need Harden to play BOTH ends of the floor like what Kobe did early in his career Dont know why people get so flustered by this as it is common knowledge on this board that Hardens D needs alot of improvement and as he is one of our franchise MAX players, then he must take on that responsiblity as well
You are right, this isn't about Lin. It's about you: It's about you and how you should be banned. Little boy.
does Dwight have many baby mamas? does harden often pay for hookers? are those things generally acceptable for anyone in leadership type roles?
Does defense hold KD back from a top 3 player spot? KD is an average defender at best. Harden can become a top 3 player on the basis of just being an OK defender + improving more on offense.
Do leaders go into court for rape allegations? (Kobe) Do leaders ask for police escort because they were stuck in traffic going to a Jay Z concert? (Lebron). Do leaders get someone else to take a SAT test for them? (Rose)
why do you have to set the bar so low for our players? i mean, i am sure you can find 1 in 500 NBA players that have worse issues than them but we should be really aspiring for a bit more
Setting what bar? There is no bar. What players do in their own time is none of your business as long as they show up on the court.
An absolutely exquisite post sir! But the question is not can Harden be a good defender but will he? As fans we see this conundrum occurring all of the time. Harden is an intelligent BB player and certainly has the physical tools needed to play defense. However he is currently tracking the development of players like Kobe and Carmelo. Too much energy expended on offense and little energy for defense. Hopefully next season he will not have such an offensive burden to bear and can dedicate himself to being a better defender.
He definitely showcased improvements. His defensive awareness was so much better this game than in most games that I've seen last year. He's not taking a step too far from his man anymore. I think he needs to do a better job fighting over picks though
Maybe Dwight freakin' Howard being the paint had something to do with that. Paper thin analysis in the OP is paper thin.
Parsons looked better too. More focused. Like his rookie year. I saw focus from both, something they lacked last year.
