No way he deserves an A. He definitely needs to find a way to shoot better from the field. There is no way he can continue shooting like this and expect us to survive the Warriors. I'll give him a B- just because his defensive effort was always there, but James has to stop being careless with the ball and costing us possessions. The whole Utah scheme was designed to encourage him to drive to the basket and have Gobert challenge his floaters/drives. His threes we're also difficult to get off so that was another problem. James has proven in the past he can shoot the mid range shot and although it isn't what we statistically want, I feel his shooting percentages would be a little better if he utilized the mid range about 10-15% of the time, rather than the 2% he averaged for the series. He wasn't getting to the line either so that really does drop his efficiency.
I want to ask Morey why NFL offenses decide to run the ball when analytics tell us that the passing game generates more yards per attempt. The dude doesn't understand the concept of "keeping defenses honest".
The Jazz had to create an entirely new defense just to slow him down and it got us 2 easy wins. He’s a transcendent player. That said I have him a B because he’s raised expectations lol
This was Harden's greatest defensive performance. He had the clutch strip on Gobert in the paint to seal the series. I give him a B+ since he wasn't he's unstoppable MVP self on offense. The biggest thing overall is he didn't let poor shooting turn into zero defense effort! He actually turned up his focus. He also didn't go full r****d with turnovers just because he wasn't getting shots to fall. This maturity is extremely important in winning a championship.
I sometimes wonder if Morey is really as smart as he's cracked up to be. I expect MDA to be dumb, but does Morey really not understand the value of midrange is not that it's the most efficient shot, but that just occasionally making it here and there keeps the defense honest and our offense less predictable? In boxing, what's the purpose of throwing jabs? To knock someone out? No, its whole purpose is to confuse the opponent and set up an opportunity to land that right hook afterwards. Midrange shots should be thought of in exactly the same way. I mean, this is not rocket science.
the beard can’t be choking in the playoffs and important games year after year and claims he is an mvp, there is a reason why people in the media don’t trust harden, he is just not versatile enough to handle the pressure yet, when people take away your 3 and free throws, u gotta be able to shoot midrange 2s or floaters, can’t be one dimensional if u want to be all time great, he played ok defense in the series, but the way he is bricking shots and hesitating on taking a midrange will kill us in the future rounds
No sh**. Golden State's defense is not the same as the Jazz's defense... I don't see Rudy Gobert stepping through those arena doors when/if we do face them to affect our offense the way they managed to do. And again, we still swept them 4-1 when accounting for how woeful our offense played in stretches.
I'd say B. Taking into account his first two games which were utterly fantastic, subpar shooting performances the last three games and excellent defense in game 5, I'd say pretty average overall.
The Jazz are highly underrated. I was never expecting him to score an efficient 30ppg against the Jazz. For effort and commitment, I give him an A on offense and an A on defense.
Solid A from me. If your grade is any lower, your expectations are not set in reality and you are probably "one of those" fans. It is easy to nitpick and say he was not the same as the regular season....but for the series James was the best player on the team that won. There is a reason the playoffs are a totally different season. Reasons for an A: Rockets won. Best player on the winning team. Do not love his FG% but it's the playoffs...same for anyone not named Gordon this series. Harden's defense, especially last night was incredible. Regardless of struggles, he was actually clutch this series. These are all good reasons to say he gets the highest grade available to him. He was the leader and won the series....everything he gets paid to do. Job well done James!
I'll give him a B because he wasn't perfect and that's fine. A team geared up their defense to stop you. he's not going to dominate that every minute, every game. there's no such thing. he came up in big moments regardless of his struggle at times. what's crazy is harden sets a ridiculous ceiling for himself because he is that good. so the average fan expects that type of player every single night now. But reality is, that it isn't sustainable. That's what comes with being a great player. So even his "bad games" are magnified to a level it isn't. His worst games are comparable to good games for alot of these other "stars" currently still playing. It is what it is. A rockets W is all that matters to me at the end of the day. That's the name of the game whether its by 1 or 30.
I wonder if it’s more Morey or Dantoni implementing the midrange ban. On one hand, Morey has been on record saying that certain players like Paul have a green light to shoot midrange. I’d imagine Harden does too. On the other hand, Dantoni doesn’t run any sets to get Harden in the midrange area. I’d love to be a fly on the wall of these strategy meetings.
A whole organization came up(or copied) with a defensive scheme to stop one player and against Gobert, who is the reigning DPOY and we still won the series 4-1. Yes it may not be an A but he deserves a B.
Really great programs are pretty rigid and strict. If your work is only good, then B- and B, B+ is really common. A+ or straight is rare. No shame in saying that. Fans are either too unrealistic, too negative or too lenient. Objectivity is pretty hard to achieve though.