I think we're seeing this more and more across the league. The best players across the league seem to be playing with an eye towards stat collecting - I see this often with Russ who will give up an open layup in hopes of an assist or will jockey with his own teammates for rebounds, Lebron who will hold the ball until a guy can basically guarantee an assist for him and crashes the boards the same way, etc. It is amazing seeing Harden playing at the level he is and it is tough to complain too much given what he's doing. But I am worried about the long run - in the playoffs he has been the most effective taking the ball to the basket, not taking step back 3s. Sometimes he opts for the step back even when he is being over played and can easily get to the basket if he tried. Attempting 10+ 3s a game is now standard fare. I'm hoping that CP3's return helps tame some of these habits - Paul is the only one who carries the credibility to manage the ball and become the primary ball handler when James is on the court. However much he has fallen off, we will need him desperately in the playoffs and hopefully a more prudent James who looks for the right shot and not the splash play.
Even on alley oops there are times where he throws it up to Capela with a very low % of a catch and conversion. Hey, if he's bored, he should ask to post-up more and work on his moves there. I still think mastering the mid-range/post-up game is what will be needed to take his game to the next (and last) level.
Maybe another reason he throws them so often is so he doesn't have to run to that side of the court. It's an indirect way of resting. I don't like it but the extra rest is obviously worth it when it counts.
THIS. When the playoffs come and the defense drops the big, we can't keep "forcing the pass to Capela" in tight quarters. The FLOATER has to be weaponized. Unlock the entire court for Harden.
Will - leave your insecurities at the door. The man isn’t bored. He’s simply better than everyone else.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this! I think Harden has been practicing very tough passes with both Capela and Austin Rivers. Some of the passes that he throws to Rivers look like they're nearly impossible to catch, but Rivers has been managing to catch them with relative ease.
I’m going to go against the grain here and say that Harden, much like a great boxer is testing the defense to setup something later. When Harden throws these full court passes he’s making sure that the defense knows that they can’t rest. Great boxers setup knockout punches with a “throw away punch”, this is a punch that they throw knowing it’s not going to land but distracts the opponent from seeing what he is trying to setup. When Harden throws these long passes he is forcing the defense to sprint back every time and even though he is “throwing away” several possessions per game, the net result is that the defense can no longer press, trap, or double Harden anymore because they have seen Harden is willing to throw it down the court and setup Capela. I agree with Will that Harden is toying with defenders and that at times he gets careless with the ball but I truly believe the Rockets data wizards have crunched the numbers and that the full court pass is a strategical inclusion to Hardens game.
Capela finished one last night that was low key incredibly athletic. He went UP and caught the ball in traffic and in one motion took two steps and finished it. The pass was great, but to be coordinated enough to do all that at his size... the Capela piece of the puzzle was more impressive to me on that one.
Putting Harden in charge of your offense is like hiring Picasso to paint your family portrait. Most of the time, the results will be glorious, but there's always the risk your daughter will have a foot coming out of her head.
I think MDA once said that Harden was guilty of that. If he just cuts that in half during the playoffs he'll be okay. It is a problem, but I'm not super worried about it.
