On ball defense is effort based. Harden IMO was ok in that regards. Obviously there were times where he would give up on his man after holding him off after like 3-4 seconds, or he would give up after his man drives past him. His main defensive issues came from rotations (partly miscommunication?) and off-ball defense. Being great at those things require having a high concentration/attention span. There were moments when he would completely forget about his man who would run around without Harden not noticing at all. There were also moments on offense where he just seems to lose concentration on what's happening. Remember that full court chug he did vs Miami? Heck in last night's scrimmage game, he was fantastic whenever his man tried to create something on offense. Then later on I noticed him wandering around aimlessly tried to move in tune to whoever had the ball while disregarding his man completely. Fatigue could certainly be one of the main reasons for his mental lapses. It could also simply be concentration issues. I am confident James man defense will surprise is in a good way this upcoming season, but I'm still worried about these concentration issues he seems to have. James needs that Adderall hook-up
Does technique qualify as effort, concentration or both? I'd go with technique and effort over concentration.
I do think he's a good one-on-one defender because he can focus solely on his man and not think about switching off or rotating or being in the right place. But put him in a team defense situation and he looks lost or complacent sometimes.
I feel like because he is forced to focus so much on iso offence it leaves him with little left for defense. That's where good coaching is needed. That's where a vet like Ariza can and will help out. Consistency from our role players is so important. It will allow guys like Harden and Dwight to not exert too much on one side of the court but use bursts of that energy when really needed. Ariza will always get the toughest defensive assignments and will keep everyone in check. Very similar to what Battier and David Wesley did. Ariza's offensive game seems to be a bit more polished than Battier's and strong enough so that Harden doesn't always have to exert himself on ISO plays all night long.
I honestly think effort and concentration go hand in hand. He is so quick and physically gifted that there is no excuse for being that bad of a defender.
Harden playing 40 mins a game while having to shoulder a huge load is his main problem. I'm hoping our role players actually step up this year so Harden can be better rested.
Wrong! Put him in a situation where there is actually team defense and he will thrive. We all "loved" Parsons. Maybe it was his looks or maybe it was his cocky attitude and potential. But we can not deny the fact that he definitely did not help much on defense either. There was absolutely NO defensive plays last year. Just like Mchale's offense, it was all individual on one ball on the defensive end. There was no help at all. It wasn't just Harden that looked lost on the defensive end, it was the whole team except for some good individual one on one defense by Dwight, Asik, and Beverly. We could use some Rudy T, and CDawson coaching right now. If someone could post the articles about his innovative defense and offense, everyone should read them. Read how he played pick and roll with Thorpe and dream to not wear dream out the whole series. Read on how he used Robert Horry. That kind of leadership and innovation is exactly what we are lacking.
The Solution: Hire an established associate (defensive) head coach who will hold all our players accountable on D.
I feel it's conditioning and not training for explosiveness (at least far from sufficiently). Maybe he's not built in a way that would ever allow him to be very explosive but he always looks fat for a professional basketball player on the wing to me.
- Average Defensive Motor - Lack of Discipline - Minimal Effort - Burden/Responsibility to carry the Offense - Absence of a solid Defensive System - Immaturity/Youth Most of these issues (if not all), can be addressed by hiring a legit defensive associate head coach. The criticisms he's getting from NBA fans and the media (although some unfair) could actually be a blessing in disguise as Harden is well aware of them. Given his flaws, at the end of the day, he still is one of the top players in the entire league and already is a 1st team All-NBA-er and has the potential for superstardom once he finally chooses to be a 2-way player and essentially lead this franchise to go deeper in the post-season, all the way to a championship.
