More James Harden ranks number 1 in post defense of all 73 players that have defended at least 40

I got a bad news for you

 

You remind me of this guy. I'll let you guess which one, but you'll need two guesses. Your ego will pick wrong even though you're going to think it's inconceivable that you're just like him.

 

I can't help but read this in a thick Italian accent.

What is the a deal?

 

killer joe

 

Since he’s been back we’re keeping teams under a 100 regularly

 

Lol lin vindicator

Proclaiming hardens unathletic and slow

But can drive as much as wb with ease and produces most points off drives in the whole league

I bet wb was your mvp last year

 

Shane Battier.....
Tony Allen....
Luc Mbah

All three guys lack athletic ability.

 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22459076/zach-lowe-10-things-like-including-great-nba-tank-race

3. James Harden, post defender

With each passing win, the Rockets look more and more like the first real threat to the Warriors since Kevin Durant ditched Oklahoma City. Houston is 28-1 when all three of James Harden, Chris Paul, and Clint Capela play.

When the media first started trumpeting that stat a few weeks ago, it was tempting to dismiss it as cutesy cherry-picking -- Houston's version of Doc Rivers reminding everyone that his starting five from Boston's 2008 title team never lost a playoff series when healthy. (Still true!) It's not cute anymore. The Rockets don't lose when their three best players are healthy. That seems important.

They sit at ninth in points allowed per possession, and they are trying some interesting stuff on defense. They have shifted Ryan Anderson to the bench, and they're starting Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and P.J. Tucker at the forward spots while Trevor Ariza recovers from a leg injury. Bringing Anderson off the bench is the right move long-term, and Houston is smart to make it two months before the playoffs.

Anderson is having his best defensive season, but he's still a target -- especially against Golden State. The Spurs went at Anderson so viciously in last season's conference semifinals, you pitied him. He can play a role on a championship team. He just can't start and log almost 30 minutes.

Houston's new starting five has blitzed teams by 18 points per 100 possessions in 110 minutes. They need a hair more shooting, and swapping Ariza in for one of Tucker and Mbah a Moute will do the trick. We haven't seen much of that lineup type. I can't wait to see more.

Playing three wings allows Houston more leeway sliding Harden onto power forwards; he defended Taj Gibson for most of Tuesday's win in Minnesota, and the Rockets were content to let Gibson back Harden down.

Harden has been a beast against post-ups this season. Opponents have hit just 34.8 percent of post-up attempts against him, the third-stingiest figure among 73 guys who have defended at least 50 such plays, per Synergy Sports. He loves to poke at the ball from behind; a full 18 percent of post-ups against Harden have resulted in turnovers, one of the highest such figures in the league.

Having Harden jostle against bigs minimizes his most damaging weaknesses -- his sometimes sluggish feet, and tendency to nap as perimeter guys run around. It invigorates him. It also unlocks convenient switches on pick-and-rolls. Best of all: Jumbling the matchups this way engineers chaos in transition when Houston gets a stop. Opponents are terrified of having a big man defend Harden. They scramble to normalize assignments, and expose creases in the process. Harden and Paul see those, and attack.

There is some risk inviting teams to beat up Harden. He is at a disadvantage on the defensive glass. But it has worked so far, and the Rockets are defending with a fierce connectedness. Watch out.​