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[Wall Street Journal] James Harden’s Secret Talent Is Slowing Down

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Sydeffect, Feb 9, 2017.

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  1. Sydeffect

    Sydeffect Member

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    https://www.wsj.com/articles/james-hardens-secret-talent-is-slowing-down-1486667420?mod=e2tw

    The Houston Rockets’ star is ordinary by many physical metrics. But his deceleration is superhuman—and that explains how he dominates the NBA

    “By all these traditional performance metrics that we track, he’s pretty pedestrian,” said Marcus Elliott, the founder and director of the Peak Performance Project, which has analyzed the biomechanics of hundreds of NBA players.


    But something unexpected happened when Harden came here for a closer examination last spring. There were actually several areas in which Harden was an outlier—not only among basketball players, but among thousands of athletes Elliott’s lab has studied. And they were all related to the same underlying trait.

    Harden has a hidden advantage: deceleration. His braking system is the best in sports. Harden is the fastest at slowing down.
     
    #1 Sydeffect, Feb 9, 2017
    Deuce, BigMaloe, Tha_Dude and 5 others like this.
  2. Brown Juice

    Brown Juice Member

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    James Harden is the league MVP. Artesia High School.
     
    #2 Brown Juice, Feb 9, 2017
    BigMaloe, BigShasta and Mr. Turbo like this.
  3. Mr. Turbo

    Mr. Turbo Member

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    Changes the game
     
    #3 Mr. Turbo, Feb 9, 2017
  4. DreamShook

    DreamShook Member

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    It's interesting, but seriously, Worst. Superpower. Ever.
     
    #4 DreamShook, Feb 9, 2017
    napalm06, BigMaloe and No Chill Rocket like this.
  5. lnchan

    lnchan Sugar Land Leonard

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    Worst super power ever is ... heart.
     
    #5 lnchan, Feb 9, 2017
    Invisible Fan, RocketsMAN!, BigMaloe and 2 others like this.
  6. Haymitch

    Haymitch Custom Title
    Supporting Member

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    INB4 "Harden needs to lose weight / is low effort/lazy"

    Also this is behind a paywall. Can someone post?
     
    #6 Haymitch, Feb 9, 2017
  7. samtaylor

    samtaylor Member

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    James Harden: The fastest slowing athlete of all time!
     
    #7 samtaylor, Feb 9, 2017
    No Chill Rocket likes this.
  8. J Sizzle

    J Sizzle Member

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    Is James Harden the fastest slow moving person ever? Or is James Harden the slowest fast moving person ever?
     
    #8 J Sizzle, Feb 9, 2017
  9. rocketsballin

    rocketsballin Member

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    yeah but klay's a better two-way guard /espn
     
    #9 rocketsballin, Feb 9, 2017
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  10. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

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    Well, we all know If you turn the corner too fast, you could go down a dead end street.

    I also wish some of the doubters around here would embrace this super power of slowing down their knee jerk reactions in the Game Threads.
     
    #10 heypartner, Feb 9, 2017
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  11. MajorSeanBond

    MajorSeanBond Member

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    lmao. I was thinking the same damn thing. Earth, fire, wind, water, and........heart....fkn mati
     
    #11 MajorSeanBond, Feb 9, 2017
  12. No Chill Rocket

    No Chill Rocket Member

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    James "Brembo" Harden. Thanks for the share ! Interesting article lol weird super power
     
    #12 No Chill Rocket, Feb 9, 2017
  13. samtaylor

    samtaylor Member

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    How can Harden decelerate if he can't play defense?
     
    #13 samtaylor, Feb 9, 2017
  14. banzai

    banzai Contributing Member

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    In the game, everyone wants to move faster and faster. So, his deceleration actually slows the game down for him, allowing him to see and think and eurostep and make body contact. When he picks up his dribble he has an eternity to make quick moves and adjustments. This is how Ginobili excelled and he wasn't that great of an athlete.
     
    #14 banzai, Feb 9, 2017
  15. Mr. Clutch

    Mr. Clutch Contributing Member

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    Haven't we posted a version of this article about three times now?
     
    #15 Mr. Clutch, Feb 9, 2017
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  16. Pen15clubber

    Pen15clubber Member

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    He's chopped and screwed
     
    #16 Pen15clubber, Feb 9, 2017
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  17. bongman

    bongman Member

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    In a few years, 'Bounce' videos will be a thing of the past. They'll have 'Slow' camps for kids showing videos of how FAST somebody can slow down. The Beard == icon.
     
    #17 bongman, Feb 9, 2017
  18. threepointshot3

    threepointshot3 Member

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    If he gets the MVP and wins 2 rings or more by the time his career is done he could possibly go down as the equal of Olajuwon. Not sure he can surpass the Dream as a better overall player because Olajuwon was one of the best if not the best two way center ever. He was elite on both sides of the rock.
     
    #18 threepointshot3, Feb 9, 2017
  19. tochiee22

    tochiee22 Contributing Member

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    Dream WAS and will prob forever be the best 2 way center of all time
     
    #19 tochiee22, Feb 9, 2017
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  20. Cohete Rojo

    Cohete Rojo Contributing Member

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    #20 Cohete Rojo, Feb 9, 2017
    wouldabeen23, BigMaloe, D-rock and 1 other person like this.
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