Can we start giving Harden props for his good defense lately?

What does "lately" mean? Like.. lately as in 1 game? Sometimes he tries, sometimes he doesn't. There is no trend. No consistent upswing in his effort.

 

Going to start a flaming war but I cannot agree with this anymore.

Since he has been healthy, Harden has been the Rockets second best guard defender.

He was playing on bad ankles and feet and was embarrassed. Since then he has been markedly better.

 

Yup. Noticed he played good defense last night and I was kinda surprised when watching the game. Didn't expect him to have the energy in a b2b game on the road.

Like someone else mentioned. his ISO play are much better too but I rather see less ISO and more team ball.

 

He's still inconsistent, but compared to the first 20-25 games of the season, Harden's been much better on defense. No question.

 

Speaking of which, didn't O'Neal play a great game? I was extremely impressed, both by his play and by his obvious preparation. He knew exactly how he wanted to play Howard, and he played like a champion.

 

Harden is still inconsistent as a defender, though he has improved, somewhat.

He had good defensive plays on Lee, but there were many times where he played matador defense on Thompson.

 

No no no

 

His ISO has been much better because of his much improved mid-range game.

Copying the stats from my other thread:

12-13 season:

3-10 ft: 29%
10-16: 31.4%
16 - 3pt: 32.1%

13-14:

3-10: 44.4%
10-16: 46.2%
16 - 3pt: 37.1%

 

This is an area in which the reality is lagging behind the perception. It will take a while for many to catch up with the fact that he CAN and WILL play defense when he's not injured or the only scoring option.

 

His performance last night against the warriors was unbelievable, he played hell of game on both ends of the floor.

 

Saying his defense hasn't improved means you're either not watching the games (thanks Comcrap) or you're biased. Defense is mostly about effort, but lets keep in mind that he was certainly playing on bad wheels earlier in the year. Is he an elite defender, no of course not, but he was a complete sieve early in the year and now he is at least respectable. You're not hearing him being lambasted by the broadcast teams anymore for what looked like complete disinterest in participating on that side of the floor.

I'd say 90% of the time these days, he is doing the best he can do. He doesn't have elite quickness, lateral movement or length at his position which is why he will always struggle with smaller quicker players. He does have elite strength for his position which is why he does such a good job against guys who like to post up or bully there way to the basket. If you're constantly waiting for him to wake up one day and be Paul George on defense you'll never be happy. As long as he is trying, I'm happy with him because he will more than make up for it on the offensive end more often than not and win his matchup.

 

I absolutely disagree with this last statement. Just because Thompson may have gotten around James once doesn't mean James was playing matador defense. Harden was a nightmare for Thompson all night. Thompson only hit 30% of his shots and was 0 for 5 from 3pt range. Hardens defense on him was just outstanding as was his defense on Lee.

 

He really has been giving good effort lately. Ever since he came back from injury. He still ball watches a little too much but now he is actually trying to fix his mistakes by hustling to contest the shot. Earlier in the season he would just half ass his way to his guy if he made a mistake. It's a welcomed change.

But for me it's always been a maturity thing for Harden. He was pretty immature and the typical "all about him and his numbers" early in the season. But I think he is starting to turn the corner. As his defensive maturity has improved, his offense has become more team oriented as well. He is beginning to understand where to pick his spot. Evidence in the Warriors game.

All in all, it seems James is starting to make that transition from star to superstar level. He isn't there yet but with every game it seems he is inching closer.

 

I saw a lot of effort besides one fast break from GS

 

No doubt. Harden gets props for improving. I mean all he had to do was put more effort, which he is doing now. His struggles aren't one on one defense, it is off the ball. He still struggles with that and may never become an above average defender. The Rockets are going to have to scheme around it like putting him on big men.

 

I'm giving some mad props to Harden. Checking 1's 2's and 4's lately. Mad props. Mad ups homie.

 

Its all effort from what I can tell. Late game situation against the Warriors on national TV he was playing his ass off and playing tremendous defense against Lee and others on pnr switches that we normally don't see from him. He's active, talking, moving his feet and hands, and most importantly doing it when it counts.

 

Harden can play defense. Unless you play the game you don't realize how much extra energy Harden is using being the go-to guy. The others should be covering two men for it to be fair. Of course, the more effort he puts in on D we lose it on O. His shots might not drop, he might get injured by running into a stray arm...

 

The beard scientifically wouldn't help his endurance either. There's nothing like a clean shave to let the face breathe