Video: James Harden, Defensive Mastermind (2013-14)

Very few said James can't play defense. Almost everyone says he needs to try harder more often.

 

Nice video. I never got the huge reaction from that first video, I always thought you could easily handpick plays like that for many players (I wouldn't say all players though, some of those were just laughable). Also, pointed more towards fatigue or not trying rather than his actual defensive ability.

 

I think we all know Harden has the talent and ability and athleticism to be a good defender. What he lacks is commitment.

 

This.

But since Harden is the only playmaker on the team now... I'm not holding my breath.

 

We all know he can play d, but will he give effort

and man do i miss watching the rockets already.

 

all i know is that without harden, we would not have dwight and we would be irrelevant.

 

Nice to see a video showing something one of our players does well instead of being butthurt and using your 'fandom' as the reason you 'care' so much and continuously criticize and troll your days away at cfans.net.

Great job OP, repped. :grin:

 

Parsons is offended.

 

It looks good.

JH can defend but I get the impression from the games
that I've been watching that he doesnt try much.

Maybe he's too gassed out by having to run the offense
AND to be on the court > 38 mins per game and with
his wonky feet issues.

 

We all know Harden can defend. Notice people usually say, "Harden doesn't play defense." and not, " Harden doesn't know defense."

 

The main difference between the infamous video and the one you made is that Harden frequently loses his man when he's on the weakside. i.e. He has good on the ball defense and bad off the ball defense.

 

I don't think there was a single clip of Harden's go to play on perimeter defense: "let your man go around you, then reach around for the steal". Probably because it almost never ****ing works.

 

He's capable of playing D... He's just gotta try!

But, that video is mainly him taking risks. Jumping passing lanes or reaching for a steal.

 

This video is better proof of his defensive potential

http://youtu.be/63TDVWnZ5K8

 

As did T Jones and The Franchise himself Chandler Parsons. The team defense was bad. Bottom line.

 

now if only he focus on actually playing defense.

 

who??

 

I don't think he's conditioned enough to play balls to the walls on both sides of the court. Then again there are limits to it, and lessening the offensive load would allow him to expend more energy defensively.

good thing McHale could utilize our other playmakers well

ohwait

 

That's the most common thing I hear about Harden, is he has the ability to defend. What does that mean? Did he occasionally shutdown an elite offensive player for a possession or two during a game? The only time I see him look great on defense is from the post. That's because defending the post requires less foot speed and less space to defend. Harden can't afford to have poor foot speed at the 2 guard position.

But where Harden is painfully pathetic is in open space. I have yet to see this dude prevent ANYBODY from driving by him. His lack of lateral movement is virtually nonexistent. That's why it always befuddled me when I hear people say Harden has the ability to defend. Harden will never be good defender because of his slow hip movement and foot speed. And he knows this and will always resort to reaching from behind when a player drives at him.

 

Why are there some defensive plays by Lin in the video