Parsons & Lin did the same things last year, in terms of what they provide to the team, and especially in terms of taking the load off of Harden. Good coaches can see where the Rox lineup is the weakest, and they can exploit it. Hornacek is a rookie coach, but the time he spent playing for the Jazz, and specifically for Sloan, probably helped him to see how to counter lineups that have one-dimensional players. If Harden's defense were better, he'd be able to make up for the opponent's pressure on his offense. But when his defense is so weak, he is basically useless when the other team can stop him on the offensive end.
No. Obviously more weight is on some players. Especially your so called star players. Maybe if harden catches the ball on the move and runs he'll find life easier. He's obviously not good enough to ball stop and still be productive.
That's Harden's playing style. You expect him to drop what so far has given him a lot of success overnight. It's a process. Harden has been stopped by physical defenders like Iggy and tonight Tucker and by teams that have a center guard the lane for his drives like what MEM did last year. I don't know what he can do if his 3 is not falling and he cannot drive. Maybe fish for fouls? Or just sit it out?
