http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12934098 We've been complaining since last year that the Harden/Howard pick and roll hasn't been used nearly enough. This is an eye-opening stat though. Harden only passes to Dwight 4.1 times per game. WOW! Even more disappointing is when it does happen, the Rockets' offense is pretty productive. Coaches have done a terrible job integrating their stars in the offense. Where's the synergy? JVG and Adelman would've made sure their bread-and-butter plays involve Harden/Howard.
Lost by 1, lost by 4, lost by a combined 5 points and they want to talk about Harden and Howard not being on the same page. LOL GTFO...
That is kind of interesting, but because it's coming from ESPN, and at this exact moment in time, I refuse to read it.
I like the pnrs but maybe the idea is to keep the floor spaced. If you put two of your best players right next to each other then couldnt the defense just funnel into them every single time? Also howard can only really "roll", he has no "pop" since he cant shoot worth **** so also makes your offense a little bit more predictable
How many pick and rolls do we run where harden gets the hockey assist to Howard? Like a ton! Howard is best suited by the hoop, ready for an offensive rebound or an oop
Video is tagged with "NBA" and "GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS". But not "HOUSTON ROCKETS". Things that make you go "hmmmmm".
The number seems low, but it really has more to do with team tactics and role than chemistry. Dwight Howard is great finishing around the rim-- exemplified by those lob dunks that he gets-- but isn't all that effective as either a shooter, driver or passer when he gets the ball anywhere outside the immediate basket area. These Harden to Dwight catch and dunks are great, high efficiency opportunities, but they really only happen when the opponent screw up-- any kind of competent opposing D is gonna prioritize denying these dunks above all else. And given Dwight is not as effective as most other teammates when he gets the ball outside the paint, you are not going to pass the ball to him all that often unless he has one of those high efficiency opportunities. You are certainly not going to pass to Howard spotting up for a jumper-- that's Ariza and Terry's job. You are also not going to use Howard as a high-post decision-maker when Josh Smith and Terrence Jones are better at it. Harden is just making the passes that are available to him when the opponent take away the obviously most-efficient option of the Howard lob dunk. The comparison of Curry's passes to Draymond and Bogut really are not all that relevant. Draymond can shoot the 3, drive or pass so he has a much larger radius of effectiveness and it makes sense to pass to him more. Bogut often serves as a high-post passer so he's gonna catch some passes in the flow of the offense even when the intent isn't for him to score or even be a primary creator. Howard doesn't get those passes.
The rockets run the high pick almost every set half court play, they just don't always get the space they need to connect between the two.....so yes we don't see as much harden/howard production. the defense collapses well but that also leads to other players being open so yeah it opens up the hockey assist. The stat is misleading....it not like they aren't trying it. We get a lot of mileage out of it still....
Stat aside, visually - I feel like Capella comes into the game and Harden has an instant rapport with him in the pick and roll game. With Dwight... it doesn't jive. Even Smith looks better running it with Dwight. My theory is that Harden doesn't look to attack as aggressively which deflates the effectiveness of the play.
Assuming Dwight converts half, that equals two assists. There are a bunch of other players to pass to. How many assists is Harden expected to have per game?
This article should be paired with the Goldsberry article from several months ago. Other than lobs in the P&R, Hardens game isn't designed to pass to the screening big. It's more of a ploy to suck in the D, and get open 3's. Nobody in the NBA assists on 3's like Harden does. So if it's not a lob dunk there really isn't many cases he's going to be passing to him unless it's a post up.... and is that really something we want more of? This kind of stinks of the ESPN guys not fully understanding what the Rockets and Harden are trying to do with their offense or simply neglecting that in order to create drama and page clicks.
Harden assists the bigs just fine. He does pnr with Jones and Capela as well. He had 9 assists in Game 2! When his shot is falling, Harden's scoring is what we need.
