Just Curious...

Harden didn't force it

The Mavs entire defense was centered on making sure Harden didn't drive and beat them

so Harden played off of it and set up his teammates to beat them

 

I also like the fact he was in distributor mode. I have to agree on the premise that a more balanced attack is exactly what we need to win this series vs DAL. Think about it, we shredded their zone, we ran LOTS of PnR, Dwight was in foul trouble, and Harden only took 11 FGAs. Getting good looks for everybody will be essential; the more options we can throw at DAL, the harder it will be for them to adjust because they won't know who will hit them next.

 

He had a solid game. "Great"?....people throw that word around WAY too much.

 

The Rockets have had trouble in the past getting Harden the ball in the half court when certain defenders front him from getting it in that 1/2 Iso handoff when he's boxing out his man. Sometimes James is successful still, but he has to work to get the ball, and the shot clock gets about 5 to 10 seconds less.

I don't know how Carlisle is going to simply keep James from getting the ball unless he shows the double team early, or if he has a defender who is capable of denying Harden the ball. Maybe Aminu, but it didn't seem like Carlisle had a ton of trust in him in game 1.

The trick is to have that other ballhandler make a decisive move to attack right as they see the defense going to double James early.

Terry is one smart player, and even though he can't attack, he actually does a better job at reading the defense better than Beverley. Prigioni is pretty smart too. In this series I actually prefer those two over Bev believe it or not. Better offensive minds.

If you have a PG that doesn't see that defense coming, and still tries to force the ball over to Harden, then it can really bog down your offense.

I don't know what Carlisle has in mind for trying to take Harden out of the game once again, but I know he has something he's going for. We shall see.

Hell... maybe he will switch his defense to try and play Harden 1 on 1, sink in his defense, and make Harden & co. strictly jump shooters. I would have to think the Rockets would welcome that strategy... unless they can't hit their shots which is a real possibility. I trust Harden, and to some extent Terry & Ariza, but we shall see what happens when the ball keeps on ending up in Josh Smith's hands from 3 (an obvious point of emphasis by Carlisle in game 1).

 

I assume you mean, they sink in the defense, and the Rockets can't hit shots.

You can always go in the post if you want, but I just really don't think its the Rockets best opportunity to win. Look at how dominant Dwight was last year in the playoffs and the Rockets still lost. I just don't like changing their identity all the sudden.

Going into the post really is just about creating wide open 3's anyways. If they are sinking in the defense, the shots should be there if you are moving the ball. I don't think the Mavs will sink that deep in the post anyways because they aren't going to gamble with Ariza, Terry, and Harden missing open 3's.

If I had to guess though I'd say you'll see a much earlier double team on Harden to try and deny him the ball. Terry and Prigioni need to be ready to attack the basket when they see the 4 come over to double Harden. And yes, its going to be the 4 man. Josh Smith, and Terrence Jones will have the ball find them quite a bit tonight. Those two gotta be ready.

Anyways.. that's my guess, but its Carlisle. The guy takes some crazy gambles on defense often. Sometimes it works (see going zone against the Heat to win a title), and sometimes it doesn't (hack a Dwight last year that lost them the game).

 

Harden in the playoffs the last two seasons...

2013: .391 FG% --- 26.3 PPG --- 19.2 FGA --- 4.5 APG --- 4.5 TOV
2014: .376 FG% --- 26.8 PPG --- 22.2 FGA --- 5.8 APG --- 3.5 TOV

Harden in Game 1...

.364 FG% --- 24 Pts --- 11 FGA --- 11 AST --- 3 TOV

I'll start with the bad first. Harden only shot 4/11 from the field, which is yet another poor shooting night for him in the playoffs. Following two consecutive series with below 40% shooting, Harden really needs to have himself a series where he shoots close to 50% from the field. Harden's "playoffs FG inefficiency" is probably his greatest question mark as a player right now. His '15 regular season proved a lot of critics wrong, but he still needs to shoot better in the playoffs to get the remaining haters off his back.

The good news is that despite the poor shooting night, Harden still had a very good game 1 imo which is a great sign that he is continuing to grow. His willingness to pass in Game 1 to take advantage of all the defensive attention showed so much BBIQ and Floor Generalship on his part.

Harden has played 245 games as a Rocket including the playoffs, before Game 1 he had only had 4 games where his AST total equaled or exceeded his FGA total.

So Harden's 11 AST : 11 FGA ratio in Game 1 was an extremely rare type of game from him. This is something that had only happened 4/244 times, that's 1.6% of the time.

The ability of Harden to adjust his game in Game 1 was beautiful. The poor shooting in Game 1 is absolutely a concern, no Rockets fan should pretend otherwise. Harden has a history of FG inefficiency in the playoffs as a Rocket and we really need him to prove that it's not an issue. But the 1:1 ratio of assists to shots in Game 1 showed marvelous floor generalship from Harden.

TLDR... He definitely had a very good Game 1 despite the shooting. But at the same time, he really does need to improve his FG% in the playoffs if he wants to reach his true potential as a player.

 

Some teams have actually done a good job of that. PJ Tucker does a good job sometimes against Harden. If Harden is having trouble getting open, its up to the PG to make a decisive move to either wait on Harden to screen his man, and make the pass over the top, or go to another option quick. Usually though, it take two guys to deny James the ball. A smart PG should see that coming and be able to counter.

 

Good not great game. But who cares as long as we win.

 

No doubt!!