BETTER THAN HARDEN they say whats crazy is i bet ESPN or FS1 wont even mention or talk about this game, Luka will be protected. Just last szn in the playoffs Luka was regarded as an improved defender after game 3 for shutting down an INJURED kawhi and then after harden completely torched him in game 4, the media started giving him the "injury excuse" or aka what i refer to as the "the steph curry special" I dont ever see Luka ever being as good on defense as harden was in 2018, 2019, or what to me is probably a top 5 defensive guard szn in history in 2020. Harden didnt get a single defensive player vote for any of those szns.. Which is crazy all in itself, but they are willing and ready to crown Luka as a 2-way player when he is not even a better offensive or defensive player than james was this is why advanced stats are important, because if we rely on the eye test, many would say zach lavine is a more impactful guard than lil/scrawny John Stockton historically https://www.si.com/nba/rockets/features/grading-james-harden-defensive-performance#:~:text=Harden has allowed just 0.65 points per post-up,PnR, ranking 31st of the 164 qualified players. Harden has allowed just 0.65 points per post-up in 2019-20, the second-best mark of 50 players with at least 50 post possessions defended. He's also been an effective pick-and-roll defender. Harden allows just 0.78 points when defending the ball-handler in a PnR, ranking 31st of the 164 qualified players. Houston often schemes Harden away from the league's top guards, but that caveat doesn't dismiss the metrics. Harden has been an effective defender for significant stretches this season. not a single all-defensive vote in 2020 for Harden, if Luka did half of what harden did that year playing next to a non-spacer like westbrook. You would have tim legler and jason timpf declaring luka dpoty
Luka was playing through at least three injuries ( Calf, Knee, Ankle, Wrist, and Groin ) last month tho, which most players do not do. He can probably do that because he doesn't play defense, but just sayin, he was on the court when he probably should not have been.
