I know tonight was only one game, and we did have quite a few lucky breaks with many 50/50s going our way however there a few changes I would like Harden to make when he comes back. Obviously we are a much better team with him in our lineup except that I hope he tries to play better on defense. This is really really critical as having one weak spot in defense will let the whole defensive scheme down and will cause the team to either point fingers or look confused. All of which is bad for team chemistry. Obviously its not just Harden, with Dmo out today it also helped, but it really shows you what having a balanced defensive team can do. If the reason is that he is carrying the load to much on offense to play defense then I think this needs to change. Our team proven today that they can hang in there as long as they play together on defense, so he can play less minutes. This leads to the second point which is our offense. Harden is definitely a huge + for our offense but at times can be prone to iso ball. If Harden can integrate himself back into the lineup and keep the ball moving like today while picking his spots better will allow him to conserve energy to not be a complete liability on the defensive end. I think the key today however was our defense. Getting stops gave everyone more "energy" and even though we turned the ball over a ton today we had a strong running game and excellent ball movement. I think the priority from this point forward should be on defensive unity and the rest will come. Good job team!
Its not entirely about democratic ball, Stars win games in the NBA and come playoff times but he just needs to learn to choose his spots better which will come over time. I'm more concerned about his defensive effort. I believe when he comes back and if he focuses on defense and becomes at least average our team will make a strong push for the playoffs and win 7/9 games.
That is probably true I didn't mean to overlook it but it sure did seem like a lot was going our way.
Harden's D sucks because he doesn't have a coach to teach him (or the team) how to play proper D. Evidence: This team was 12th in opponent's ppg last year, and third this year.
That's no evidence at all. Houston leads the league in pace. PPP (point per possession) allowed is the true barometer for team defense. Rockets - 1.026 PPP, 17th current year. Rockets - 1.015 PPP, 16th last year.
An article from February 1, 2013: "When Harden is on the court, Houston gives up 104.2 points per 100 possessions, good for a bottom 10 caliber defense. When he’s off, that number drops to 101.5 (for reference, the Miami Heat are currently allowing 101.4 points per 100 possessions)." Defense is very important, especially for the Playoffs. Harden is very smart and he will work on his defensive game in the offseason.
You are telling Harden to give up his stats. Will he willing to scarify? He seems to care his stats. alot!
Defensive efficiency 2011 - 15th 2012 - 19th* - hollinger worst DE for any playoff bound team not named utah/lal i would qualify that as pretty lousy D.
