I can't recall when exactly the Rockets switched Parsons onto Redick, but they did try to hide Harden on Dudley after a while and probably will from here on out. Still, as you can see in the video, Harden can be lazy in transition, pointing to guys he should pick. He's totally unaware of his man at times. He tends to over-help and get hung up easily on screens. He doesn't always close out hard and when he does, he often does so with poor technique. Also gets blown by way to easily, even when guarding offensively challenged guys like Dudley. Harden's defense isn't the Rockets' lone issue to be sure, but, if nothing else, Harden at least needs to try harder.
Harden need to watch this over and over. Man, that was just ashame. Coach need to hold all players responsible.
I think this is one of the reasons Presti kept Ibaka over Harden. Harden is great offensively but I think Presti realized that you need defense to win in the playoffs. Having 3 perimeter stars with no rim protection wont win you any playoff games. Thats why they did his deal first
I think it's more productive to the team and for the long term to BENCH him. When our D sux a$$ like yesterday, try something. Just try SOMETHING. Try a bit of zone. Try a lockdown defender on the hot shooter for awhile to cool him down. Try anything. Try hack a Jordan. I was really disappointed with McHale for no in-game adjustment yesterday.
It wasn't just his defense, he stunk last night. You're supposed to be the best SG in the league, how can you let Riddick light you up? If you can't keep him in front of you at least take advantage of him on the other end. I'll just chalk it up to a bad game.
Harden just had a bad night, that's all. Maybe his back is still hurting. He'll learn from this and improve.
Everyone has bad games. I think that's perfectly fine from time to time as long as the effort is there. The effort in this case was
Did you say Kobe is a two way player? Are you talking about Kobe Bryant? The guy who hasn't played defense since 2002?!? Credibility lost.... This just in......other than CP3 and LBJ, no super-star wing players play defense. I think it is a clause in their contract.
That was my biggest problem with Harden last night was his effort. If he was hurt to the point were he couldn't give full effort then he shouldn't have been out there. He was an embarrasment last night.
Wish I could say it was that simple, but folks were noticing Harden's poor defense before the season started and last year. Here's an interesting analysis of Harden's offensive weaknesses. http://thegoodpoint.com/james-harden-defense/ Of special note is this comment... Harden has bad defensive habits. Not just lack of effort, but poor defensive fundamentals. It's fixable, but it's not going to happen unless Harden makes it a priority.
he has some physical limitations, and that's ok. we all know he's not the quickest or most athletic dude out there. he's strong as hell but on the defensive side has a hard time staying with his man. BUT, what's not ok is the lack of defensive fundamentals (lack of coaching) in terms of body position, hand position, stance, and general awareness of team and individual defense. these things can improve so there's hope. but it's gonna take a while to improve these areas. as long as he acknowledges them (and seems like he does), he'll be fine. i'm just concerned that he's not getting the fundamental coaching that he needs. trying harder is not good enough - work smarter, not harder. also noticed last night that blake is a very underrated passer. people think of him as a dude known for dunks and nothing else but he's really improved on his passing and court awareness. it just seems that every players on the clippers know what their roles are and what they need to do and work off of each other, especially on offense. it's actually pretty nice to watch.
It's great to have a game like this to point out Harden's weakness as many people seeing him as a perfect player. It's good for him so that he can improve in the future. If harden had like 20pts on this game, no one will point this weakness out. His defense actually cost us a lot since last season but people will only look at his offense. It's the reason why sometime he gets huge points but we did not get big win but struggling.
