Can we start giving Harden props for his good defense lately?

No. Dude stopped half way like he doesn't care.

 

LOL. Look at Harden's hands swinging around like a gorilla.

 

I'm not seeing what you mean so this seems really racial.

 

Not trying to defend Harden, cuz that defense was pathetic, but Casspi should have helped.

 

Casspi has been in and out of the rotation quite a bit. His chemistry with Harden is lacking. If Howard was on the court, he would have been there waiting.

Harden as much as he is an offensive juggernaut for the Rockets, he can be a big liability on the other end without the right people complimenting him.

 

Actually, on that specific play I disagree. He's one pass away.

If he goes to help, he's no longer boxing out and you open up a simple drop pass and roll to the rim for Casspi's man. I think Parson was the correct helper (weak side help).

Of course, it depends entirely on the defensive scheme. Every coach has a different defensive philosophy... or in the case of some coaches, no defensive philosophy.

 

Videos tell a thousand words

 

His lazy defense is fine, someone conjure up some per stats to back this up

 

Only positive thing about that gif is Harden didn't get injured.

 

I'm surprised in that gif Harden didn't use his famous wrap around hack. Players blow by him with ease but he usually has a good swipe from behind.

 

I cant count how many times I have seen a pass fly from the top to an open player near the basket for a lay-up or a dunk. I usually think damn, they must of had some sick picks and/or a really good pass. I rewind the play during commercial to just see its either Harden's or Lin's man just catching them sleeping and going behind their back- so simple a baby could do it! Harden needs to step up his damn D if he wants to win. He is so talented but so frustrating to watch sometimes on the defensive end.

 

There's several reasons why Harden does not play D: immature , trying to get his on offense, trying to be the point guard. As much as I love Harden and I think he is one of the most difficult players to guard in this league, I think Harden needs to change those things to take us to the next level.

 

I thought Casspi should have helped. He's the closest and only one who could stop the clear path to the hoop. The only possible reason for him not to help would be if Parsons' was supposed to be there to protect the rim and was too late.

Anyway, the whole interior defense was exposed because it was so easy for the opponent to blow by the perimeter defender.

 

I think either is possible. Without knowing McHale's actual defensive schemes, we don't know who missed the assignment.

Personally, I prefer that people don't help one pass away. It's too easy to exploit with a short pass or cut. Weak side help is nice in that you need a cross court or skip pass to exploit it, which gives time for a weak side defender to either recover or a different weak side defender to slide over.

That said, there's all kind of defensive schemes and despite the NBA being filled with "professional" coaches, some of them are just downright terrible when it comes to designing a defense.

 

Not true. It was supposed to be a screen and roll, Harden forced it baseline, and Casspi should have been shading over to cut it off since he was definitely not going to hedge the screen (he was playing centers, and centers do this). Does plumlee have an outside shot to even be worried about?

The wing pick and roll is a two man game: however, Parsons should have noticed that Casspi missed his job and rotated sooner. He tried to time the block. But the blame is not on Parsons.

 

Any defensive scheme always tries to stop the ball going to the hoop. There is just no other way. It's similar to a 2-on-1 situation. You have to challenge the shot and worry about the pass later. If you force the guy to pass, you increase the probability of a bad play. The highest percentage play is for the ball handler to go all the way to the basket unchallenged.

 

Caspi sometimes looks like he isn't sure what he's doing, and doesn't have great reaction times occasionally. Harden counting on him for help D on baseline is ridiculous, though in this video it looks less like he was counting on that, and more like he got burned. Everyone gets burned once in a while, and Harden does slack on D sometimes, but this video isn't the best example of that.

 

It is much more complicated than your short summary. Modern NBA defenses actively attempt to keep the ball handler out of the middle, seek to funnel him towards the sidelines/baseline, help from the weak side using the 2.9, and actively close out on the three point shot while surrendering the mid-ranged shot.

 

We don't have a defensive minded coach is the main problem.

 

No it is not ridiculous; it is actually the right thing. Harden was forcing baseline, which is what he is supposed to do.