http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25714487/james-harden-dominance-unprecedented-undeniable Didn’t see this posted yet. Another media guy defending Harden. Conspiracy? Maybe. Maybe the most criticized aspect of Harden's game is his quest for whistles. For many of us, free throws are anticlimactic necessities that keep defenders honest, but for Harden they're just more juicy fruits of efficiency. And he's right. A pair of Harden free throws is worth about 1.7 points, while an average NBA possession is worth 1.1. That's a ridiculous margin, and the Rockets know that any action that can elevate the value of a possession that much is a great technique. Don't hate the player, hate the game. Harden is averaging a whopping 17.7 isos per game, over 7 more than No. 2 DeMar DeRozan, per Second Spectrum tracking. Harden leads the NBA in isolation plays by a massive margin for a good reason. These isolations are easy to create and they're frighteningly effective. So far this season, an average Harden iso yields 1.16 points, which is a staggering value for any half-court action. The Milwaukee Bucks lead the NBA by averaging 0.99 points per non-transition possession.
Excellent fact based analysis. Unfortunately most twitter-loving bandwagon Harden hating fans are not smart enough to even scroll down to the bottom of the article. Let alone read the whole thing.
