Pretty interesting article from ESPN: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17636581/data-helping-nba-players-redefine-meaning-athleticism
Harden's 30+ lbs obesity doesn't allow him to go fast, anyway. Obviously he can brake easily. Flawed stat, IMO.
Not sure why Harden is spending all this time practicing his braking, rather than working on his game. Man, what a douche.
Isnt't your theory against the law of physics? The heavier the object, the more energy it takes to stop it.
How shocking, the stat chaser is going after unaccounted stats. His master Morey will definately fap to that.
We see him stop quickly every time the other team has the ball. Spoiler Who else is sick of Harden defense jokes?
I didn't know he had gone to P3..thats good to hear... people often forget there's more to athleticism than strength and hops. Harden's been able to work on several dimensions of athleticism, but he just doesn't have the genes to be super explosive. He's got everything else though. As far as braking, it's not pointless. It shows he has good muscular balance, which is key in avoiding injuries. He has been very durable as a Rocket, which is amazing given how much he has been asked to do. It also shows why he's so good at hys "style" of play..not many can slow down off the break/drive like he does. He's putting on the brakes softly, while the defense can't control their momentum as well. He's in control and they're not.
Am I reading this right? Article says measurements from vertical leaping tests explain one's horizontal braking ability? How did the writer come to that conclusion? If these stats were from last year, my conclusion would be that if you are top 2% in vertical force/explosion but not top in vertical leap, then James either weighs too much or you got a Kardashian hanging around your neck.
they're using the force created at the bottom, like the very early phase of jumping, not the force from the whole act of jumping. It's like a punch, some people may generate more force at the start of the movement, some at the end upon contact, etc. It makes sense because in order to jump up, you have to come down first to "load up" your muscles...so you have to brake that downward movement to change direction and jump up. So it's that fine line between when you brake and change direction that he excels at.
Sounds theoretical. Vertical explosion is unlikely to be a good way to measure horizontal braking or ability to change direction. Sounds like it's just the only data they have and are trying to apply it in new ways Sounds like classic confirmation bias of an hypothesis. Like: These vertical force stats can predict negative horizontal forces. Oh look, James Harden is one of the best at changing directions and he scores in top 2%, thus my hypothesis is confirmed. Well done guys!! I wonder who the 10 guys ahead of him are?
If you want an TLDR version: Harden is an elite athlete because he has supreme body control. Its much harder to measure those types of things where quantifying vertical leap or speed is simple.
I give the benefit of the doubt to P3's findings. Perhaps the article did not accurately convey the rationale behind the findings. This makes sense given that ESPN is not known for excellent sports science reporting.
