Well said. You can tell that Harden has practiced that over and over and over again. He knows precisely what he's doing. It's beautiful. I don't know how that can be stopped. If he's doubled, teammates are going to be wide open for a drive or a three. Unreal.
Also if you over commit to the close out he will just blow right by you to the rim using a fake. He is incredible.
It's always helpful to have more muscles, especially on a stepback jumper. The stepback motion costs momentum in your shooting form and requires the muscles to do more than usual in your usual shootingmotion. But i think adding the muscle and loosing weight has helped him in every aspect. Always good to have muscles.
I showed that image (which I'd seen before, but man, is he ripped) to my significant other, who's also a fan of the Rockets (I'm a very lucky guy). Her eyes widened and one word came out of her mouth, "Damn!"
I thought this was a well written article. Notable positive takeaway: 7th ranked defense thus far...albeit through 20 games, it's still impressive. Moreover, 7-2 against plus .500 teams adds some support to that metric. Notable negative takeaway: Harden's usage rate. I know the article mentions Paul's absence due to injury, as well as MDA leaving them on the floor together when the game is well under control to establish rapport, but I hope to see Harden's usage tick down slightly as the season progresses. I'm more confident this season than last season that MDA will do this, but we'll have to wait and see...
