There is no way Morey knew when he traded jeremy lamb, kevin martin and those picks for harden that he could have dreamed that harden would turn into an all-time great
That championship level coach will probably hammer wine and rest half his team, while we're out there using quantum physics trying to find the perfect way to stagger CP3/Harden minutes.
Their play overlaps at the start and end of the game when the other team has their best unit so a positive rating in those times are good and where the team can improve. The other times is when Harden or Paul is spearheading the offense against 2nd units and there is no makor drop off. This fits Morey's philosophy that 2pts when James used to rest is worth the same amount of points as Crunch time Our team is relentless in that we can pressure opposing defenses all 48 min. That and we have a solid 9 man unit that is versatile.
Maybe but I wouldn't say the Harden and Paul line up is passing the eyeball test. I don't see Harden creating for Paul and vice versa. Its more like Harden runs the offense and when he gets tired he hands the ball to Paul to run the offense. Hopefully over time they get more synergy together, but its the same thing with Gorden. I never see him create for harden/paul or vice versa.
It passes my eye test. During the Nets and Pacers games, you can see Paul and Harden hit each other in rhythm for open shots. When defenses decide to help the dribbler, they're least likely to sag off of Harden so he's not normally the open man. They're not doing dribble hand offs or setting screens for each other but I don't think that's the most efficient use of our offense anyway. The Lakers game was all iso because they kept switching. It's a tough way to win a ballgame and it's what we'll see against GSW but it is what it is.
Per Cleantheglass (garbage time stats eliminated), Rockets #1 in net rating, 1st in offense, 4th in defense. https://www.cleaningtheglass.com/stats/team/11/team
and for good reason. thats not what theyre out there to do. not if you're trying to maximize the full personnel on this team and how it operates. not even sure why some people are so focused on this. why would either of them be the ones creating for each other when theyre both elite players and prioritized on defense. guys arent exactly helping off of them and on the few broken plays it may happen im sure theyll recognize it.
exactly the purpose of getting cp3 was to lighten hardens workload, HE HAD TO DO EVERYTHING LAST YEAR. CP3 can take a lot of him, when is the last time we have seen harden dunk in a game, he did it twice yesterday
For comparison sakes, who do you see as the perfect backcou t setting each other up. Are you trying to compare Harden/CP3 to The GSW Backcourt cuz they don't run the same type of offensein half court. I looked at a couple of Portland games and Lillard and McCollum are comparable to how CP3 and Harden play with each other. They don't spend the half court possesion trying to set each other up. They observe and pick who has the better matchup and attack and set up the other teammates or create their shot. When Harden and CP3 attack they will find each if they're open but usually the role players maneuver to the open spot or the corner
Well they do run some plays for EG... like the elevator play. Although its not run a ton. That said... this might not be necessary and might be even less efficient the PnR with floor spacing, even if its Harden or Paul providing that spacing... but we have seen very small bits of stuff where Harden and Paul are involved in the same high pick and roll action. Some weave like stuff. To me, offensively, it's not about Harden making a ton of backcuts and running of 3rd player screens. Or about CP3 doing it. But if they could integrate some stuff occasionally where they take advantage of some double screen action up top for whomever has the ball, and run a couple of actions off that, I think that's a great extra layer to their offense they can add. I should note this isn't solely about Harden+CP3. This is that extra dimension to the offense that MDA specifically said they'd start adding over the offseason. Extra "wrinkles" I think is the term I read in a press release. Which we haven't seen yet. The obvious response is... who cares?!?!?! Well, eventually, they might need it... so that if they have an off few minutes they have other sets they can go to instead of getting bogged down, since that's what ultimately happened last year.
Personally, I would like to see them run more 21 series while together on the court. That and some dribble hand offs together. Right now everything is going great, but their is still room for improvement. I think running the 21 Series is going to become very import in the playoffs. Especially with the ability to bring a big (capela or Ryan) for a double screen or back screen. I just think this would put the most pressure on a defense and draw so much attention it would open up more space for the role players.
What I was hoping to see was Harden getting better/easier looks at the basket, but I haven't really seen that (no data to back up the claim). He does seem more rested, but its early in the season. Harden is better at the step back jumpers which supposedly hes been practicing, but that doesn't mean he's getting better looks.
James Harden since CP3's return 34 PPG 8.6 APG 5.6 RPG 2 SPG 49 FG% 44 3PT% on 5 Makes P/G 92 FT% 60.4 eFG% 67 TS% 131 ORtg 99 DRtg
