Great offensive performance but the D is back to the joke level that it was a couple years back. GS player just keep on blowing him by with ease. They were picking on him like he was a sneaky athlete
Well, at least he could say he saves his breath for the O and the Worriers have the best guards/forwards in the game. Nothing James can do here. Better than Tucker playing some D but nothing on O. Or Moute.
been the same all season, his post defence is where he improved. Hard to get him switched in there against the Warriors
It's the flaw in the ISO scheme. He works incredibly hard on one end to get his shots and then doesn't have the stamina to play hard on defense. The Warriors will gladly watch Harden bust his ass to get 40 and then run him on the other end for easy shots.
Wow, I guess I wasn't playing close enough attention. I know Harden lost sight of Klay once on a back door, and Curry took him off the dribble a couple times, but I didn't get the impression Harden was getting abused. Most of the game was an iso game featuring Harden and Durant. I would go back and watch the game, but I threw away the DVR after the loss.
Klay mentioned post game on TNT that part of their startegy is to make Harden work really hard at D It works for them because Harden is a mediocre defender who turns below average after the energy spent offensively
It's comical how curry just kinda non chanlantly dribble past him for layups. But I think it's asking a lot for him to work that hard for points on offense and play great defense. Warriors can set up their offense faster when we score. It's hard to get our players in positions I thought Harden played good D when not isod out though
Get in the bin @Carl Herrera . Yes, Harden got blown by because he can't move sideways but that's not because of a lack of effort, that is his limitation. It's a lot different to falling asleep while your guy cuts backdoor for an easy layup, ala the Harden of old.
You must of been watching something else. It was atrocious. I can live with Harden being poor on D. I loathe the constant reach around don't move my feet "oh well he got by me" ole attempts. It works once in a while.
So are you a Golden State fan Or just any flavor of the month Or whoever Espn tells you to be a fan of? Reggie Carl? Reggie Herrera? Rocket River
This is a misdirection thread from a bro who once registered a Harden for Kevin Love series of domain names. When reading @Carl Herrera once you get past the pun you already had the fun
Harden got roasted on defense, but it really is not surprising to me. His defensive strengths don't align with the gsw offense, so he always gets roasted. Same ole same ole.
It was definitely worse than it has been throughout most of the regular season and far worse than it has been in the playoffs up until game 4 against Utah. But hard to complain too much when he's carrying us to the degree he did offensively.
James will never be a lock down perimeter defender. He is limited by his body because he just can’t stay in front of players. I saw it from the first quarter all the way to the end. He just can’t physically do it. At least that’s what I think since he had to at least try last night.
It's a stamina issue. People comparing his performance to Curry isn't really fair because Curry doesn't really have to do anything. Curry had taken like 5 shots at halftime? And Durant had 20? That's the luxury of having a team as stacked as the warriors...Curry can go 100% on the defensive end and rely on his other superstar teammates to create all the offense without him. I can assure you Harden's defense would look a lot better if he could let his teammate take 40 ISO possessions per game. Unfortunately our team isn't built that way. That being said, it is something that needs to be fixed, but I'm not sure how. Harden can't play this exhausted on the defensive end or we will get cooked again and again. It was clear that they attacked him after every possession where he really exerted himself, and it was very effective. We gotta figure out an offensive/defensive balance to get decent energy from Harden defensively, which we know he is capable of. I think maybe we need CP3 to orchestrate the offense more often even with Harden on the court, he can run some sets and give Harden some time to rest. Paul only had 3 assists, which was a career low for him, I think that needs to change.
So Which one was Harden guarding . .. Klay or KD? Wait .. i don't think anyone was guarding Klay so Harden gave up 37 to KD? HARDEN'S RESPONSIBILITIES - SCORE 41, SHUT DOWN KD *AND* KLAY, COMMIT NO TURNOVERS, and WIN THE GAME . . . . .. anything else we want to put on his plate? Should he serve the hot dogs too? Rocket River
Criticizing the guy who basically dragged the carcasses of his teammates offensively is a bad look. To imply that his EFFORT wasn't there is downright shitty. You know what would be nice? Being able to rely on your 3 & D guys to actually hit some 3's and play some D. Curry has KD and Klay to help pick him up......who does Harden have? Even CP3 looked shook for the majority of the game. Harden's defense is simply nowhere near the top of our issues right now.
yep ariza, ego, gg didnt contribute on both offense and defense that's the concern http://stats.nba.com/players/defens...ateFrom=05/14/2018&sort=DEF_RIM_FG_PCT&dir=-1 if the whole team is not defending then its about their defensive philosophy and strategy harden can neutralize KDs production but can the rest neutralize gsw's remaining player's production?
