Before the euphoria of a championship, before bonding with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to restore Celtics glory, before all the joy and pride and fulfillment, Ray Allen felt something else back in 2007. Something sharp, stinging. Frustration. Discomfort. Maybe even doubt. Allen was 32, a seven-time All-Star and already one of the greatest shooters of all time. He’d been a franchise centerpiece in Milwaukee and Seattle, the leading scorer on nearly every team he’d ever played for. When Allen took the court, he did so with the gravitas and credibility of a made man. Yet here was Celtics coach Doc Rivers, screaming at Allen—excoriating him —for doing what he did best: shooting a three-pointer. Sure, it was early in the shot clock, and a deep, pull-up jumper was perhaps not ideal. But, well, this was practice. And, well, he was Ray Allen. No matter. Rivers unloaded. Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images “Doc is screaming my head off,” Allen recalls, “telling me that my first look is always on the post, always down low.” Always Garnett, that is. But until Allen’s trade to Boston that summer, he had never played with an elite post player. And he’d always had the freedom to shoot his way into a rhythm. Now Rivers was demanding that Allen break habits he’d built over 11 seasons. Forget the pull-up three. Feed the post.
it was extremely frustrating,” Allen says, “because I had to readjust to how I thought about offense, and how much about my offense, to play the game.” You already know how this story ends—with champagne and cigars and Garnett’s bellowing “Anything is possible!!!” into the Garden rafters. And you know how they got there, with Allen, Pierce and Garnett each giving up something precious—touches, shots, stats, control, status—to forge themselves into something greater. Each man sacrificed some part of his game, because they all saw what they could accomplish together. It was a difficult but logical trade-off. Each had achieved individual glory—All-Star Games and All-NBA awards and max contracts—but none had won the ultimate prize, or even made the Finals. As early thirtysomethings, they were at the right age to recalibrate: old enough to sense their athletic mortality, young enough to still dominate, wise enough to understand the virtues of sacrifice. Which, in the context of the current NBA season, begs a logical question: Is James Harden there yet?
Harden did scale back quite a bit second half of last season to accommodate Westbrook. The problem is that Harden sacrificing on offense shouldn't simply be him receding to the background. I wish he'd try to do a bit more off the ball.
The disgruntled Rockets star turned 31 in August, suffered another playoff flameout in September and issued a trade demand in November. As of today, he remains a (presumably still-disgruntled) Rocket, while team officials strain to extract fair value from a cautious NBA marketplace. Since the moment Harden’s demand became public, we’ve obsessed over potential destinations: Brooklyn? Miami? Philadelphia? Milwaukee? Portland? But the most critical question isn’t “Where will Harden land?” but rather, “What he’s willing to do when he gets there?” If Harden gets to Brooklyn, reportedly his top preference, would he give up shots and some control to mesh with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, two of the league’s most dominant scorers? If it’s Milwaukee, would Harden be comfortable playing off two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who controls every aspect of the Bucks’ offense, and whose usage rate last season (37.5) was even higher than Harden’s (36.3)? If it’s Miami, would Harden bend to the discipline and structure of #HeatCulture and an offense that thrives on beautiful ball movement? If it’s Philadelphia (and presuming Ben Simmons is sent to Houston), would Harden feed franchise savior Joel Embiid enough to keep him happy? Or reduce him to a glorified screener? Can Harden, one of the most ball-dominant players in NBA history, scale back, adapt, compromise, evolve? Does he even want to? As ESPN analyst Jalen Rose recently put it, Harden’s game is “an acquired taste,” whose style doesn’t easily mesh with that of other stars. Cameron Browne/NBAE/Getty Images What does Harden want? It’s not altogether clear, because he has not publicly explained his trade demand. The presumption is he wants to win a championship and has lost faith in the Rockets’ ability to get him there. But is that truly his goal? And is he willing to make any concessions to achieve it? For eight-plus seasons in Houston, Harden has enjoyed absolute control on the court and, well, “Whatever James wants” off it. He did not bend for Dwight Howard, or for his erstwhile buddy Chris Paul, or for his childhood bestie Russell Westbrook. When the Rockets hired Mike D’Antoni—who gained fame with a ball-sharing offense that is the antithesis of Harden’s iso-ball domineering—it was the coach, not the player, who compromised.
For eight years, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey made every trade, signing and draft pick with Harden in mind, massaging and sometimes contorting the roster to maximize his franchise star (and keep him happy). On balance, it worked out pretty well. The Rockets had the league’s third-best record (behind Golden State and San Antonio) over that eight-year span, made the playoffs every season and advanced to the Western Conference finals twice. In that time, Harden has registered three scoring titles, seven All-NBA Awards, an MVP trophy... and zero Finals appearances. He is one of the greatest scorers of all time and still one of the most feared players in the game. But that greatness does come with caveats and concerns. Harden leads the league in usage (the percentage of team possessions used) over the last five years, and his ball dominance only increased when he was paired with another All-Star guard, first Paul (in 2017), then Westbrook (in 2019). Harden’s usage rate from 2017–18 through last season is an eye-popping 37.7—a full four points higher than the next batch of players (Antetokounmpo, Westbrook, Luka Dončić and Joel Embiid). Usage rate is an imperfect measure of ball dominance, or success. But it’s worth noting that no NBA player has posted a regular-season usage rate over 35 and won a title the same season. (Only one even made the Finals: Allen Iverson in 2000–01.) It’s perhaps reductive to say Harden’s hyperdominance has held the Rockets back. They might well have won a title in 2018, if not for Paul’s hamstring injury in the conference finals. They might have won multiple titles if not for a salary-cap fluke that allowed the Warriors to sign Durant. But these counterfactuals ignore Harden’s role in the Rockets’ postseason failures. He’s dominated the offense, but often misfired in big moments. Whether that’s due to fatigue, predictability or defenses keying in on him, it points to the same issue: An offense tailored to a single individual has little room for error. Steph Chambers/Getty Images To win a championship, Harden probably has to sacrifice a bit—and there’s considerable skepticism around the league that he’s willing. “I don’t think he is,” says a veteran executive with an Eastern Conference team. “James is like Allen Iverson: He wants to win his way and put up historical numbers while he’s winning. I would never question their desire to win, but they all want to win on their terms.” A Western Conference exec echoed those doubts, saying, “It’s hard for me to envision him playing any other way,” although he added, “I’m not sure if that’s him or the Rockets” insisting on that style.
Harden’s advocates point to his Sixth Man of the Year award as proof of his selflessness and adaptability. But that honor came in 2011–12, when Harden was a 22-year-old reserve for an Oklahoma City team led by Durant and Westbrook. When you’ve been a franchise star and a perennial MVP candidate, it’s hard to take a step back. Scott Pera, who coached Harden in high school and remains close to him, says the Rockets’ star absolutely wants to win a championship. “He wants to win,” says Pera, now the coach at Rice. “People can say whatever they want. That, I know.” What’s Harden willing to do to achieve it? What’s he willing to sacrifice? How many shots? How much control? Would he play off the ball? Those questions are more difficult to answer. “There’s just only so many guys in the history of the league who can do what he does,” Pera says. “So it’s an interesting question. It all comes back, though, to the same thing: I believe winning is the central focus for him. If that’s true, as I believe it is, then he will do what it takes for that to occur.”
Like what exactly. I posted this in another thread but I went back and watched some Luka highlights from last few games to seeing if he's doing anything different when he's not handling the ball. He's pretty much either in the left corner or way, way up top in the far out Harden spot (aside from called plays or give & go or whatever). I just skimmed 2 games worth of highlights so maybe I'm wrong though
Luka's position is a little different, because he is the one true PG on that team. Harden is sharing backcourt duties with John Wall, and previously Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul. So, Harden's offense should, ideally, have more of an off-guard look. He shouldn't have to create every single basket for himself while sharing the floor with John Wall. Does this make our offense more efficient? Short term, perhaps not. But I think this is the best way forward to keep his teammates happy during the season (if we decide to hold on to Harden this year, against his wishes) and maximize our options against prepared defenses in the playoffs.
Everyday I get reminded that you don't need to be knowledgeable in order to be a professional sports writer or even an 'executive'.
Hmmm I agree with this sentiment for Chris Paul(although Paul was not backing up this talk in the PO in 2018). I have yet to see any ANY evidence that giving the ball to Westbrook more did anything but hurt us long term and short term. Giving it more to Wall......well, we'll see. Its likely you saw what happend last night because Harden didnt trust Wall. If you want Harden to do these things, these guys have to show they can stand on their own two feet. You cant make it feel like he has to come in and "save" them.
We'll see. But, again, give it more to Wall doesn't mean hand it to him and stand like a statue 30 feet from the basket. Harden should still be the number 1 option. I'd just like him to score more in an offensive flow that involves other players. I'm not optimistic this will happen -- Harden is unlikely to change how he plays at this stage unless he's thrust into a new environment (i.e. a different team with their own alpha players) where he is forced to do so.
Well aside from last game, he has been doing it. We'll see what happens but im not sure how much Harden off ball really helps in our situations if the dudes who are handling the ball cant produce efficient offense.
