Not saying i agree with them but i think they are banking on the exprience from the Okc/Rockets games, that you double Harden not because you are not scared about the other guys but he clearly dont like the pressure and is prone to turnovers/bad decisions/standing at half court which essentialy takes him out of the game. Obviously its different when KD has the ball instead of McLemore im just saying what Bucks reasoning was behind those doubles
Well we can root for both. Different conferences and different expectations. I love James Harden and he needs a ring. I don't care guys like Barkley and Malone never won but basketball needs Harden to fulfill his legacy. He plays a beautiful game. Like a basketball savant.
so you're saying double and triple teaming only has an effect on harden that's why opposing teams do it?
I am saying he is one of the baddest superstars in responding to active physical pressure through 48 minutes so it's tempting for teams to use it. For example I am sure if it was LeBron triple teamed every play then his teammates would get bunnies every time, meanwhile Rockets were defeated every playoffs with this tactic(no matter what roster) and same goes for OKC finals vs Miami where they applied it and stopped OKC. But I guess it's height/physique thing, where Bron sees over the top and makes easy on point passes James has to grind it out
It really doesn't matter what the rational is. With other threats on the courts, they won't be able to do it and Harden will be as efficient as ever. All he has to do get rid of the ball a little earlier to Durant, Kyrie or Harris.
Does it matter why they do it? It won't be effective at all now with his current teammates. All they have to do is camp Jordan that the rim, and spread the other 3 out. You aren't going to double off of Durant or Kyrie, and god bless you if you leave Harris wide open.
Doubling Harden in the past gets the ball out of his hands and into the hands of a substantially inferior player. Why not do it? There was not a lot of downside in it. Doubling Harden now is still a sound strategy because he creates absolute havoc on defenses when left to dribble up with minimal pressure and get comfortable. Holiday picked him up on the inbound and pressured him 94 feet most of the night and it didn't really bother him much, but they did get into their sets a little slower. This is a strategy that has slowed the Rockets in the past because he is the offense and he had to work so hard against elite defenders just getting the ball up the floor. The problem for opposing teams now will be that he isn't giving up the ball to Eric Gordon, Westbrook, Tucker, etc...he is giving up the ball to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. I feel like pressuring him full court and doubling him so far away from the basket is not going to be nearly as effective of a strategy anymore because you're putting your team in 4 on 3 situations with three elite shooters when you factor in Harris and two elite playmakers. Yeah it gets the ball out of his hands, but it will be interesting to see at what cost. Also Kyrie can advance the ball now and you can screen a guy like Holiday off of Harden once you come down the court. BKN is scary on offense.
Let me highlight something for everyone. Out of all the players on the Nets that gets over 20 minutes a game, Harden is the worst 3 point shooter. The second worst is Luwawu-Cabarrot at 36.5 percent and Harris, the best shooter, being over 50 percent from behind the arc. If that doesn't scare you as an opposing team, I don't know what will.
I was thinking about this yesterday. Harden is percentage wise, one of the worst 3 point shooters on the team out of the guys that play lol. And if you just discard percentages because of the degree of difficulty and the sheer volume that he shoots them, I don't think you can make a case for him being any better than the 4th best shooter on the team! I'm taking Harris, Irving, and Durant as better pure shooters. Harden just has a complete package of offensive tools and playmaking that make him the force that he is. It is the combination of shooting, ball handling, attacking the basket, pick and roll play, and passing that makes him such an overall weapon.
so who was he guarding? he was glued to his man or was he playing harden's passing lanes and ready to help on harden?
LOL. What is your point? My point was that Durant was underrated defensively to which Daywalker replied. I'm not even talking about the gravity that Harden plays with but Durant being underrated defensively. Clearly Daywalker thinks because Durant missed a play he isn't underrrated while I quipped Giannis wasn't even defending the best opposing players. I don't think this conversation is about what you think it is.
