Gotta give props to Harden's improvement this season

Could just be his shot selection on the 3s has been terrible. He's taking very few of them off the catch, which hurts his percentage.

 

The excuses made for Lin in the shooting regard is ridiculous. He's still got suspect handles every now and then that negate his very good play making ability and current defense. To be all around good 1 you have to be able to shoot it no matter if it's on the move or spotting up.

 

He got off to a slow start shooting the 3Ball last year, and nailed over 40% in the 2nd half. That was without a foot ailment. He'll have a couple 5-7, 6-8 games from beyond the arc this year and the percentages will bounce back.

Harden's awesome, and takes entirely too much criticism from a segment of the 'fanbase' who are quick to rush to the defense of a certain league-average bench player on the roster.

 

Does anyone else notice that Harden falls for the pump fake 99% of the time on closeouts? And then he claps his hands to try to distract the shooter after he's completely out of the play?

 

honestly, to me, his biggest improvement is going hard to his right hand, before you could force him to pull for up a J when forced to his right...props, very very few players can drive and finish left as well as they do right

 

You would think he would know how to counter a pump fake since he probably does sometimes guard Parsons on defense during practices for nearly 2 season.

 

Yes I've noticed that. It's a problem a lot of Rockets have.

We lack basic fundamentals on defense.

 

Ur threads suck, just sayin

 

I agree, I'm seeing progress. Defensively and offensively.

 

I think this has a lot to do with some of his regressions (and improvements in defense). Let's trade Dwight while value is high. :grin:

I expect Harden to put up consistent defensive effort through the playoffs. As of this time of the season, it's acceptable to ease up on defense (as long as we're not struggling in terms of seeding).

 

I actually disagree. His mid-range pull up jumper is the most reliable end-game shot we have. If anything, it might be the only viable option the Rockets have when they need to control the clock. His 3 point shot is reliant on the defense, but that pull up J is always available when they run the pick and roll. Every defense has to give him that shot.

And I think Harden would make higher % of 3s if he had more discretion on them. That's a controllable factor.

 

GSW game isn't a case of him "wants to defend" but rather the Warriors had no clue what's the best way to attack Harden. The way to attack Harden is to get him moving. Run picks and screens, and he'll get lost. In the Warriors game, they tried to post up on him, which is the stupidest thing to do because Harden's one positive on defense is defending the post. No perimeter player can move him on the blocks, a reason why he's sometimes asked to guard ZBo or Ibaka.

But the Monta Ellis/JJ Redicks of the world will always kill him if used correctly.

 

Harden admitted that he came into the season not in top shape, and that nagging injuries have slowed him down. It's definitely showing if you ask me, even RAPM suggests he is no where near as good this season.

On another note, Harden seems to be much better at defending the 3 (and arguably the 4 lol) than the 2. Should we see Harden and Parsons switch defensive assignments more often?

 

I'm surprised anyone would disagree with that. If we only need two points then go for the mid-range, but in every other scenario 35%+ from 3 is better than 35-40% from mid-range and it's not even close.

 

The issue isn't where he takes the shot but how he takes the shot. Rather than an iso situation he should be using screens, multiple-screens, and if they double him then he should use his nifty pocket-pass to hit the roller and go from there. In other words, play normal Rockets basketball, any type of basketball is better than hero-ball.

 

Harden has been worse this year. I'm not sure if i can find stats that prove it because most of the overall statistics look similar. HE just hasn't been as aggressive. He is playing too much PG and not enough SG. Despite the fact that his usage rate has dropped, he tries to create way too many of our plays and isn't on the finishing end of enough. He needs more spot up 3's and more drives to the rack. The midrange 2 is nice , but he has always had the ability to hit it. Thats a shot you take when nothing else opens up, and for whatever reason James hasn't been trying to get something better as much this year.

I think the addition of Dwight has caused James to play differently. You can tell James tries to create shots for dwight instead of just shooting to the rack. The chemistry between those two hasn't evolves to the point where we are scoring as high of a percentage of points as James was able to when he drove last year. One would expect his assist numbers to be up, but maybe since teams foul dwight those assists arent showing. Either way i think James has been nicked up and a bit too passive. Hopefully he rounds into form as the season goes on, but there is definitely something about his changed playstyle that makes him less efficient and i hope he can fix it.

 

It's not rocket science. We added Dwight, and he is going to take some of the action (touches) away from Harden. James has adapted very well, I think, and he's still maintaining an All-Star level of play overall.

He's never been a bad defender, he's just a lazy defender. He can defend when he's motivated. He seems more motivated lately. Let's hope it sticks.

 

I am actually patiently waiting to see how Harden will develop into a superstar right before our own eyes...