I really hope it is his back that's been causing his game to vanish over the last month. He was terrific in those B2B wins over the Spurs and Mavs.
http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/85667/james-harden-struggles-mightily-vs-pacers-2 Friday night at 9:30 ET on ESPN the Pacers will be in Houston to face the Rockets. Houston is 0-3 against Indiana since James Harden arrived in Houston last season. The biggest reason for the Rockets goose egg is how Indiana has bottled up Harden. Harden is averaging just 17.0 points on 24.6 percent shooting in three games against the Pacers over that span (tied for his lowest scoring average against any team – Clippers). Harden totaled just 12 points on 3-of-14 shooting in the only meeting between these teams this season back on December 20th in Indiana. Paul George suffocating defense Paul George has guarded Harden on over 60 percent of his shot attempts in those three games. Harden is 9-of-35 shooting (26 percent) against George, and six of those makes have come with the help of a screen as the pick-and-roll ball handler. Roy Hibbert protecting the rim Harden is scoring just 3.3 paint points per game against the Pacers, compared with 8.5 against all other teams. He’s shooting 5-of-19 inside the paint against Indiana. The defensive presence of Roy Hibbert is one reason why Harden can’t convert in the paint. His average shot distance (15 feet, six inches) is also two feet further out against the Pacers compared with other teams. According to player track data on NBA.com, opponents are shooting 41.7 percent at the rim when Hibbert is on the court. That mark is best among the 57 players whose opponents record at least 5 field goal attempts per game at the rim. Pacers transition defense Harden has led the NBA in transition points in each of the last two seasons, averaging 7.2 transition points per game. The Pacers have allowed the fewest transition points per game in the NBA over that span, and have not let Harden get going with easy baskets. He’s averaging 3.3 transition points per game against the Pacers, on 4-of-11 shooting in three games.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Pacers&src=hash">#Pacers</a> Paul George finished shoot around then strapped ice bag to his back. Says it's still stiff with no change from Cha but is playing</p>— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) <a href="https://twitter.com/CandaceDBuckner/statuses/442021338400579584">March 7, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I get the same feeling with the Pacers as I did with the Clippers, as in I feel like we should beat them, but the matchup just isn't right and I think they're gonna grind us down tonight. Hope I'm wrong!! would love a pacer beatdown!
first attendance of the season, really psyched to be at TC I wont be the only one cheering in the room
Vegas has kinda soured on Indiana by making them a 3.5 pt underdog. Miami had two shots to tie or take over first place and missed their chance by losing to Houston and SA (the Spurs looked really good btw). I think Indiana has a bounce back game and wins tonight.
Today's rules actually reward skill, not the 'art' of grabbing, holding and hitting the opponent for 48 minutes. It's a better game today than it was in the 90s (and I was a Knicks fan back then, the team that was the most physical in the league). In the 90's, Patrick Beverley would've been allowed to mug and shut down players like Curry and Dragic. Under today's rules, they hit more than 50% of their shots against him and Beverley racks up 4-6 fouls. That's how it should be. People pay and tune in to see talent like Steph Curry.
