Harden needs to learn how to play defense before being a leader. No leader plays such a lazy defense like him.
I'm going to be a spoilsport here but I'm not convinced that Harden-Howard are a legitimate core for a championship-level team. I can't think of any other superstar combo that had such major holes in their games and still won a title. Howard's problem is his offensive game. He made real improvement in his post game but I don't think he'll ever be a consistent offensive force. Even in the game where he took it to Sideshow Bob, he could only sustain that intensity for about a quarter. Furthermore, he doesn't have the post passing skills to keep the offense flowing if he faces a double team. Finally, his FT woes almost completely negate his physical dominance. Teams can just foul him, and given the lack of centers who carry their teams' offense, it doesn't really matter if the opposing center is in foul trouble. But I feel Harden is the real issue. He is a gifted offensive player, but defensively he's a zero. We saw that Portland actually ran plays for their 4th option Wesley Matthews to take advantage of Harden, and it worked - Harden was practically a non-factor for most of the series. Also, so much of his offensive game is predicated on drawing fouls, which simply won't be called during the playoffs. Finally, he's shown very little interest in playing off the ball and fitting into an offensive scheme other than ISO-ball. Can a team win with a player that tunes out when he doesn't have the ball? Some people have claimed Harden is the PG of the Rockets, but his alleged PG skills are pretty poor. His passes are usually sloppy and poorly timed, and he's never shown an ability to set up an offensive set. He can handle the ball well and he can pass off the pick and roll, but that does not make him a PG. Maybe these things could be corrected with a better coach but I'm not so sure. Harden's lack of motor and defensive apathy aren't the fault of poor coaching - they're a reflection of his attitude which is not likely to change much. I can't think of any top tier player who was a terrible defender but later developed into a good one. During the playoffs, I said that Harden was fools gold and I still feel that way. And I suspect that some of Morey's failure to attract a top tier FA this summer is largely due to Hardens terrible performance during the playoffs and his reputation as one of the worst defenders in the league. If I were looking to join a winning team, I would have real doubts that Harden can step up his game. He'll almost always be able to get his points, but he won't do much else. The one argument I can somewhat buy is that Harden plays too many minutes which makes him too tired to play defense. But if that's the case - if he isn't a guy like Iverson who can go for 48 minutes and never wear down - doesn't that suggest that what the Rockets need is depth instead of a 3rd star. If all of our cap is taken up on 4 players (as was the plan with adding Bosh), can we still build a bench adequate enough to spell Harden and allow him the spare energy to make an effort on D? Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but our so-called superstar core has a lot of "ifs" to overcome in order to win a championship.
