Nawwwwwwww, atleast not to our knowledge. He just said it's a sore foot. There was some pregame interviews about two weeks ago where McHale and he talked about how it was bothering him a little. I don't remember exactly what happened, but around a month ago something happened to his foot. I think it was the GSW game. It's been bothering him ever since. It might have been getting worse or they simply decided to rest him now since the playoffs are coming.
I think that's really just seeing things you want to see... Facts are facts. "Visually", I "see" him getting to the line an average of 10 times a game. I'll maybe give you that he's not looking as explosive as earlier on, but that's clearly due to general soreness (why he sat out), but his play style is literally no different at all. I seriously just don't see how somebody can say he's just looking drastically different from before when the stats are the same, the win/loss record is about the same, the FT's are the same, and his shot selection is the same.
Given the minutes hes been playing I am surprised its only happened now. Wonder if they are going to shut him down for the Orlando game as well.
If he keeps playing on it and something happens it can get worse. He obviously can't play so many minutes.
I can say it because his game does look different, because I look at the games. Do you? I'm sorry, but the quote above reeks of someone who watches box scores instead of games. I've watched every single rockets game this year and watch almost every key play multiple times in slow mo. Harden's game has not been the same since the ankle sprain/banged knee after the all star break. This is most obvious when he goes ISO, and I mean ISO with no pick of any kind, like spread four or flat four. In these situations he almost never drives to the basket. It's kind of shocking, actually, how rarely he does it. He either hoists the 3 or waits for the defense to collapse a little and passes to another guy on the wing for the three. Think about it- in the last month, how many times has he passed from the top of the key to either Parsons or Delfino with 2-3 seconds left on the clock, and the 3 was contested? That almost never happened before the break. Oh, he would certainly pass out of the ISO with four seconds left to Delfino before January, but that three would be wide open because the opp team would send another wing defender to attempt a trap or soft double. They don't have to now- why? Because Harden in the last two months can't juke his man in isolation. Oh, he still scores and gets his FTs, for sure. But when he drives to the basket it's off the high pick, usually Asik- not ISO. Or when he's running the break, and has already accelerated full steam ahead. In the last week or two he has even flashed the crossover step-back jumper, a good sign. He'll still get to the line a lot off the pick and roll, and when driving off the break after a turnover or rebound. But he simply doesn't have that crazy lateral movement like in the first half of the season December. The reason his euro step is so impossible to stop is because he can actually change lateral direction radically even when running forward at full steam. Watch other players attempt the same move and you'll gain appreciation for it. Some dudes can do this and others can't. When fully healthy, Harden's ability to juke laterally and accelerate on the first step is ridiculous. He makes all defenders look silly and was unguardable one on one. Now even average defenders are staying in front of him in ISO. Watch him try to juke his man one on one. Hell, watch him do his euro step on the break. It's not the same. The lateral quickness is not the same. The bad news is, why does he still call for ISO when everybody knows he's going to settle for the long jumper, pass, or at best do the crossover step back? He should only do high pick and rolls until his foot is better. He should know better. The good news is, we're still winning at the same pace regardless. If we make the playoffs and his foot gets close to 100%, watch out.
Actually, I forgot to mention the ISO with Harden's post up on the wing. That's different. He has had more success with that position than when isolated at the top. It is interesting to note that the Harden post-up was incorporated into our repertoire after he hurt his foot. My theory is that he feels more comfortable making his move with his back to the basket than facing up from up high, because of the sore foot. Just speculation.
I notice the same. He's also not finishing around the rim as good as he did at the beginning of the season. Could be a mixture of bumps and bruises and fatigue. I hope this off season he works off some of that baby fat he's carrying around so he can be better conditioned to handle his extremely high work load. But I also think in reference to your observations it has something to do with the opposing defenses as well. Pack the paint and cover the passing lanes and dare other Rockets players to knock down 3's since they use the outside shot to create spacing but have no dangerous consistent outside shooter which makes it harder for Harden (and Lin) to operate.
