In celebration of my privilege to start a thread ( Thank You Clutch ), I would like to get some insights on your take on Lin, Harden and our Team defense. Before anyone will accuse me of creating a rift here, hear my reasoning first..We are in a play-off contention and opposing teams are gearing their defenses to both our guards to limit our play.and in effect, we should also retaliate with the same Hard Defense that they throw against us..and people needs to realize that when opponents shut down either Lin or Harden, we are doomed.... Out of our starting 5 , our 2 and 4 positions makes the most hole in our Defensive play.. 1. PG, Lin : he can mostly hold his own against elite opponent guards in 1on1..he do have troubles against small and quicker guards...Lin's problem in the defensive end is his habit of over-helping too much and ball watching..he never closes on his man because he was anticipating for the ball movement which sometimes causes him to loss his man and running hard to recover resulting to some stupid fouls in the process ( acceleration-momentum thing )..but if he dedicates himself into it, you'll see why he was #19 in the DPOY unofficial list of candidates.. 2. SG , Harden : The first time I saw Harden made an effort at the defensive end was their last game against Warriors..Apart form those, I really can't remember any game where his Defense stuck on my mind..He also has a habit of ball watching like Lin..and their unintentional rotations because of this sometimes causes defensive breakdown on our part.. 3. SF, Parsons : Parson is the type of player that you won't notice until he scores a bunch... but his Perimeter Defense is Solid..and he rotates well when needed....so far, out of those 5, he was the only player that could balance his Offense and defense well.. 4. PF, Delfino /DMo : I won't elaborate because nothing can be said. Any of our current player we put here is no match against the opponents...Either they are too raw or is out of their usual position... 5. C, Asik : nothing can be asked more from him...he's both our anchor and our shield... That being said, aside from getting a capable and legit PF, what would you prefer Harden do with regards to his defense or lack thereof; 1. Concentrate on O and let the other takes care of the team defense 2. Make an effort on D and let his O suffer ( because more or less he'll be exhausted ) So far I haven't seen Harden with a balance O and D yet so I can't provide a third option. But in case someone remember if he did it before and the result thereof, feel free to enlighten us....
Despite your intentions, this is a rift making thread. I feel like explaining why this is a rift making thread will only make the rift larger, so I'll stop here.
I think Harden should focus on his defense and let others take a bigger role on offense. Actually, I can think of one player that would naturally benefit from Harden taking a reduced role on offense to focus on defense. But my main point is the legit "superstars" in this league all have average defense, most have elite defense.
I know that's why I was second guessing in posting this...but anyway, I am just curious because I saw the stark contrast in how he plays...before I was wondering if what will happen if Harden make an effort on D, and then I saw that effort last time when they played against GSW..it was brutal but I believe if he learns to balance the 2, he'll be a legit "superstar" in the league... There are advantages and disadvantages..I just hope that we have a solid and lock down defender so this scenario will not be a problem for them...If they can't get it during the off-season, we will have problems next season...
I do too, his teammates are all unselfish..he shouldn't be worried about his offense because he already got skills comparable to the elite 5's..he'll get them because his team mates will give him the ball if the offense called for it..just learn how to be an average defender is what I'm asking from him...just protect the driving lane no matter what it takes... that being said, Lin also has to stop ball-watching and over-helping..and concentrate his energy on his man and on to the Offensive side..He is gassed most of the time from running all over the floor to cover his man... We have a win-win scenario if those 2 can balance their game...
The only way he might become a real superstar in future is improving his defense ability. He has to change his habit of ballwatching and cover his man. Lin need to be careful when he tries to help teammates' defense too much.
Harden's offense doesn't have to suffer. He's guarding the weakest perimeter player, generally. He just needs to be more focused. He loses his guy frequently due to ball-watching.
You know what I found interesting in this Suns game is that Harden and Lin switched on d and Harden played Dragic for a while and Lin was on the SG (was it Marshall?). It wasn't due to a pick switch because the Suns weren't running the 1 and 2 pick and role switch like Harden and Lin does. Anyway, it actually worked pretty well. Until the late fourth. I'm wondering if that might be an option. Let Harden play defense on the PG because he's better on the 1 on 1 defense and let Lin take the SG. Of course, Lin will have to be more careful about leaving his cover to help out a big but that's been a problem while he plays a PG anyway. But he has the height and speed to keep up with a SG.
actually now that i think about it didn't lin defend clay tompson for little bit too and i assume then harden was on curry.
Yes. In fact, the interesting thing about that is when Harden was guarding Curry and Lin was guarding Clay, Curry quickly passed the ball to Clay due to a "mismatch." Of course there is a size difference. But, I thought it was interesting that Clay's mismatch was greater than Harden on Curry. I think that Harden still has the reputation of having good defense when he needs to.
i think clay did get one post up shot on lin but he didn't dominate. But haven't we seen lin defend post up moves from kobe, dirk, and some other mismatches and he didn't fair so bad. not to say he can against a large SG, but it would be worth an experiment. no?
Hardens biggest problem is he leaves his man to often. Happen ytd a lot where it threw our center out leaving the 5 open.
Of course Clay's mismatch is greater on Lin cuz At 6'7" he's 4 inches taller. Harden being 6'5" is two inches taller than Curry. But Lin was guarding Curry most of the time in the last three matches, and Harden was on Clay.
it's pathetic and all three do the same. hey let me help out with this post player who doesn't even average 14 points a game, oooops shooter wide open..swissh.
Yep. All three are pretty good man defenders. The problem is they take unnecessary risks for steal, no discipline. Not only that but Beverly comes in and turns the risks volume to about 11. I'm just going to be straight and blame the coaching, because they are fine with these guys doing this and they are young players so when they do get a steal they think that's all that matters.
This is a run n gun team.. there is going to be no defense. They spend too much energy on offense to do the same on defense. As of right now, we are the the old Phoenix Suns.. who are the new old Rockets
as the team's leader, I see the whole team stepping up if he steps up... but at the same time don't want him injured especially since he's already playing heavy minutes.
Kendall Marshall is Phoenix's back up point guard and is quicker then Goran. When both are on the floor, Goran plays the SG role and Kendall is the PG. So Houston was matched up correctly. You'll see Parsons guard the opposing PG more then you will Harden.
