Hey guys, been lurking for quite a long time, but joined because no one has really mentioned this and I'd like to get your opinions. Harden's been in a lot of iso plays the last 3 games, which I assume is because he's new and McHale hasn't been able to set plays with the guys as a group, so it's an easy play to run, I suppose. But Harden will get cold sometimes (as evidenced by the last iso play before OT against the blazers), with the upcoming break will we see less iso's throughout the season? I'm asking, because McHale doesn't seem like a great coach and it's easy to just defer responsibility on the team superstar and listening to the postgame interview with McHale he pretty much said with the game on the line you give the ball to the best player and hope for the best, which to me says he'll run isos a lot. I don't think this is good for the team - what do you guys think?
Just normal way, i believe at harden and lin decision, Let the game flow, when Harden get doubled , give to lin, same as lin to Harden, they both can handle ball very well
I'm guessing that when all is said and done that Harden will be doing fewer ISO plays. Essentially, Harden will get his ISO's, but as defenses key in on him, the better shots will come from kicking the ball out to players that are not under severe pressure. Heavily contested shots are nearly always the lowest percentage shots, and one thing about Harden is he's an incredibly efficient player. He generally will avoid taking heavily contested shots unless he feels backed into a corner (shot clock). So, as the offense gets more in sync, the natural flow of the game will have times when Defenses have to respect Lin and other shooters and he'll have the opportunity to ISO or open lanes, and times when Harden will recieve alot of defensive attention and it will make sense for him to pass the rock. In other words, expect him to get the ball passing through his hands, but don't expect it to consistently result in an ISO attempt to score. It will range tremendously depending on the defending team make up.
I think he should facilitate most of the offense.. whether that be in isolation or off a pick and roll i don't mind. Harden has the ability to take his man at any time and can pass well in traffic, so i feel we don't necessarily have to run him in isolation for him to be effective. Saying that he's a beautiful player to watch.. selfishly i'd like to see him in iso just to showcase his skills
If he can continue to be unstoppable I don't see why not?? If he plays like he did against the Blazers, LESS Please!!!!
I agree with Lorenzo, however I'll break it down further. It really depends on the situation and how the game is going so far. If Harden has had the hot hand the whole game and the team has a weak permeter defense, then run an ISO for him on the last play. If he's played well throughout the game but the defense is good, or at least CAN be good, then maybe run a the play through him but do a P&R or something. If he's having a sore shooting night or is just flat out tired, have Lin run the P&R with Asik. Good coaching depends on situational decisions. You can't just have a one size fits all play when the game is on the line. Ultimately, I actually feel more comfortable with Lin running the lasat play with the game tied. Sure Harden is a better player and he sure can hit clutch shots better than Lin, but I feel there are more options on the court with lin driving into the lane. First of all, I'd prefer the ball getting kicked out to Harden rather than the other way around where the kick out would go to Lin instead. Having solid 3pt shooters on the floor would be great (which is not many with our team). Delfino is a must in crunch time if you are to run a play through Lin. Maybe Mook and Patterson too? They have shown they can hit some hot 3's in the first 3 games. And D Cook has been a solid 3pt shooter with the Thunder in the past. At the end of the day it's up to either Lin or Harden to draw the double, but I'd prefer Lin as i think Harden is more lethal without the ball.
Mchale's said he was going to keep it simple. Motha****a wasn't lying. Morey said Parsons at pf would kill. Yeah in 2k.
Less. Harden excels in pick&rolls, not ISOs. If you want to change it up some, run the pick&rolls from a different angle, off a different motion or with a different screen-setter (e.g. Morris).
As a fan, iso is as exciting as watching paint dry but if it helps win games then it is a necessary evil. Harden draws a lot of fouls off the drive and is almost unstoppable man to man.
Lol, yeah. I know he said he didn't want to burn out all the rookies with too many complex NBA plays, so is this type of stuff lots of isos and PnRs what we should be expecting from the team for the season? PnRs are definitely one of our strong points, but this sort of play seems sort of limiting...
As for now, we don't have any plays for him besides ISO and PnR. More or Less ISO depends on if we can find other more successful plays for him. Right now, the plays are just too simple, too predictable. I think as the season develop, they will discover more and more how best to utilize Harden, as well as Lin. well, I hope...
You guys do know that iso is the easiest play to run when the key person in your offense doesn't know the team's plays because he was traded to the team less than a week before the season started, right? It will naturally go down ... Not because of what you want ... But due to practice time ...
In the Portland game, especially at the end, he just slowly walked up court and wait for Lin to pass him the ball, and then jacked up a brick. Maybe it's just me. But it reminded me a little bit of T-Mac of old... I definitely want to see less of that. I'll chalk it up as him being totally exhausted. So I'll reserve my judgement until I see more of him.
THIS. He will start learning plays in no time. But, of course Harden is the number 1 scoring option on this team. He has some of the best handles in the league and can get to the basket at will. Lin is good and everything but he's the point guard so he already has the ball pretty much every play if that's what you're trying to say. Lin should and I think prefers to be the facilitator, dishing out the assists and keeping his hands active on defense. When he has a wide open shot, or an open lane to drive down, nobody has a problem with him doing what he needs to do. Other than that, Harden is a great player to have on this team, him being our #1 scoring option, you can bet that he'll get double teamed and that just makes things better because that leaves one of our other players whether that be Pat Pat or whoever might be in at the time to score an easy bucket. I just wish Pat would go in for a strong dunk more often like he used to.
