Portland forcing Harden to his right: Where is the coaching adjustment?

That isn't entirely true. They are most definitely trying to deny him the ball like you said in order to sap his energy and then when he gets it they sit on his left hand and force him right. He gets into dribbling machine mode because he is trying frantically to get back to his left. When he concededs and just goes right, they already have a help defender rotated over to him that has been waiting for him the whole time. They are paying a lot of attention to where James is. A lot. How does the saying go? You kill the head...well in this case you kill the beard. They are playing this perfectly by forcing him to go to his weak hand and also running him right into the teeth of a double team. That said it is up to him and others to make them pay for this strategy. Now who normally devises ways to beat certain defenses some may ask? I think this question doesn't require an answer because its so obvious. The players need the blueprint and then it is up to them at that point to execute it.