I suggest you stay on the left side of the basket. Any maybe stay on your man on defense. In all seriousness, it's nice to see he's improved his mid-range game on one side of the basket, though it's still a relatively small sample size. Harden last year: Spoiler
I don't think people realize how mediocre he is athletically. His inability to stay with his man isn't just about him losing focus. He's an okay athlete but definitely isn't one of those guys who can jump out of the gym or run track. He relies heavily on his strength and bursts of aggression to get to the basket. He's not playing in slow motion -- that's his real-time speed.
His defense is the absolute worst. IMO the three things you need to be an adequate NBA defender - awareness, effort, and positioning. He fails at all three. Think of guys like Kirk Hinrich or George Hill. They aren't world beater athletes either, but they get it done defensively.
Wade has the same vertical and look what he can do on the court compared to harden . IMO harden closer to 30 inch vertical . Athletic ability is ALOT more than how high someone jumps. Look at Gerald green and compare him to lebron . Green jumps a lot higher than lbj but which one is breaking down the defense and making highlights with ease during games? Green has no quickness so his vert means nothing like hardens
Harden has plenty of quickness, he is one of the best players in the league at getting to the rim. You can't be as adept at getting to the rim as he is without being quick. The fact that you underrate Harden's quickness and speed to such a ridiculous extent leads me to believe you don't even watch the games.
Was Kevin Martin's D this glaringly bad? I know it was bad but I don't remember being so frustrated with him..maybe because he gave effort despite his lack of skill in that area?
Lack of skill or talent is a LOT more forgivable than lack of effort. Kevin Martin was never a lock down defender, but I don't recall him "mailing it in" as often as Harden does when it comes to staying at least Close to his man.
Maybe. Most of the Kevin Martin I've seen has been on OKC and the Timberwolves. He gets beaten a lot, but from the time I've seen him he actually does try. He gets into a defensive stance, he tries to contest (even though he's often late), and he tends to move his feet versus just swiping at the ball. Of course, he's not very quick and make some poor defensive decisions. It's possible that his defense was very different from his time in Houston.
Harden got caught in some tough matchups tonight because Parsons was out. Harden cannot guard Gordon Hayward 1 on 1. Hayward is 4 or 5 inches taller, a very good shooter, and able to take the ball to the hoop. With parsons playing, Harden would have been matched up with Jefferson, who he would have had a much better chance against. I honestly think Parsons might be the key to this team. He is an extremely versatile player with a high bball IQ (a la Robert Horry). We have to keep him somehow . . .
I believe Harden is using 80% of his energy/effort in offence and 20% of that in defence. this is what most amatuer guys do in playground basketball. In NBA, it just won't cut it. This is especially so for Harden, a player who isn't endowed with much defensive talents, hence, need to channel more energy into D to compensate for the weakness. Right now, his 'harlem globetrotters' D is hurting the team. He has to change his game and change fast. 60/40% will make him a more rounded player and earn him true respect.
