Well that's good to know... Because if he was paid for playing D he'd be posting right here posting on clutch fans with me
just curious if Harden played D to your satisfaction last year, what would the rockets record would have been and what's the farthest could they have reached in the playoffs best case scenario?
Not excusing Harden's AWFUL defense, but I think Dwight quitting on the team, because he wasn't getting the ball exactly the way he liked it, impacted the team more than Harden's matador defense. Not sure where the Rockets would be if Dwight was actually trying but it would be higher than the 8th seed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Someone looks in shape <a href="https://t.co/KGceH7zeYu">pic.twitter.com/KGceH7zeYu</a></p>— Rockets Insider (@Rockets_Insider) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rockets_Insider/status/754806983656476672">July 17, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
if you're an NBA player all of these leagues regardless of what/where they are basically pickup games to them.
It is good that Harden is not letting himself get too rusty or out of shape this off-season. Hopefully that translates to him getting off to a good start to begin the season.
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:28.125% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJEEvpfjU-r/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">@jharden13 is back and on the floor for the defending champs LAUNFD in round 1 of the playoffs. Here's a look at what he did at #thedrew earlier this season. If you can't make it out to Southwest College to see round 1 of #thedrew playoffs today, follow us on Snapchat and Twitter for real-time updates. TheDrewLeague @drewleague</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A video posted by Drew League (@drewleague) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-08-13T21:17:13+00:00">Aug 13, 2016 at 2:17pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wOzaM-xw-f0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">#2 LAUNFD getting another huge game from <a href="https://twitter.com/JHarden13">@jharden13</a>, and they're up 54-38 at halftime vs. #6 Spirit!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/thedrew?src=hash">#thedrew</a><a href="https://t.co/MrCQerO2e8">https://t.co/MrCQerO2e8</a></p>— Drew League (@DrewLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewLeague/status/764934683255672832">August 14, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/JHarden13">@JHarden13</a> has a game-high 27 points... on only 7 shots!<br>6/6 threes, 1/2 twos, 10/10 FTs<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/thedrew?src=hash">#thedrew</a></p>— Drew League (@DrewLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewLeague/status/764935264053530624">August 14, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Man it's nice to see James getting that explosion back. Really showing off that athletism. He's actually a very good athlete I don't understand the notion that he's not athletic? His combine numbers coming out of college were very similar to wades. He just plays the game without have to showcase that ability but he did is more than capable. I'm hoping we see a lot of highlight dunks from James this year. All in all he looks really good and I expect him to have his best season yet and really start attracting elite players from around the league to come play in Houston.
His lateral movement isn't that great, but his downhill speed is scary for his size and build IMO. What really sets Harden apart is his strength and body control. He can just power through contact and maintain balance to get off a good shot.
"6/6 threes" tweet was deleted and updated later... <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/JHarden13">@JHarden13</a> had a game-high 27 points in 1st half... on only 7 shots!<br>5/6 threes, 1/2 twos, 10/10 FTs</p>— Drew League (@DrewLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewLeague/status/764944521335451648">August 14, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Player of the Game for LAUNFD: <a href="https://twitter.com/JHarden13">@JHarden13</a> (42 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/thedrew?src=hash">#thedrew</a></p>— Drew League (@DrewLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewLeague/status/764945197142642688">August 14, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>