Why the Lawson Experiment Failed and What Kind of Player We Need Next to Harden

harden makes it easy to build your backcourt, and he is a good enough passer and decision maker to get away with him being the point guard. but using him there means we need to have a really good backup PG who can change the pace, run the offense and play some serious D.

harden needs (next to him in the backcourt): the best available player, PG or SG that can SHOOT the rock from downtown.

 

Seriously the problem was not Harden. The problem was Lawson. He was in decline in Denver and it's just continued.

He's not the same player he was. And he's showing in Indiana that he is nothing more than a scrub off the bench.

 

If you're using Michael Jordan as a comparison to Harden to insinuate that we don't need a good defensive PG and only a good 3 pt shooter, you're mistaken. MJ was one of the greatest defensive players ever, as were Pippen and Rodman. Harden...well I think we know that story.

 

Seems to me like Beverley is pretty much the perfect guy to have

 

Kinda ironic, but true.

 

But but but ......he can't shoot and he is a ball dominant guard. Point blank you take a chance on Lawson but not rondo

 

I think you mean Ron Harper. Derek never played for the Bulls, but your point remains valid. Ron was a great scorer before he got to Chicago, but when he signed on the season Jordan was out playing baseball, he turned into an above average defender as well.

 

Hey......rox4lyf beat me to it Dada. What is going on with you anyways? Pippen/Jordan probably the top 1 and 2 perimeter defenders of all-time. And Yeah, they had a spot-up shooting 1 that wasn't a great defender....because they didn't need a great defender at the 1. They had ace defenders at 2 and 3.

Not only that but their offensive point was Pippen and later on it became Kukoc. They had a primary passer/defender playing next to Jordan in Pippen, whose job was not to score but to facilitate the offense and D up.

Sorry. The problem was here before Lawson got here. What we found out was Lawson wasn't the answer to the already existing problem of Harden's one-dimensional offensive play.


What we need at the 1 are these attributes:

1. Ace defender
2. an offensive point that can run the offense and move Harden off the ball.

You got Harden and Ariza as your two perimeter shooters among the starters. We spot up Bev simply because Bev can't make plays. But Harden is by far the superior spot up shooter and creater on the dribble if the D runs hard at him. We need Harden in that role, where he can be spoon-fed the basketball and average about 34 a game while cutting down his turnovers drastically.

And we need a true point guard that can facilitate both Harden and our big men, whom Harden CANNOT find at an efficient enough rate, but instead Harden relies on throw-outs to our perimeter spot up guys that aren't that great of shooters...while the opponent knows exactly what is coming at them every play.

 

I say the best type of player next to Harden would be a combo guard. He needs to be able to bring the ball up the court against pressure, but he needs to have to skills to play off the ball when the offense goes through Harden.