The RIGHT way to guard James Harden

The Jazz are trying something radical on defense and this the most interesting thing we are witnessing in the 2018–2019 NBA Post Season.

The Utah Jazz game-plan is to push Harden to his (weaker) right hand and force him to dribble inside, while the rest of the team zones up behind. X5 (usually Gobert) will go to the rotation to fill the lane to the basket and the closest guard (X2 or X3) will be the help that helps the helper trying to cover the big man (5) who will be lurking in the baseline. Ideally the rotation will be completed when X1 (that first guarded Harden) will from a triple switch and guard 2 or 3 in the wing.

This is it:

The story after two games is that the Rockets are up 2–0 with two easy home wins (122–90 and 118–98), while James Harden had 30.5 pts and 10.0 assists in comparison to the 36.1 points and 7.5 assists he averaged as the leading scorer of the NBA.

Lets get analytical:

In Game 2 James Harden when pushed right had:

*He scored another 5 points after his own offensive rebound, a three pointer in transition and a transition lay-up going left.

So, he had less points (than 36,1), more assists (10 — dishing out another three in transition), a worse personal ISO PPP (1.000 instead of his 1.146 during the regular season), a worse ISO PPP passes-included (1.02 instead of 1.072 during the regular season) and a better off-dribble PPP with 1.388 in comparison to the 1.027 (for 2pointers and 3pointers).

In the top level what really matters is not what you are trying to do, but how you are doing it. Because, never forget we are talking about the best players in the world. James Harden has been pushed right before, even if he had never faced a team that provocates him in such a manner to drive to the basket.

The Jazz faced three problems:

He is a great passer and he can easily find the open man.

Especially when pushing right means letting the middle lane open

2. Harden started the game in a great fashion, getting really confident really quick

3. They lost too many offensive rebounds. From Harden’s 13 missed shot the Rockets gained back 5 possessions. From those five two got back in the hands of the Beard, who converted them to 5 points.

On the other hand there is one thing someone can argue about. The first one has to do with ball pressure. The Jazz are not pressuring enough Harden. What they are really doing is that they open up the lane and let him drive all by himself depending on their good-shot blocker, Rudy Gobert, to alter shots and passes. For example when Harden got double teamed (twice) he turned the ball over. These was 2 of his 8 turnovers. The other two came in a pick-n-roll and hand-off possession.

Such a defensive strategy can have many different concepts. One is to get into the opponents mind. Eventually. And maybe in a away game things will not be so easy. Additionally there is the mechanics behind it. By forcing Harden right and putting pressure to his hip (more like ICE defense regarding the guard’s defensive stance) the defender is closer to Harden’s left hand, so he can mess-up with his shot. The ball is further and the offensive player can get it out of the right pocket more easily, but eventually he has to raise it up to over his left shoulder to release it. And there is exactly where the defender can destroy his opponent’s rhythm. Here is the best example with Niang defending Harden in the only play he ended up facing him:

O’NEAL CAN BY THE SOLUTION

Seven Jazz players guarded Harden through out the game. Ricky Rubio was the main option, then followed by Royce O’Neal and Joe Ingles. Also Donovan Mitchell caught up in his was after switching, the same with Niang and Crawder, while Thabo Sefolosha also got the assignment. From those seven players only Royce O’Neal turned out to be a problem for Harden.

Rubio had the difficult task to content the best offensive player in the NBA when he was well rested. And it was not pretty. Harden scored or created 18 points in 14 possessions (1.5 PPP). He personally scored 13 points (3/5 three pointers off the dribble) and dished out 2 assist.

Ingles and Sefolosha either managed to stop him. They faced Harden in 5 possessions and allowed 12 points, two three pointers by his own left hand and another 2 three pointers from his passes. He had 2/2 shots off the dribble and zero turnovers.

As for Royce O’Neal? He managed to stop Harden in many occasions, especially in the ISO plays his opponent wanted to take a right step-back. That is why O’Neal played 26 minutes, 8 more than the usual 18 he was used during the regular season.

In total O’Neal guarded Harden in 12 ISO plays (and 15 total plays). In these 12 plays he allowed only 4 points scored and forced him to 3 turnovers, only 1 assist and 0/3 shots off the dribble with an amazing 0.333 PPP. And we have to expect more of O’Neal on Harden in the following games.

No matter what the Jazz players and coaching staff need credit. In an entire game the have been very loyal to their game plan to force Harden right. The only failed in 2 occasions: both in transition, where they did not expected. The other plays come after a hand off (leading to his left dribble) where it is humanly impossible to trail and at the same time force him the other way. Perhaps we are going to see more hand-offs for Harden in the next game.

So, is the idea working? We cannot tell for sure and it will be really interesting to see the adjustments the Jazz will try to do when the series go back home. But until now this makes sense, even if we are talking about an elite player that has a deep offensive arsenal. Harden is deadly driving left, but also his pet move is to the the step-back three off his right dribble. And above all he can pass as good as the best passer in the NBA right now. So, for sure the opponents have to pick their poison, facing difficult questions like “is it better to make his pass, or let him make as many as possible” or “better dealing with his 3 point shooting or his penetrations”?

If these were easy questions to answer, James Harden would not be the NBA leading scorer two seasons in a row and nobody would fear the beard.

Related posts:

In a disruptive healthcare environment, the hospitals are willing to be creative, take risks, step outside of their comfort zone and serve their patients, ultimately delivering enhanced patient…

Air travel regarded fastest modes of travelling in way too many. It enables you to reach any point on globe in a short while as compared additional modes of transportation. But at times passengers…

Kegiatan menari membuka saya untuk menemukan hal-hal baru. Tak hanya tentang tarian itu sendiri, tapi juga hubungan saya ke tetangga saya, ke orang tua siswa, ke pertemanan lama, juga hubungan ke…