- Last night was not the first time that James Harden has dominated a player after having been shut down by that player in a previous matchup. Off the top of my head, this happened against Andre Iguodala, in Harden’s inaugural year with Houston, and also Wes Mathews this year, to name a few opponents. It’s like clockwork. A menacing defender forces Harden into a rough shooting night, maybe even blocking him a few times. Everyone, including even me (sometimes), then responds saying that said defender is just too physically imposing for the 6’5 Harden. And then Harden kills him. It makes you, and really made me think, particularly on this occasion. You don’t really realize how much hard work a guy like Harden puts in behind the scenes. They, and he, aren’t advertising the hell out of his practice sessions the way that sort of thing is done with other guys around the league, like Kobe. But for a 6’5 guy who isn’t that athletic to have become maybe the most unstoppable one-on-one force in the entire league…there is clearly quite a bit of attention to detail going in. Harden is probably in the film room, analyzing tendencies, and seeing what adjustments need to be made. Whatever it is, he came out and made maybe the single best wing defender in all of basketball look downright silly last night in the second quarter, putting him on skates on at least three possessions in like a ten minute frame. It was something to behold.
- Shane Battier joined Jeff Van Gundy last night on the call and the two provided an entertaining glimpse into the team’s past with a discussion on Battier’s famous coverage of Kobe Bryant in Houston’s second round matchup with the Lakers in 2009. Most interestingly, Battier emphasized “process over results”, a concept which is sadly lost on far too many people in all walks of life. After Harden hit a particularly tough shot over Jimmy Butler, Battier explained that too many people allow the result to dictate coverage, changing their gameplan because of the supposed embarrassment. But I want to add one corollary note to this matter. I think that the macro issue over long range two pointers is sometimes confused with the micro issue. At a macro team level, you want to avoid the shots, and force the shots, not because of some inherent malfeasance of the shot itself, but because most people can’t shoot them at an efficient rate. But if you are a player, at the micro level, you absolutely need to be practicing the shot, because nothing expands one’s arsenal more in terms of opportunities. Look at how difficult Harden has become to defend on the basis of what seems to be a more effective midrange stepback. The defender can’t just sit on the ‘3’ or the drive. He has to guess. And so by extension, at a team level, the Rockets are more lethal because of Harden’s improvement. But what they don’t want is someone like Pat Beverley taking 2’s because he can’t hit them at a sufficient rate to justify the diminished return.
- I noticed I was crying last night in the third quarter when the lineup of Josh Smith, Terrence Jones, Corey Brewer, and Trevor Ariza took the floor and blew the game open. All four players, ranging between 6’7 and 6’9, possess long arms, athleticism, and relentlessness. As you’d imagine, the Bulls had problems as will, I think, most teams. This lineup will be Houston’s great equalizer. This lineup is what will keep them in the top half of the playoff bracket until Dwight’s return because not that many teams, if any, can counter that kind of punch off the bench.
