With apologies to Messrs. Rodgers and Hammerstein: How you solve a problem like James Harden?
In The Sound of Music, the composers compare Maria Von Trapp to holding a moonbeam in your hand. That lyrical phrase also aptly describes the Houston Rockets shooting guard's Eurostep: right when you think you've got him, he disappears.
That's when Harden's not hitting from outside or drawing fouls at the rate of Sergio Aragonés scribbling in the margins of Mad magazine.
So how do you solve a problem like James Harden?
Based on the Rockets' first playoff game of 2013, we really ought to ask the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Isolation plays
Harden's game depends on beating his man in isolation. Problem is, the Thunder were first in the NBA this season in defending isolation plays, allowing just .72 points per play (from ESPN stats).
In the Rockets' one win against the Thunder this season, Harden's isolation plays netted him 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting, good for a 2.11 points per play average. Conversely, in their three losses including the first playoff matchup ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Marshall Zweig
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