First of all, we can't deny that the super scorer Harden has slipped. A player who once scored 36 points and gave 8 assists with a 44% shooting rate has now averaged 21 points per game with only 41.6% shooting, and the gap here is not simply explained by the phrase "give up the ball" or "reduce the shots and strengthen the organization". If you still insist on Harden's idea that he did not slide, then this article does not mean anything to you, and you don't have to waste any more time.
So back to the main topic, why has Harden declined, and what is the current dilemma?
To answer this question, we first need to figure out, what kind of player is James Harden?
In the past decade, three defenders have won MVPs. Westbrook represents extreme prolific, Curry represents extreme efficiency, and Harden represents high prolific efficiency: Harden has more than 30% of the game in the MVP season, more than 60% of his true shooting percentage, and more than 35% of his assists.
I have always believed in the saying, for Harden, "Success is also a magic ball, and defeat is also a magic ball." "In magic ball theory, the basket, three points and free throws represent efficiency, and indeed efficiency. And Harden is the person who plays the magic ball to the extreme, Harden at the peak, his retreat step three-pointer, breakthrough and foul use of pure youth, excellent vision and passing is to make him a step within the three-point line This position has an unprecedented threat, we can look at this picture.
If you're Harden, you have several options when you're one step into the three-point line: step back, break through, break through the inside line, and split the outside line at any point in time — there are three pitchers there. Three shooters eat a pie inside line, and this configuration is also Harden's favorite configuration when attacking.
So when we understand Harden's way of playing and the appropriate configuration, we can look at the next question:
Where is Harden's dilemma?
Nets role player
From the Big Three of the Green Army to the Big Three of the Heat, and even earlier OK combinations, the giant team can almost be equated with the oligarchy team, although countless facts tell us that the change is never lost, but you take a few hundred yuan bills to take the bus will always encounter inconvenience. Salary space is always limited, and giants and quality puzzles always need to be traded off. Harden asked the general manager for a shooter and a pie center, and the general manager would only give him a blank look, "I have no money anyway, you can either trade Durant for it." There is no way, the final result is that Harden can not choose his favorite team configuration, can only watch the dishes, what is the use of it.
If you told the Rockets a few years ago to use Bembry, Brown, and Griffin to play magic balls, the Rockets estimated to laugh out loud, "Brown, Bembry and everything are playing magic balls, can they play?" You don't have this ability you know? If we go down, we will lose Guangdong and Beijing. ”
All in all, the Nets' role players are not enough three-point threats, and the ability to finish under the basket is also very bad, which directly leads to Harden's five cards (three-point, breakthrough, foul-making, hanging basket, outside line) being abolished twice, and then this year's new rules, I still have to talk about the new rules, whether the fans admit it or not, Harden's struggle and free throws are not unrelated. Harden has scored 20+ in 10 of his 21 games this season, averaging 11.4 free throws per game in those 11 games, while in the remaining 11 games, there are only 36 free throws in total, averaging less than 3.3 free throws per game. It can be said that free throws are almost Harden's weather vane.
This is the picture of the game against the Suns, and it is also an abbreviation of Harden's dilemma throughout the season: there is no finishing ability under the basket, which can make the big center unscrupulously mention the free throw line and hinder Harden's travel route; the outside line lacks projection ability, and the outside player completely emptys the shooter and keeps a firm eye on Harden. Harden's once favorite position, now when he gets here, is "stopping the ball and looking around." ”
So how does Harden break the game?
We can look back at the Rockets-Jazz series, the one where Rubio left the classic "defense behind" picture.
In fact, Rubio's seemingly outrageous operation is to form the Harden dilemma that just appeared in that picture, but at that moment, the Rockets' outside line still has elite three-point shooters, and Harden can still unscrupulously create fouls and kill Gobert.
"Five cards seal me one, Lao Tzu has four more!"
So Harden's first move to break the game is to create a foul. However, this season's free throws depend on the mood of the referee, which is also the fundamental reason why the number of Harden's free throws mentioned above is positively correlated with the score.
So since the free throws are not reliable, what to do?
We can think differently, what if Harden is replaced by Kobe Bryant in this picture? There was no one around to defend, and the nearest one meter and a half distance from himself was still a stupid big one.
Old: And this kind of good thing? This does not kill him.
That's right, in this case, an elite-level mid-range pitcher can tear the defense to shreds.
So back to the sentence I just said, "Success is also a magic ball, and defeat is also a magic ball." ”
This is Harden's shooting hot zone map so far this season, in the long two-point area, Harden threat can be attributed to 0, once a man who played Five in a row Thompson, but now completely lost the middle shooting skills, the magic ball brought Harden MVP and scoring king, but also took away the skills he once relied on for a living.
So Harden wants to break through today's dilemma, regaining the most effective way to shoot, five cards banned three, you add two more on the line?
Oh, and one more trick. Missing a three-point shooter? Missing a basket to finish? Missing a shot?
Isn't it a coincidence that harden will immediately persuade the "Ou Immortal" to return, and all problems will be solved.
Let's sum it up
Many people always say that the difference between Harden and Curry is a teammate, but in fact, for Harden, a good ball carrier teammate may be far inferior to a quality 3D. To give Harden a Green, is it to let Green go outside the three-point line to attract defense or Harden's dry eyes? It can only be said that Harden and Curry's respective playing styles determine what kind of teammates they are suitable for, but Curry has long found his own championship key, and Harden is still struggling.
PS: This article thanks to "Morey ICU"