Even Game 6 was an infuriating presentation of Hardens big-game reticence. Russell Westbrook controlled the offense as Harden took only one shot in the competitive portion of the last four minutes.
The easy tip here is that Harden does not want the ball in big minutes, but it most likely isnt that simple. Harden does, after all, have some fantastic championship game to his name even if theyre surpassed by his worst ones. The likelier explanation is that the big scoring load he carries all season tires him by the time the postseason gets here. Hardens love of … night life likely isnt ideal for conditioning either..
The mid-season hiatus provided a theoretical reprieve. Four months of rest possibly might have enabled him to enter the postseason revitalized, however injuries to Westbrook and Eric Gordon required him to bring possibly the heaviest problem in the bubble. A consistent string of second-half 3-pointers missed out on short in Game 4, Westbrooks final lack of the series, supports the idea that his legs are simply broken..
Reasoning supports that shot profile. Its analytically flawless and trusts that over a long enough sample, Layups, free-throws and 3-pointers are far and away the most valuable shots on the flooring. Those shots have made Harden perhaps the biggest regular-season offensive player in NBA history, however the idea process behind them ignores the critical distinctions in between regular-season and postseason basketball. The playoffs dont provide enough of a sample size to depend on the law of averages. Defenses eliminate the very best searches the floor and force superstars to strike contested searches in less important locations. Paul took the ninth-most mid-range jumpers in the NBA this season, and struck 54 percent of them. Unsurprisingly, he was the NBAs leading clutch scorer this season. Houston has actually had a top-five clutch offense just when across the previous six seasons. It came during the 2017-18 season, Pauls only healthy year as a Rocket..
Paul most likely shouldnt be a much better clutch scorer than Harden. Hes considerably smaller sized, and while neither are elite professional athletes, Paul has actually lost considerably more on that front at the age of 35 than Harden, who is still in his prime.
Hardens game is predicated on doing only a few things at such an elite level that, on a night-to-night basis, it exceeds its homogeneity. Protecting Harden throughout seven video games makes him foreseeable. Hes going to take a stepback, or hes going to drive. Houston does not even have a real center for him to utilize a screener anymore. Time makes protecting him easier. The Thunder, by the end of this series, solved Houstons MVP..
James Harden stressed the idea that this postseason run will be various from his previous postseason failures with a single play in Wednesdays Game 7 success over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Harden had just eight video games in the entire routine season in which he took fewer than 16 shots. It is a superstars responsibility to control the offense in the greatest games of the season, however Harden, one of historys highest-usage players, just added yet another mysterious disappearance to his ledger. Harden averaged 10.9 free-throw efforts per game over the last 3 regular seasons … but only 8.3 in the matching postseasons. Harden fell short in Game 7 for the exact same reason hes fallen short so numerous times in the playoffs, and one good protective play doesnt magically cure those problems.
James Harden punctuated the idea that this postseason run will be various from his previous postseason failures with a single play in Wednesdays Game 7 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The three-time protecting scoring champion and one of Twitters favorite lowlight targets won a game and a series for the Houston Rockets with his defense, blocking Luguentz Dort on a potential game-winning shot. The prevailing image of the series will forever be Harden, legs akimbo, dodging Dorts attempt to toss the ball off of him out of bounds to protect a possession that might have shined a spotlight on the nights supreme fact: this game was no various than any other big Harden moment..
Yet once again, the former MVP came up short in a big moment, and it occurred for the exact same factors that it always does. Hardens playing design is simply less efficient in the postseason, and one unforgettable minute will not change that..
In the greatest game of the season, with his co-star recovering from an injury, Harden took only 15 field-goal attempts. Harden had just eight video games in the entire routine season in which he took fewer than 16 shots. LeBron James, a far more passive star than Harden on most nights, averages 23.4 field-goal attempts in Game 7s, and just dipped listed below 20 in a single blowout.
It is a superstars responsibility to manage the offense in the biggest video games of the season, but Harden, among historys highest-usage players, simply included yet another mysterious disappearance to his journal. He currently had 2 separate 2-of-11 shooting nights in closeout losses, first to Golden State in 2015, and then again against a Leonard-less Spurs team in 2017. Albeit in a various role, Harden tried just 9.6 shots per video game in the 2012 NBA Finals, and struck only 37.5 percent of them..
A number of Hardens postseason misses out on come off of the front of the rim, but even if fatigue is a description, it isnt a reason. Everyone is tired in the playoffs. The best players play through it. Whether its a matter of conditioning routines or the burden put on him by his team, Something requires to be altered to keep him fresh for the playoffs. Load management exists for a reason. Math suggests that an 0-for-27 shooting stretch on 3-pointers in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals is simply misfortune, but that disregards the reality that when a team has only one real shot-creator which shot-creator is too tired to produce shots, his teammates are generally going to miss the bad looks they ultimately get..
Theres an argument to be made that his gaudy free-throw overalls forgive some of his low shot effort numbers, but its not as though Harden is matching his regular-season production on that front. Harden balanced 10.9 free-throw efforts per game over the last 3 regular seasons … however only 8.3 in the corresponding postseasons. Harden has nearly struck that overall himself in the regular season.
That free-throw hunting ends up being troublesome in a setting that discourages Hardens playing design. His 3-point portion has decreased from the routine season to the postseason 5 years in a row since he cant draw as numerous valuable three-shot fouls, which he frequently sells out for. Less calls at the rim make his drives less important. The one kind of offense that does tend to become more valuable in the postseason is the one area on the floor Harden routinely neglects. Chris Paul attempted 37 mid-range shots in this series. Harden took 20 … during the whole regular season. He averaged one per game in this series..
That does not mean hes predestined to choke forever or that the Lakers are a lock to beat the Rockets in the 2nd round. That match prefers Harden. Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are excellent defenders, however they arent Dort..
It points to a greater pattern that is the single biggest factor Harden hasnt currently won a champion by now. And one extraordinary block aside, Harden needed 11 3-pointers from Robert Covington and Eric Gordon just to leave the first round.
And the reality that he isnt does not suggest this playoff run is going to be any different. Harden fell short in Game 7 for the exact same factor hes fallen short numerous times in the playoffs, and one good defensive play does not amazingly treat those issues. They are probably going to rear their ugly heads once again as Houston progresses in the postseason, and while the Thunder werent good enough to punish them for it, one great protective play wont be nearly enough to conquer this caliber of offense against the Lakers or Clippers..
