Why James Harden is under appreciated
James Harden is one of the most dynamic scorers in the NBA. His ability to get to free throw line is unmatched and can score in a variety of ways. He can break you down off the dribble, he can hit step back jumpers, he can shoot the three ball with consistency, and never takes a night off. And since his name is not Lebron James, you may not realize that he carries the Houston Rockets night in, night out. So why is he under appreciated?
1. Everyone overrates his lack of defense
You’ve seen all the Shaqtin a Fool episodes and you’ve might have seen popular YouTube videos exposing his lack of defense during the 2014-15 season and even this past season. But the truth is that he is not an elite or bad defender. Sure he lacks effort, but those plays are glorified by fans and the media. He averages 1.7 steals per game, he has a defensive rating of 106.1, which is approximately in the middle of all the players in NBA, and he has to carry so much of a burden on the offensive end; he has usage rate of 32.5%, which is 2nd in the NBA behind Demarcus Cousins. Some of the players that have similar defensive ratings to Harden? Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Ricky Rubio, Robin Lopez, Jonas Valanciunas, Michael Carter-Williams, and even Dwight Howard. All of these starting-calibre/star players have not even come close to the amount of criticism Harden gets.
2. His choke jobs in the playoffs
James Harden has been a relatively consistent performer in the playoffs, with averages of 26.7 PPG, 6.3 APG, and 5.6 RPG during his playoff time in Houston. I think what hurts his reputation the most is his performance during the 2014-15 Western Conference Finals where he struggled in two crucial games. The first game was Game 3. His team down in an 0-2 hole going back to Houston, he produced an awful performance as his team lost by 35 points and he finished the game 3-16 from the field for a measly 17 points. In Game 5, the deciding game, he finished 2-11 from the field for 14 points while also finishing with 12 turnovers. These were two defining moments and it hurt Harden’s reputation no doubt. What people forget is that after that Game 3 performance, he had 45 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. In the Conference Semis vs. the Clippers, he led his team from 3-1 down in the series to a playoff series win when everyone counted them out. His performances in those three games? A 26 point triple double in Game 5, a 23 point effort in Game 6, and a 31 point-7 rebound-8 assist effort in a Game 7. James Harden may have choked in the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t performed in the playoffs before.
3. His teammates haven’t been the same since the 2014 offseason
During the offseason of 2014, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey thought it would be a great for the Rockets to acquire Miami Heat big man Chris Bosh to the team. His faceup game and shooting abilities along with his long arms would be a great asset for team. The Rockets at the time were heavy favourites to sign Bosh, however, it wasn’t in the cards as Bosh re-elected to sign with the Heat for 5 years at 118 million. Bosh also did not want “Big 3” pressure as he had just played on a team that included himself, Lebron, and Wade. So, what’s the problem here, you ask? It’s that Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets cleared out the max cap space for Bosh. The offered him a deal 4 years at 88 million, a max free agent deal. They had to let go of key pieces a starter in Chandler Parsons, and two solid rotation players in Jeremy Lin, and Omer Asik in order to have the potential to even sign Bosh. This gave the Rockets chemistry a shot in the chest as they haven’t been the same since. They had to settle with players like Trevor Ariza, Jason Terry, Donatas Motiejunas (who did blossom in 2014-15 but saw a 14-minute decrease in playing time in 2015-16), rookie Clint Capela, an erratic Josh Smith, and Terrence Jones. They proved many wrong in the 2014-15 season, but it seemed that they had reached their potential, as a collection of relatively the same players went from 56 wins in 2015 to 41 wins in 2016. It showed that some pieces didn’t fit and they couldn’t sustain their high level of play from their deep 2015 playoff run. And where was Harden in all of this? Enjoying the best season of his career, averaging 29 PPG, 7.5 APG, and 6.1 RPG. Harden did his job but his teammates just couldn’t keep up with him. This gave the illusion that Harden was dragging everyone down when really he has been carrying the Rockets on his back the entire time.
4. He’s responsible for Dwight Howard’s decline
When Dwight Howard first decided to sign with the Rockets, he went there feeling like he was going to get more touches and finally remake his image of best center in the NBA. He was working with Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin McHale when he first got to Houston, hoping to develop elite post moves. However, reality hit and we have seen that back problems have killed Howard and his abilities. People blame Harden immensely for this because of his ball-stopping as he led the league in isolation play frequency this past season at 24.2%. Howard also only got 53.4 post touches per game this past season, around the same number that DeAndre Jordan gets per game. Those points may convince you that it’s James Harden’s fault but really it’s Dwight Howard’s fault. He has not been able to keep up with small ball play and his post game is just getting worse by the year. To simply put it, he can’t keep up with big men that can take him off the dribble like Demarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, and even a Kristaps Porzingis or a Draymond Green in some situations. He also may be physically imposing but nowadays, he is not as intimidating as younger, more athletic big men Hassan Whiteside and DeAndre Jordan. This leaves Howard in the middle of the pack, in a decline as an average big man. His post game has also declined as he only averaged 0.82 points per possession this past season which is in the middle/bottom half of the league. This may seem premature as people will say, “well James Harden didn’t give him the touches”. He’s in the top 15 for post possessions per game, and he averages less points per possession then some players who average less post possessions per game like Jonas Valanciunas, Derrick Favors, and Paul Millsap. He’s one of the most inefficient post players in basketball. His play seemed to only hinder the Rockets and his inconsistency to play well in the post was a disaster during his tenure.
