Ever since James Harden became a superstar when the Houston Rockets traded for him and made him the franchise player, social media has been joking about his lack of defense.
Giannis Antetokounmpo made news when he hinted towards it after the all-star game when he claimed his squad had a strategy to go at Houston Rockets star and MVP runner-up James Harden on offense, which he said would give his team the best chance to score.
That failed miserably.
If opposing fans actually watch several games that he plays in, they would know that Harden has gone from being a lackadaisical defender to one of the strongest post defenders at the guard position.
Yet, teams continue to target him and it’s not working.
“You can’t try to play matchup basketball,” a Western Conference head coach told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “That’s what they want. You have to beat them with [ball] movement.”
Harden even dared his opponents to test him defensively:
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“Come try it,” said Harden, “and the s**t won’t work.”
“I’m a competitor. I’m a beast,” said Harden. “Whatever teams’ schemes are, we switch everything, and they’ve got to find a way to attack us. It’s not going to be perfect. Some guys are going to score on me. That’s a part of the game, but more times than not, we’re going to get a stop and they’ll shy away from it.”
Houston is 39-21 on the season.
