The Rockets have moved from the switch-everything defense they had used in the past but had switched often enough to have had James Harden in the low post against big men.
Lakers center Marc Gasol was one of the first he defended as an assignment, rather than on switches, when Gasol was with the Grizzlies. But though Rockets coach Stephen Silas said he is not hesitant to have Harden defend big men, he is still focused on getting his base defense in, keeping him from looking to try those sorts of matchups.
“He’s really good down there,” Silas said. “He’s very technically sound when it comes to his foot positioning and his not allowing guys to get to the middle of the floor and he’s really good with his hands. So, I have no problem with him switching onto a bigger guy. Last game, he switched onto (Nikola) Vucevic and got a steal. His guarding bigger guys in the post isn’t too much of an issue for us because he’s so good at it.”
Harden has not defended enough post-ups to be included in the NBA tracking statistics and the Lakers tend to keep Gasol and other centers out of the post to keep spacing. Last season, Harden defended post-ups more frequently than anyone in the NBA, 1.9 times per game, allowing just .68 points per possession, the fewest of anyone defending at least once per game in the low post.
“That’ll be something that I think about as we go along,” Silas said. “I’m trying to build this thing in a way we’re trying to install our base and make sure we get good at it before we move on to the next thing. But time is moving. Games are coming. That’s something that might be in the future, for sure.”
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January 11, 2021 at 06:49AM
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Rockets' James Harden still a low-post option for defense, but only rarely - Houston Chronicle
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