James Harden's defense is something

[dream_catcher_9]

It seems like every game now I expect him to make at least 2 great defensive plays a game. His assertiveness on defense and his fundamentals are outstanding. His hands are super quick, and he closes out on the perimeter better then everyone not named Thabo. To think he is still a youngen at 21 I think he could be a special type of player down the road.

He is already showing great efficiency even with his desire to dribble in traffic too much, and he still seems out of place on our offense at times. His passing in the post to big men is nice, and his 3 pointer is money. If he ever gets comfortable and in the flow with our offense, he could be a pretty unique player.

I still see him being a slower Manu Ginobili in his prime, with less turnovers and not as clutch. Which is an excellent player as a 3rd option.

[slick_watts]

He's better. His awareness on defense leaves much to be desired, he turns his back to his man on help, or will get caught ball watching. His one on one defense has improved a lot, though, and like you said he's developed a knack for making defensive plays. He's still foul prone for a guard, but less so than last year.

Harden runs the PnR better than both of our PG's, IMO. He's patient and waits for the screener to get set (unlike Westbrook), and seems more confident making lead passes than Eric Maynor. We don't have anyone who can finish a PnR, though, so it's almost a moot point. He still has trouble going right.

He's having a better year despite the slow start, but his USG has actually gone down. The ball is in his hands less due to Russell Westbrook's emergence, and Jeff Green shooting more with the second unit. Westbrook should probably be taking less shots, and Harden should be taking more. When Durant and Westbrook are in the game he gets relegates to spot up shooter which is OK, but I'd like to see him getting on screen action like we run for Durant sometimes.

I'm wondering what this 'flow' to the offense is, you're speaking about.

[bbms]

Harden has all the tools required to be one of the best third options in the league.