Should Harden emulate Kobe's recent strategy?

[madbucky]

Very interesting what Kobe's been doing the past two games.

vs Utah: 7-10 fg, 0-0 3pt, 14 pts, 14 ast, 9 reb. Lakers beat Jazz 102-84.
vs OKC: 8-12 fg, 0-0 3pt, 21 pts, 14 ast, 9 reb. Lakers beat Thunder 105-96.

Kobe was having one of his seasons ever (statistically), averaging 22 FGA/G and 29 PTS/G this season, but that only got the star-studded Lakers to a sub .500 record.

I watched the Thunder game Sunday and was blown away by what I saw. Usually the Lakers just stand around and watch Kobe do his thing and score 30+ pts. But today, when Kobe made a move, another Laker would make a cut, then Kobe would pass the ball to the cutting player for an energizing dunk or an easy shot. When the game came down to the final minutes, Kobe still took the crucial shots to put away the Thunder.

The Rockets are 15-17 (.469) when Harden has 17+ FGA, 9-4 (.692) when Harden has <17 FGA. The Rockets are 12-6 (.667) when Harden has 7+ ast, 12-15 (.444) when Harden has <7 ast. So, should Harden and the Rockets try a similar strategy as Kobe and the Lakers?

[zapatasblood]

Although is not getting digit assit numbers a lot of the time Harden has rarely shot the ball more then twenty time. Now I hate Iso ball but he really does that when he is struggling and trying to force the issue. Outside of a really bad November 41.2% fg that horrid bad stretch this month (20-80) Harden has been solid. I have an issue with his turnovers. I do not want to look for it but I think when he has 4 or more turnovers a game we are more likely to lose.

[zapatasblood]

Although he is not getting digit assit numbers a lot of the time Harden has rarely shot the ball more then twenty times a game. Now I hate Iso ball but he really does that when he is struggling and trying to force the issue. Outside of a really bad November 41.2% fg that horrid bad stretch this month (20-80) Harden has been solid. I have an issue with his turnovers. I do not want to look for it but I think when he has 4 or more turnovers a game we are more likely to lose.

[inquisitive]

i agree about harden not turning the ball over and i just want him to take good shots....as far as kobe, opponents will adjust to his pass first mentality and not let his teammates get involved as the season progresses forcing him to try and do all the scoring again. i think okc still wasn't believing that kobe will pass when he drove to the rim and tried to score, so they kinda let the other lakers cut to the rim with no help...they were trying to help thabo when kobe drove to the rim which allowed gasol, clark, etc. to get a few layups.

[moofs]

Ugh. My network connection sucks today.

[inquisitive]

i never heard of terence jones or donatas motiejunas...are you sure?

[BaYBaller]

The team runs the offense the coaches teach them. Outside of end-of-game situations where "hero-ball" has some merits, HOU pretty much runs plays the vast majority of the time. Harden isolations have generally been used when mismatches occur (i.e. when teams switch on the 1-2 PnR) or when a play breaks down. A simple extrapolation of FGAs-to-wins tells very very little, as is a simple observation of one game from a team that has struggled all season.

[MaxRider]

wont work unless harden got an insider man to go to
al jefferson?

[Zubby]

Kobe has MWP, Jamison, Gasol, Dwight, Nash... all good players, all high IQ players.
Literally Nash, Gasol, Dwight would be the best players on this team... MWP, Jamison would be behind only Harden.


I don't think this is permanent anyway Kobe always does this once in a while, like clock work he just starts passing and will get a streak going of a quite a few games where he will get 10+ assist.

[Guy986]

So you want harden to hold onto the ball MORE?

Look at Steve Nash's, aka one of the greatest PG of all time, assist number the past 2 games. Nash is basically playing spot up shooter.

[kam_soluusar]

Let's get one of the top 5 PG's ever, and have Kobe pass him the ball. Nice strategy there.

[Slava]

The strategy shift has worked pretty well for us so far (3-0). Nash even at times last season had trouble bringing the ball up the floor with athlete PGs pressuring him full court and Miami exposed this embarrassingly this season. Nash is not playing spot up shooter but he's attacking off the space created by Kobe.

I can;t see Harden imitating this, because Kobe and Pau in this new offense are facilitating from the post with their back to the basket, from Houston's offensive schemes, I see a lot of the attack coming by facing up to the defender and pushing the pace, which is pretty much the opposite of what Lakers have been doing.

[madbucky]

The Rockets are 15-17 (.469) when Harden has 17+ FGA, 9-4 (.692) when Harden has <17 FGA. The Rockets are 12-6 (.667) when Harden has 7+ ast, 12-15 (.444) when Harden has <7 ast.

The Rockets are 5-1 in their past 6 games. Harden's had 15 or less FGA for 6 straight games. Meanwhile, his efficiency has increased significantly, his teammates are playing better, and the whole team is playing better. I don't think this is a coincidence.

In the past 6 games, Harden is shooting 50% fg, 48% 3pt, 6.7 ast, 3.0 to, 24.2 pts on 13.3 fga
Compare that to his season averages of 44% fg, 34% 3pt, 5.6 ast, 3.8 to, 25.6 pts on 17.2 fga

He's shooting 4 less FGA per game, yet maintaining nearly the same point total! I think Harden's finally figured out that when the ball is distributed around more, then the opponents can't focus him, and he'll get much easier looks. And he can expend less energy (hopefully to be used on defense).

[inquisitive]

ESPNNBA The NBA on ESPN
RT @WallaceNBA_ESPN: LeBron on Harden: "He has made superstar status. He is worthy of the max contract he received."

[TMU]

People have been raving about LeBron and Durant, but based on recent games, Harden hasn't hit the spotlight and the attention that he deserves. He's currently 5th in the league in scoring, 60% TS and leading the league in FTM, FTA, and TOs (yes, that's an added bonus. Just deal with it).

Last 4 games: 63% FG, 65% 3PT%, 27.5 PPG, 8 RPG, 9 APG, 2 SPG.

Where would you rank Harden among all SGs? Let's discuss his Beardness.

[Zubby]

IDK thats tough
It comes down to Wade v. Harden for me, I take both over Kobe or Manu.

[madbucky]

Where would you rank Harden among all SGs? Let's discuss his Beardness.

There are 3 top SGs this year: Kobe, Wade, Harden.

Wade only shoots 29% from 3pt this year (as well as his career average). That's lower than Jeremy Lin this year. That's terrible for a SG. He's no longer the player he was due to injuries and such, and obviously benefits tremendously from playing with Lebron.

Kobe is having a great year, and I still think he is the best SG in the league, by a smidge. Harden, however, is very close to Kobe's level.

So this year, I'd rate them 1) Kobe 2) Harden 3) Wade. However, if you took into consideration age, then Harden would be #1 because he's only 23, and of course you would build a team around him now rather then Kobe, who is 34.

[BaYBaller]

People have been raving about LeBron and Durant, but based on recent games, Harden hasn't hit the spotlight and the attention that he deserves. He's currently 5th in the league in scoring, 60% TS and leading the league in FTM, FTA, and TOs (yes, that's an added bonus. Just deal with it).

Last 4 games: 63% FG, 65% 3PT%, 27.5 PPG, 8 RPG, 9 APG, 2 SPG.

Where would you rank Harden among all SGs? Let's discuss his Beardness.

Harden is clearly better than Wade at this point IMO. You can make the case for Kobe just because his offensive game is much more versatile, but Harden's offensive efficiency is tops for SGs right now. Bottomline, for our team right now, is there any other SG you would rather have? That right there really makes you optimistic about our future.

Check out this article. Harden right now is tops in on PPP off of drives of the 15 teams that track this information.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/50343/the-height-of-wonkery-an-in-depth-look-at-the-nba-with-the-most-innovative-technology-available

[spolgar]

To be honest, Kobe is still too much the sacred cow to me to be thoroughly objective. But besides that, Harden is easily #2.