nomansland wrote:guitarpatch wrote:nomansland wrote:
Rats, I actually meant to reference a post by Nate505 in which he said, "It's easier to fire the coach than the players.
If McHale had anything to do with getting the drunkard cancer on their team, well, he dug his own grave."
Somehow I got that screwed up.
But regarding the idea that Harden has to play too much offensively to play D, come on. Tell that to any MVP caliber players of today or yesteryear.
Outside of dominant big men, what MVP players were considered to be the main focal point of the offense and also defended their position well? (Jordan and Lebron not included, they are freaks of nature)
Curry? Durant? Nash?
It's hard to do maintain MVP level efficiency and guard the 1-3 positions well. Also, everyone on the list had other scorers to defer to in situations, and guys who could pick up the slack defensively. Not trying to make an excuse for Harden and his half hearted approach, but to expect him to be the main guy and defend consistently for 82 games + playoffs is asking a lot.
Guys like Harden and Melo need help offensively + defensive counterparts to help out. You see it every game, where they are saving themselves for the 4th quarter. When LeBron saves himself in the game, he has another option or 2 at times to take the load offensively (he will also defend his position during that time). That's what those guys need. Then you can sit back and call them out on their defensive deficiencies all you want. Until then, they are jump shooters saving their legs for the end of the game.
Case in point is Paul Pierce pre KG. That guy got called out for the same exact things we say about Harden & Melo. Give him KG and Ray and all of a sudden he's guarding Kobe in the finals.
Yes, Durant. LeBron. Jordan. Pippen even. Westbrook. Kobe back in his peak. Isaiah Thomas. You have to count big men too unless you think playing on both ends requires no exertion from bigs either. I'm sure there are others but that's just off the top of my head.
All those guys mentioned had other star players that could take over a game if needed. Durant and Westbrook, Jordan and Pippen, Kobe and Shaq/Gasol. Isaiah had the best defensive front court in the league behind him.
Star players who have no help offensively tend to not play defense to save energy. It's not a big leap, nor is it an excuse for how much slack Harden gives on that end. There's just a finite amount of energy these guys have. That's all.
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