5 Takeaways From Game Two
By Greg Chin
May 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) moves the ball against Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) during the second half in game two of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Defending James Harden
James Harden is a problem. He is single-handedly carrying the Rockets and without him, the Rockets’ offense falls to pieces. He creates so much of the offense with his drives and stopping him has to be a priority for the Warriors.
In Game Two, we saw the Warriors throw a multitude of different defenders at him. Leandro Barbosa, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, and Andre Iguodala all had their shot at him. Rotating defenders ensures that Harden’s defender is always fresh and energized when going up against him, and also forces Harden to deal with different defensive methods.
But of course, superstars will always find a way and Harden finished the game with 38 points. The Warriors tried doubling him when he entered the lane, and forced some difficult shots from him. Most of the midrange shots he took were well-defended, and required him to execute difficult step-backs with a defender draped all over him.
Good offense will always beat good defense, and at one stage, the Warriors’ defense will just have to shrug their shoulders and say “well, we did our best”. The results don’t quite show it yet, but if the team continues working this hard on the defensive end, we’ll see Harden crack.
Eventually.
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