Golden State Warriors: 8 things to worry about vs. Rockets in WCF
The 2018 NBA MVP
Worry Level: Moderate
As one Houston resident felt so inclined to tell me on Saturday, there’s just no stopping James Harden. To be frank, I wholeheartedly agree.
Heading into Monday, Harden is averaging 28.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.3 steals in 35.4 minutes, shooting 40.7 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from behind the arc and 88.9 percent from the free throw line.
Since the 2013-14 season, Klay Thompson has matched up with James Harden 26 times and guarded him on 777 possessions. These are Harden's per game averages on 30 possessions per game guarded by Klay:
— r/Warriors 🏆 (@GSWReddit) May 9, 2018
8.7 PTS
2.6 ASTS
1.4 TOVS
3.2 FGM
7.3 FGA
0.3 (blocked shots)
0.8 (fouls drawn) pic.twitter.com/jDvGVcIDNo
Yet as important as one-on-one matchups may be, basketball remains a team sport, and I’m not one to sweat when an MVP-caliber player like Harden plays like an MVP. You can only hope to contain him.
Based on the numbers in the tweet above, I full expect Klay Thompson to be the main guy guarding Harden. It’d also be interesting to see Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala take a couple turns in Klay’s place.
To be honest, I couldn’t care less about who guards Harden — as long as it ain’t Curry.