Both before and after Wednesday’s game between the Nuggets and Rockets, Denver coach Michael Malone showered praise on Houston guard James Harden — who he compared to Michael Jordan and says is the toughest player he’s ever had to prepare for in 19 NBA seasons.
Via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, here’s what the fifth-year head coach said before the game in Denver:
I think he’s seen every single conceivable defensive coverage and he demands that kind of attention. He’s a great player. I’ve been in the league 19 years and no disrespect to all the other great players in those 19 years, but he’s, I think, the toughest guy to prepare for.
He can hit the three. He gets to the foul line a ton. He makes his teammates better. He can create his own shot. If you want to force him left, he’s going to beat you. If you want to force him right, he can still beat you. He’s one of those guys when you’re watching film, it’s like you’re watching a horror movie.
Malone said that Harden is probably the toughest player to prepare for over his 19 years in the NBA.
Said watching his film is like "watching a horror film"
— Eric Spyropoulos (@Eric_Spyros) November 21, 2019
Those comments mesh with NBA.com‘s annual GM survey for the 2019-20 season, in which the league’s identified Harden as the clear frontrunner in which current player forces the most adjustments.
Even with all that praise, though, Malone’s team did a fairly good job of limiting Harden during Wednesday’s 105-95 home victory by the Nuggets (10-3). It was the first time all season for the Rockets (11-4) to be held below 100 points.
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Harden did make 50% of his shots and three-pointers, and he also had seven assists. But the Nuggets used a unique and unpredictable scheme of traps and double-teams at different points of the shot clock from possession to possession to force him into eight turnovers.
They were also successful in limiting Harden’s overall volume, with his 16 shot attempts the fewest of any game this month in which the former Most Valuable Player (MVP) has played at least 30 minutes.
“Let’s be honest, you don’t guard James Harden just one on one,” Malone said postgame. “We threw multiple looks at him, multiple defenders at him. The goal was to get the ball out of his hands.”
Example:Nuggets sent defenders early to double on Harden isolation, but it was more so a double-team to occupy space. Primary defender was trying to take away the middle and deny him the step-back right, while the secondary defender took away space for Harden to utilize to create https://t.co/Ip16EVpye9 pic.twitter.com/z3eTsSPpMH
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) November 21, 2019
As of Thursday, the Nuggets now rank No. 8 in the NBA in net defensive rating. For Harden in particular, lanky 6-foot-7 forward Torrey Craig appeared to give him the most trouble.
Harden wasn’t in the mood for giving Denver’s defense too much credit after the game, though, instead focusing on what he viewed as mistakes in execution by his team.
James Harden on Denver’s defense: “They just double-teamed every possession. They got lucky. They got away with one. We didn’t execute how we needed to…”
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 21, 2019
In the locker room after seeing their 8-game winning streak snapped, James Harden called for a laptop and Ben McLemore. On a makeshift film session, constant double teams and why P.J. Tucker can take this loss.https://t.co/czNDSWZFrc
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIkoNBA) November 21, 2019
Though his scheme was fairly successful on Wednesday, the 48-year-old Malone remained very complimentary of Harden throughout his postgame remarks, and even brought in a comparison to Jordan — viewed by many as the best player in NBA history.
Michael Malone: "Back in the day, they had the Jordan Rules. You have to have rules against James Harden. It's the same caliber of player."
— Mike Singer (@msinger) November 21, 2019
While it was a relatively down night overall, Harden still leads the NBA in scoring by a healthy margin at 38.4 points per game, with Giannis Antetokounmpo in second at 30.5 points.
That gap of 7.9 points is approximately equivalent to the gap between Antetokounmpo and Boston’s Kemba Walker, who ranks 17th in the league in scoring at 22.6 per game.
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