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Houston Rockets: James Harden sits at Top 10 in defensive win shares

By Brian K. Patterson

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MAY 06: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz knocks the ball from the hands of James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets in the second half during Game Four of Round Two of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena on May 6, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Rockets beat the Jazz 100-87. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MAY 06: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz knocks the ball from the hands of James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets in the second half during Game Four of Round Two of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena on May 6, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Rockets beat the Jazz 100-87. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /
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The Houston Rockets have barreled their way through the postseason thus far with a few bumps in the road but the mainstay of this team, James Harden, has vastly improved his defense and it’s equating to high-quality wins.  Let’s examine further.

The Houston Rockets have made it to the Western Conference Finals.  The date that we’ve all been looking forward to seeing is now finally becoming a reality.  Although there was some uncertainty of whether or not it would happen, things are moving along as planned.

The Houston Rockets are destined to face the Golden State Warriors for the final round of the Western Conference match ups in the 2017-18 playoffs.  Each team has been built in a similar fashion — a prolific offense coupled with hard-nosed defense at a frenetic pace and in a short while, we’re going to see which system is going to out-duel the other.

This offense is predicated in ensuring that these guys hit their shots from behind-the-arc but because of the breath of the depth of this team is more than ample, this team can still win games if they’re not nailing them at a high clip.  Will that work against the Golden State Warriors?  Likely not all the time but it can be mitigated a bit if the Houston Rockets defense remains as consistent as it has been through the playoffs.

Speaking of defense, the Houston Rockets have elevated themselves to a team that opponents don’t want to deal with.  Gone are the assumptions that this team is lackadaisical on defense, the numbers prove that those days are over and these guys are serious about getting that chip.

Also take a listen to Houston Sports Talk, my favorite podcast in regard to some great Rockets discussion:

The Rockets finished the season ranked 6th in the NBA in defensive efficiency, allowing 103.8 points per 100 possessions.  The Toronto Raptors (103.4), San Antonio Spurs (102.4), Philadelphia 76ers (102.0), Utah Jazz (101.6) and the Boston Celtics (101.5) were the only teams ranked better.  The Celtics are the only team in this series that are still trying to compete for something.

As for the postseason, the Rockets are ranked 2nd in defensive efficiency, allowing just 102.1 points per 100 possessions with the Warriors leading the charge, allowing just 99.3 points per 100.

And you know what?

Let’s just stop the old-and-tired criticism of James Harden not being committed to playing hard on the defensive end.  He’s shattered just about every assumption about his past and has made significant improvements to this important trait.

The most evident reason is because of Chris Paul‘s addition to the team.  With CP3 on board, this

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takes pressure off of Harden to create and he can defer to Chris to handle the load.  With Harden being the Rockets’ “points-guard” last season, he put some the best statistics in NBA history not to mention for his own career but the man was seriously gassed by the semis.

Harden is playing with an immense amount of energy on both ends and it’s because he has help and doesn’t have to bring up the ball all of the time.

So statistically, how is he doing?  Harden has now elevated to the Top 10 in defensive win shares in the postseason so far.  He’s ranked 10th at 0.061 with Trevor Ariza (.067) being the only other member of the team that’s ranked higher.

Harden is the company of Draymond Green (.080), Stephen Curry (.078), Ricky Rubio (.073), Myles Turner (.067), Kevin Durant (.067), Andre Iguodala (.064) and Victor Oladipo (.064) with the type of numbers he’s putting up.

He’s not just waving his hands at defenders as he’s going by, he’s actually standing in front of them and making them work for every bit of the shot or drive that his defensive assignment is going to take.

One can certainly give credit to assistant coaches Jeff Bzdelik and Roy Rogers for instituting a terrific mindset to get him motivated to master such an important craft.

Getting Harden to play defense is an important ingredient of making sure that this team is made whole and will get them ever closer to earning that Larry O’Brien trophy.

Next: Clint Capela is more valuable than LeBron James

The match up between he and Klay Thompson is going to be brutal so get your popcorn ready!  I know I will!  Just wait and see!

Harden is averaging 28.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists with a shooting line of .407/.344/.889 through the postseason.

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