Houston Rockets star James Harden is everyone’s favorite punching bag when it comes to mocking poor defensive play. While Harden is hardly as incompetent defensively as the internet makes him seem, he is certainly not a great defender. He had another one of his “moments” on Monday night.
At one point during Houston’s 91-86 win over the New York Knicks, Harden made zero effort to slow down Shane Larkin in transition. After allowing Larkin to blow by him, Harden had no interest in getting back to help stop a three-on-one.
As Rockets GM Daryl Morey pointed out last month, the way Harden is mocked for his poor defense is kind of unfair. Almost all NBA players have moments like the one you see above, but Harden seems to have more of them.
That said, the Rockets have allowed just 91.7 points per game this season, which puts them No. 2 in the NBA. They’ve done that with Harden playing 37.1 minutes per game, so he can’t be that bad.
That doesn’t mean we can’t laugh at him.
Video via Pro Basketball Talk
