James Harden Reminds The Warriors He's The Real MVP

With Eric Gordon and Chris Paul out, it was clear that the Rockets were shorthanded and had no chance against the Warriors at home and that's how the game played out until the guy with the longest beard in the gym decided to go absolutely nuclear. in case you didn't know. James Tiberius Harden is in one of the best streaks of 11 games that an NBA player has ever had with an average of 41 points 1 points seven point one rebounds nine point five assists 2.1 steals and burning in the nets for a 41 % from behind the arc and who knew Early in the third quarter, when this free throw gave Golden State a 20-point lead, this game would be anything but your typical Thursday night TNT blowout, but that's when James Harden went to work scoring 13 points and getting six assists in the third period alone.

While Harden struggled to be effective in the first half, he got things going with his passing to start the fourth in this inside pick-and-roll, watch out, Bell gets into position late, has to run and then Harden crosses easily once it arrives. in the middle, forget it, Draymond is forced to rotate on Curry, he's supposed to split the difference between the two weakside players and then close out the pass. He doesn't do this and Tucker gets an open three, a simple pick. drop table gets capella a slide to the rim draymond didn't want to leave tucker and there's no one there to rotate and protect the rim a simple step to force the switch and it was fitting that it all started with a patented

harden

ed step-back triple that didn't he seems to reach a lot of space but it doesn't matter at all Austin Rivers has never shot so well from three in his career so you can't leave him alone behind the goal, the curry clock doesn't recognize the man he's opting to choose cappella, which of course leaves Bell quite confused.

This pick-and-roll was well defended until Bella is late to the ice position when the clay forces him away from the screen. Bell needs to be on the line between the ball and the basket, this forces the shorter man to rotate completely and give a cappella credit for handling this lob and putting it in the basket, the lead was still double digits when Harden got it Curry will switch to him. Curry was in good defensive position until Harden hit. on the brakes, he let it fly by and stopped for an easy 14-footer in double digits again. The pick-and-roll doesn't give the Rockets a mismatch as Draymond is as good as any forward defending a guard on the perimeter.

It's hard to believe. A simple exchange on the weak side could confuse the defense so much, but Clay doesn't know what's going on and a simple skip pass drills into green, an open look if you're wondering why the Rockets couldn't make a dent in the deficit. During the third quarter, just look at Steph Curry, who lit them up with 13 points of his own during a stretch with a variety of pull-ups from mid-range cuts to the rim and, of course, shaking up three of the defense for this three-pointer . lead, but then took advantage of a man down for the Rockets when they inexplicably missed a foul and gave them a 5-on-4 lead at this point, part of the feeling that it was time to take matters into their own hands, so a straight ISO on his best perimeter defender gets him one step closer to being competitive on right clay, but again, it doesn't matter, he's not done in this quarter yet, what makes Harden so impossible is his passing ability and his vision, the magnificent dyeing, the threat that is there. for a layup and finally the Rockets are making some progress on nine clays.

They should have known they would go for a two-for-one at the end of the quarter, but they are not in a good position. Harden hits them with a step cross. then he gets up to nail another three, this became a prize fight between two champions throughout the entire fourth quarter as the Warriors couldn't break free and the Rockets wouldn't let go with an extended pick and roll on shooters on both sides. the defense was open and when Livingston was caught off guard for the quick screen he was out of position on the switch and there was nothing a help defender like Clay could do on a perfect lob like this, anyway we got a crazy sequence in which you could tell every The player was in this like a playoff game.

Durant goes hard towards the hole he has stripped, then Looney is blocked from behind by Harden and this is where the Rockets had their first chance to take the lead, they trap the defense behind the pass for an open corner three cappella. it's in perfect position for the rebound, who kicks it out for another wide open third quarter, but they can't get it to fall and then they find Harden on top for a chance to dance to the step back, but he can't. Make it work and if you don't take advantage of the Warriors, they'll make you pay when Clay comes down, shoulder-bumps his man and turns it into a little 15-footer at the baseline for a three-point lead again.

The Rockets' quick pick and roll killed the Warriors all night as Capela blocks and Durant doesn't turn this around quick enough. The weakside help isn't in position, but Harden's superb pocket passing and Capela knows what to do with him down there. With Harden unable to convert under heavy pressure from Draymond, Durant says enough is enough and simply goes straight to the rim saying: I have doubts about these types of calls that we have seen from superstars often, but it seems to me that KD is simply By lowering her shoulder and initiating all contact, Tucker should add the right to her court position, get a play and two free throws with a four-point lead, but Katie was frustrated all night by opting to isolate instead of execute the offensive and search. a good shot above four with the opportunity to put a nail in the coffin, decides to make an early ISO dominance of six dribbles contested from three feet behind the line and 15 seconds on the clock, but redeems himself with the very close post. up on the left block as he turns on his right shoulder for a tough breakaway and this should be all folks and when this wild shot from Harden doesn't fall, it was just a matter of playing off the clock and the Warriors would get the win but someone explain it to me this shot up by six 15 seconds on the shot clock 1 minute 10 left in the game the defender is in good position and KD takes this is the only way to ensure the Rockets have a chance and lead directly to catch the defense outside from position fantastic a cappella lead pass by Harden and not only does he get the layup but Katy also fouls him.

I mean, can you hear me shaking my head wryly? It's Curry who takes almost the same shot that KD Justin conceded he was. a little more open and he's a much better shooter, but she better make it another two-for-one situation for the Rockets. Iguodala wanted the guard to stiffen up but KD fights him off and then gets into a bad stance with his arm raised like this, making him much slower to react and challenge and of course Harden just nails his decisive step back from 4 feet behind the arc and now the game is tied. I'm surprised, good job by the Warriors to force the change in Curry KD's pick-and-roll.

Credit Austin Rivers for fighting for his life down there and Durant misses a tough fadeaway. The Warriors were probably soiling their pants at the prospect of Harden getting one last chance, but it was a bit inexplicable that this was the chance they got to win, not one. Well, well, we all won with five extra minutes of this extraordinary game, considering the position the Warriors were in. It had to be demoralizing knowing they needed to go to overtime at home against a shorthanded Rockets team while Harden only had five points. in the fourth quarter he was going to make sure to leave his mark in overtime by isolating his second best perimeter defender, he makes contact on the drive, slams on the brakes, leaves a key swinging and returns to another three-point dream while clinging to a lead from one point, the defense increased its pressure and Steph Curry steps up, is there with plenty of time, makes contact and takes the charge, giving the Warriors the opportunity to regain the lead.

The Rockets didn't follow the model that lesser-seen teams used. recently from totally ignoring Iguodala and Draymond Green and this time when Capella should have been the help and invited Green to shoot from outside, it is Tucker who steps up to stop the penetration and takes him out of position to handle the dribble handoff and KD . gets an open 18 footer to fall and when the Rockets can't get him to tighten up and Rivers throws a runner on Draymond that misses, look how quickly the Warriors turn this into a corner three for Curry Holy Moly and there wasn't much.

Houston could have done it to stop him four down and, desperate for a basket, they came in and tightened in the right corner to take a rare step back so close to the sideline that he makes it, hits KD in the face and still knocks down the triple to cut the lead to one, this game is officially crazy while Austin Rivers went back and forth being

real

ly not that good and

real

ly good, here's a pick and pop that made both defenders stiffen up and I can't blame the Warriors for saying prove it, but prove it. They did it big, the Warriors ran their usual out of bounds play on the sideline that requires Curry to back screen Durant and he takes a step, no one in the world is going to block this and it's another tied game the one the Rockets attempt every iteration of their offense. to find an advantage, each one well protected by the intense defense of the Warriors and this leaves him no choice but to isolate Klay, who perfectly defends this step back and then goes out on the counterattack, attacks one on one and achieves the beauty of a off. left-footed layup to take a two-point lead and this game ends just when there's not much time left and an excellent 2-on-1 hard-up goes right to the rack, draws contact and somehow Draymond doesn't get a technical to continue that way . demonstratively, they had an argument, yes, a little, Hardin extends his arm out towards Green's body and, while it didn't have to be an offensive foul, a foul probably would have been the best option, now this is where it comes developed the game. completely out of control, the Warriors are now in a two-on-one situation and resort to a quick and cautious attack after the dribble, Hardin sneaks in behind and hits the ball into the fight, you won't believe how Cavey was. able to save this again on balance and equally improbable was how the ball found its way to Curry for what appeared to be the dagger from 20 feet, but the reason you won't believe it is because KD saved this ball with both. feet off the field right in front of the referee, and yet no one seemed to see him or call him out.

This can easily be considered the worst blown call in the history of NBA regular season games and Rockets fans were despondent at the prospect of losing the In a game like this, there were 5.5 seconds left. , there was still enough time to shoot and I really like what the Rockets ran, they went hard and deep in the defensive zone, but only to do it quickly when Tucker called a back screen for him. it doesn't really work because the Warriors just trade him, but he had room for the sack, he went into his dance clock feed and he took a step in the wrong direction to his right and that was all the space he needed to get out of the ball screen. get up drop the ball get hit right after the ball is in the air fall completely on your butt and yet the ball still goes to win when the Warriors miss a tight window to find open clay KD has two up pitches can hit James Harden is on a mission to single-handedly carry this Rockets team on his back with the ridiculous display of skill that very few players have shown.

On the court, you may not like all the fouls he commits and that's for another video coming soon, but there's no denying that this is a guy who has firmly put himself in the lead of the Most Player race. Valuable, bringing the Rockets to the brink of missing the playoffs. This year, threatening the best teams in the West with a nationally televised game, he threw down the gauntlet to the Warriors, who suddenly looked very deadly in their quest to win another title. When CP3 returns to the lineup, he may not Let's see the same outrageous outbursts from They toughen up like the last 11 games in a row, but they will be even more powerful and capable of winning it all.

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