Vinny Del Negro: How I'd Stop James Harden
The concept of stopping a great scorer like James Harden is substantially easier than the reality.
Schemes are great. But execution and getting everyone on the same page are the real keys to containing his production.
Step 1: Take Away the Three
The first thing you have to do with Harden—and it’s exactly what the Dallas Mavericks are doing—is try to make him a two-point shooter. Have him take contested two-point shots. He can knock down threes, and he’s so creative getting to the basket and to the free-throw line, so the first priority is making him attempt as many tough twos as possible.
Step 2: Don't Foul The Beard
You cannot give him free throws. Again, that’s easier in theory than in practice.
You can’t really touch him. He does a good job taking contact because of his size and strength. He bumps you when he dribbles by you. More importantly, he baits defenders by putting the ball out a little bit and gets his arms underneath theirs to make sure he draws some contact.
In today’s NBA, the rules are slanted toward offensive players. Defenders can’t hand-check their matchups or really use any physicality on the perimeter.
So you really have to keep your hands out of the play as much as possible. And your rotations have to be sharp to keep him from getting all the way to the rim. When he takes off, you have to go straight up. You want to make him try a floater instead of using the glass, because it’s a harder shot to convert.
Step 3: Limit Transition Chances
You have to load up on him in the open court and shrink his penetration lanes. There was one possession in Game 2 where Harden attacked off a Dallas score, broke down the defense and drove right to the rim.
If he gets a straight line drive, he’s going to put too much pressure on your defense. Not only can he score, but he can also put your team in foul trouble or penetrate deep enough to draw help defenders. And then that opens up the three-point shot for the Houston Rockets, which they’re always trying to get.
Step 4: Force Him Right as Much as Possible
When he gets to his left hand, he’s so good at beating his man and scoring the basketball, putting you in the penalty or setting up his teammates. If you can limit his drives and force him to attempt those step-back jump shots, you can hopefully control his assists and curtail the number of foul calls he gets.
But his right hand is good enough to create separation. And then what he wants to do—like Manu Ginobili—is get back to that left hand. Because that’s where he takes those long one or two steps and covers so much ground to set up those lefty scoop shots.
You have to read the personnel in order to force him right. If the Rockets are setting a screen with their 1, 2 or 3, you can switch it. But if a frontcourt player sets the pick, your big has to be close enough to at least corral Harden and control his drive.
Step 5: Get in His Personal Space
He likes to run that high-angle pick-and-roll, and then all of a sudden he’ll take a couple retreat dribbles. That buys him more space. The farther away from the basket he is, the harder it is for big guys to close his driving lanes and take that crossover dribble away.
You have to keep your bigs close, but they can’t chase him way beyond the three-point line. If you trap him too far from the basket, there’s too much ground to cover in your defensive rotations. And that puts pressure on Dallas’ wings, who aren’t very big. Monta Ellis and J.J. Barea are trying to bump the big guys coming down the lane and then recover to the corner three-point shooters.
If the rotations are a step slow, Harden will pick you apart with his size and over-the-top ability with his length.
Step 6: Make Him Uncomfortable
You have to trap him once in a while—maybe out of a timeout, after free throws or on a sideline out-of-bounds play—just to get the ball out of his hands.
The risk in that is when Houston moves Josh Smith and Terrence Jones to the elbow area. One pass from Harden, and the Rockets’ bigs can play high-low with the constant threat of a lob pass to Dwight Howard.
You really have to pick your spots when blitzing Harden. He has enough size to see over the top of a defense. And when he beats the trap with a pass, Houston has numbers in the paint and a slew of high-flying finishers.
Step 7: Minimize His Touches
Once he gives up the ball, make it tough for him to get it back. If he’s bringing it up the court, put some pressure on him and make him at least have to go behind the back or use a spin dribble. Make him expend some energy and start chewing into the shot clock.
Houston plays with great pace, so Harden will sometimes have ample opportunities to attack. He’ll give up the ball and get it back right away. He’ll penetrate, kick it out and get it again. Then, he’s penetrating again or shooting a jumper—that’s too many opportunities for him to get touches.
Step 8: Wear Him Down
You want to deplete some of his fuel at the defensive end. That’s a problem the Mavs are having. They’re not able to put much pressure on him defensively at all.
He had a labor-intensive assignment when Chandler Parsons was playing. But with Parsons out, they don’t have anyone who can challenge him. So Harden is resting on defense and then doing what he wants at the other end.
He’s such a versatile player. He can shoot the three, hit step-backs, get to the rim, work his way to the free-throw line and use his size and athletic ability to finish over the top.
That makes executing these strategies far more difficult than implementing them. But at the end of the day, you don’t want the other team’s best player beating you.
A great scorer is going to make tough shots. But you don’t want to give him everything: threes, free throws, point-blank shots, assists. You want to see how difficult you can make it on him without letting the other players hurt you.
Vinny Del Negro played 12 seasons in the NBA and was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 2008 to 2010, and the Los Angeles Clippers from 2010 to 2013. Del Negro is currently an analyst with NBA TV.
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