With the NBA on an indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, many of the league’s players are finding new ways to communicate and spend their time in the era of social distancing.
Earlier this week, Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons streamed himself and friends playing the Call of Duty video game. Midway through the stream, Simmons and his friends began talking about basketball.
Fittingly for Simmons — a two-time All-Star and a candidate for 2020 Defensive Player of the Year — the topic of discussion was the NBA’s best defenders. And it began with Simmons offering a strong endorsement of the defense by Houston Rockets star James Harden.
I’ve got something to say. Everyone talks on James’ defense, but he can play D. I don’t think y’all understand how strong that dude is. He’s a strong guy. A lot of people listen to analytics and stuff, it makes no sense. Analytically? You can’t always look at numbers, man.
To Simmons’ point, Harden ranks in the NBA’s 91st percentile among qualified players in post defense. He holds opponents to a 32.1% shooting clip, and forces turnovers in 13.0% of those possessions.
As a 6-foot-5 guard, Harden’s unique ability to defend down low is a big part of why head coach Mike D’Antoni was comfortable transitioning to a smaller lineup with additional 3-point shooting and defensive versatility.
While many teams making that type of change would be bludgeoned on the low block due to their lack of size, that hasn’t often been the case with the Rockets (40-24), and Harden’s defense is a big reason.
Harden was dominant against Simmons and the Sixers (39-26) in their one meeting so far this season, scoring 44 points on 13-of-24 shooting (54.2%) and 6-of-12 (50.0%) from 3-point range in a 118-108 Houston victory on Jan. 3. Harden also had 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
The rematch in Philadelphia was scheduled for March 31, but that has been scrapped amid the NBA’s suspended season. Should the 2019-20 season resume, it’s unclear whether that game would be re-scheduled.
