Over-reliance on Harden is fatal to the playoffs.
Whether james harden plays point guard or shooting guard, he is a player with high possession rate. According to the official statistics of NBA, among the players who played at least 60 games and played at least 20 minutes per game in the 20 16- 17 season, james harden's usage percentage (the data to calculate how many ball rights a single player occupies) is the fourth highest in the league (34. 1%).
In the 20 16- 17 regular season, when james harden was present, the rocket's offensive efficiency was 1 13.6, but when he was not present, it dropped to 106.5, a difference of about 7 points. In the more competitive playoffs, opponents will inevitably freeze Harden, the only core of the rocket, at all costs, so that he needs to constantly try to score points through tough shooting, so his offensive efficiency in the array is lower than when he is not there.
This makes the Rockets management hope to find a top organizer to plan the attack for the team and share the organization work of james harden. On the other hand, former clippers point guard chris paul is the best organized point guard in the league. Although he doesn't shoot as often as james harden, he is also the focus of the team's attack. Freezing chris paul is equivalent to freezing the whole attack system of the speedboat. Both Harden and chris paul realized that it is increasingly difficult for them to create opportunities under the existing team system.
The possibility of cooperation between Harden and chris paul
"BBALLBREAKDOWN" thinks that the cooperation of two super point guards may be the most wonderful combination since Magic Johnson and Nelson connected. One of them is in charge of attacking, and the other is in charge of finding empty space, which will make the opponent hard to guard against.
Chris paul's organizational talent may make some fans forget that he also shoots well. In fact, his career average is 18.7 points and his shooting percentage is 47.3%. In the 20 16- 17 season, his three-point shooting percentage has reached a career high of 4 1. 1%. Take the cooperation between chris paul and darren collison as an example. Darren collison is a traditional point guard. When he partnered with him, chris paul adjusted his play slightly. Next season, the Rockets may take this as one of their offensive plans. James harden cuts in, and chris paul finds an open shot. This example proves that chris paul has no problem of sharing the ball at all.
Of course, it can also be reversed according to the needs of the occasion. James harden also has the basketball wisdom of running without the ball, and for chris paul, who has the first-class organization ability, it is really easy to pass the ball to Harden.
Both of them also have excellent ball control organization and scoring ability, which means that the team's attack is more changeable and the opponents are more difficult to defend. However, BBALLBREAKDOWN also estimates that the cooperation between the two players will not be seamless from the beginning. It is estimated that it will take two months before the season to break the tacit understanding of sharing the ball rights. In addition, it is necessary to observe how the Rockets will reorganize the team's bench after sending off many players, or will they attract another superstar to join, as rumored? These are the decisive factors for next season's performance, but just playing a combination of the two is enough to stimulate.