James Harden is one of the most dominant offensive forces the NBA has ever seen, and his isolation style has completely changed how opposing defenses look to play the Rockets.
Harden looks to get himself in one-on-one situations as much as possible, as few players in the league can check him. He has the ability to drive to the basket and finish at the rim, but he can also lull players to sleep with his rhythm dribble, only to pull up at a moment’s notice to drain a three-pointer. Harden is also very smart analytics-wise, as he almost never takes a midrange jumper.
And with Houston set to square off with Toronto on Thursday night, the Raptors have been watching a lot of tape on Harden. And, according to Fred VanVleet, they know they’ll have their work cut out for them, especially in one-on-one situations.
Fred VanVleet on facing James Harden and the Rockets tomorrow: "We've already pretty much played every defense you can think of or dream of, so it won't be the first time we do anything, other than just James is kind of an alien out there, 1-on-1."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) December 4, 2019
It’s rare that we hear “alien” used to compliment another player, but VanVleet isn’t wrong at all.
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