Defense is half the game. A lot of stars like James Harden, when they’re asked to carry a huge burden on offense, choose to slack off on defense. Even LeBron’s defensive numbers are down this year, especially compared to his 2010-2011 season when he was a monster defensively. I think George is settling for jumpers on offense to save energy for defense. Defense is exhausting because it requires chasing shooters around the court, fighting through screens, and sprinting to close out on jump shots. A lot of times, a good defensive sequence for a player ends with not even a block or steal added to his stats, and the lack box score stats for good defense is a reason why I think a lot of stars prioritize offense over defense. When George has a 3 for 12 shooting night, everybody notices. When Harden allows Ray Allen to blow by him 4 times, leading to layups, that doesn’t show up on the box score.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 03:49:56 +0000
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