HOUSTON -- He’s coming off one of his worst performances in the postseason.
James Harden finished Game 3 with a 3-for-16 night, scoring 17 points in 32 minutes. It was the second-worst shooting percentage (18.8) in his postseason career. Harden didn’t even play the fourth quarter of the Houston Rockets' 115-80 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Harden can’t afford to have another poor outing in Game 4 on Monday night at the Toyota Center.
The Warriors have employed different sets of defenders on Harden. In Games 1 and 2, Klay Thompson was the primary defender. In Game 3, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala clamped down on the MVP runner-up.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Harden missed eight of nine shot attempts when covered by Barnes and Iguodala over 12 plays. He went 0-for-4 when covered by just Barnes.
The double-teams are nothing new for Harden, but how he handles the pressure slows him and the rest of the offense down.
“I’m used to it,” Harden said of the double-teams. “It’s been going on all year. It’s at a higher level [in the playoffs]. I got to do a better job of moving my body, moving around, making the defense try to find me, create some opportunities for my teammates.”
Warriors forward Draymond Green said he sees the frustration in Harden.
“I saw a little frustration last game, not the previous two games,” Green said. “Last game you kinda saw a little frustration, it’s expected especially coming off two games where he got whatever he wanted. So [Warriors coach Steve Kerr] kinda changed the game plan and it kinda slowed him down a little bit. It can be a bit frustrating.”
Golden State assistant coach Ron Adams is the defensive coordinator and he’s composed a different plan of sorts to slow Harden. The plan changes from game to game and while Adams won’t reveal what the plan is now, whatever worked in Game 3 will likely carry over.
The Warriors have employed single coverage on Harden then shaded a second defender near him in case he gets free. When he gets past and drives to the basket, another defender meets him at the rim.
“There are no easy answers for him,” said Adams, who coached Harden when the pair was in Oklahoma City. “You also have to be versatile and you have to change around and see what’s hurting you and try to adjust to it. No easy answers for him.”
Harden does agree he needs to become more aggressive on offense by attacking the rim, something he’s excellent at. He also must move around the floor after passing, so he can get another opportunity to get the ball again.
“Ronnie Adams is the man behind all that,” Harden said. “He coached me a couple years and he’s going to switch it up, no matter who it is, I just got to be aggressive, whether I’m making shots or missing shots. Be aggressive, get to the basket, play-make.”