Harden has extremely rich offensive methods. Although he has top-notch ball-holding and singles ability, he is not bound by personal attacks. Harden also has a strong field vision and can assist his teammates at any time. He also promoted the use of step-back three-pointers in the game. Now step-back three-pointers has become a standard singles technique.
Harden's breakthrough also has its unique features. The strong upper limb strength gives him confidence to expose the ball too early. This is a technical action that is extremely difficult to copy and violates basketball common sense. At the same time, Harden's control of rhythm and his strong core strength have been perfectly combined. This issue of "Signature Technique" will explain Harden's step-back three-pointer and ball-holding breakthrough for you in detail.
[Retreat step three-pointer against singles]
From the perspective of efficiency, the shooting rate of three-pointers with the ball and singles is lower than the shooting shots that catch the ball outside the three-point line. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to take three-pointers with the ball, because the ball holder needs to find the space to find the action while constantly dribbling the ball and changing the center of gravity, while maintaining the stability of the action. It feels like on a bumpy ferry, trying to drink a three-quarter full hot tea.
This is one of Harden's last few games in the Rockets. He first made a pick-and-roll with Cousins at 45 degrees outside the three-point line. But the quality of this pick-and-roll is not high, and the defender still maintains his defensive position after bypassing Cousins. Harden was still one step away from the three-point line at this time. He first made a fake move of combo , and the defender was still not shaken. Harden then made a fake move of breaking to the right. This time, the defender was attracted successfully and quickly moved two steps towards Harden's breakthrough. At this time, Harden used his famous skill to retreat three points.
Harden's three-pointer step back usually requires the change of center of gravity in an instant, and while collecting the ball, he relies on one leg to take a big step in the opposite direction.
But in this round, because the defender was shaken away too much, Harden chose to close the ball one step later, and dribble again while retreating.
If you pretend to break through and cannot shake your opponent's position, Harden will choose to use a continuous dribble under the crotch to mobilize the opponent's center of gravity.
As shown in the figure above, Harden's three-pointer step back can open up a relatively large shot space in an instant. So he only needs to keep the opponent's center of gravity in a relatively stagnant state and basically complete the preparations before taking action.
It can be seen that the defender was almost stepping on the three-point line to defend in this round, so Harden chose to take a step back directly to end the three-pointer, without choosing to combine the ball late and run one more step.
The most ideal space configuration for Harden to play singles with the ball is that all four teammates have certain three-ball passes, and there is also a big player with strong mobility to cooperate with himself as a pick-and-roll.
But this configuration was difficult to achieve by the 76ers last season. As shown in the figure above, except Harden, the only people who really threaten three-pointers are Green at the bottom corner and Harris at the 45-degree angle Harris . Although Seble also stood in the bottom corner, his shooting skills did not attract too much attention from the defensive players.
So the space on the field is not ideal at this time. Timberwolves has set up a contraction-type defensive position, which is to give Harden a chance to fight on the outside. It can also be seen from the movement of the defensive Harden player's footsteps that his intention to shrink is very obvious.
Harden observed the situation on the court and found that there was no good offensive route. At this time, he was the only reliable ball holding point on the court, so he chose to take a step back and take a three-pointer.
In terms of the space environment and tactical positioning on the field, Harden's treatment in the Nets period was significantly higher than that in the 76ers period.As shown in the picture above, we can see that the Nets' personnel configuration on the court almost all have the ability to shoot three-pointers at this time. The only , Clarkston, , which does not have three-pointers, is the mobile inside line that Harden likes to cooperate with his pick-and-roll.
From the offensive players' positions, we can also see how extreme the space the Nets provide for Harden is, and they have truly cleared one side. At this time, Harden has many options, he can break through from any side, and he can also choose to play singles on the outside.
Harden observed that the left line given up by the defender was full of assisted defense, and the empty right was the side where the defender focused on defending, and the right hand was not his usual hand. So he chose to use continuous hips to make the opponent's center of gravity relatively stagnate, and then take a big step backward at the moment of closing the ball to complete the three-point end.
[Retreat step three-pointer and play big]
Harden's style of playing is the standard core type of ball holding. In the offense of such players, there are countless high-end pick-and-roll and small-shot rounds.
In the opening game where Harden was traded to the 76ers, he hit a 3-pointer with a small and big move.
In this game, the Timberwolves' defensive strategy against Harden was a failure. As shown in the picture above, Harris didn't even make a pick-and-roll posture, so the Timberwolves chose to switch defenses. Such a small opportunity to play is too easy.
Harden is not a player with absolute speed. When facing defense, it is difficult for him to gain too many direct advantages through the rate item. But when facing misalignment, it is a completely different scene, so Harden's speed advantage is reflected, and he does not need to make too many breakthroughs or fake moves of the ball. He only needs to pass a change in the center of gravity and take that big step in the opposite direction to get enough room for action.
[Breakthrough Assistance]
If there is no sharp breakthrough ability, Harden's three-pointer will be strictly guarded by the opponent. At the same time, his breakthrough is often accompanied by quite a few changes. Harden, who can assist his teammates at any time, may make his opponent more frightened than Harden who scored 40+ in a single game.
Harden first made a pick-and-roll cooperation with wood outside the three-point line, and Harden suddenly started to leave the defender Mills behind. At this time, he chose to break through and faced the inside defender who had changed his defense. As Harden marched, there was a moment when he formed a parallel state with Wood who followed up after completing the pick-and-roll. He found that Wood, who followed up, was in an open position and sent an assist with a chic back.
Harden likes to cooperate with players with mobility and athleticism in the online position. If the position where the pick-and-roll is initiated is in the front of the basket, Harden will choose to pretend to break through to one side to attract the attention of the opponent's inside defense. At this time, the player who is pick-and-rolled with Harden will definitely be in an open position.
But considering that the pick-and-roll launch position is high, the teammates will still have a certain distance from the basket when they receive the ball. At this time, the receiver's athletic ability is needed to make up for the space in the last journey. Wood and Green are both good candidates.
When the pick-and-roll man is hardly capable of dribbling, Harden will also choose to shorten the distance he can complete the finish. When facing a double-team defense, Harden can find his teammates with his excellent sense of position on the field and provide assists.
As shown in the figure above, Harden and Jordan Jr.'s pick-and-roll position were close to the 45-degree angle position of the three-point line. At this time, Harden consciously chose to break through deeper into the bottom line, leaving enough space for Jordan Jr. Although Jordan Jr. is not very mobile, his wide body can provide Harden with a very high-quality pick-and-roll.
Harden can perfectly integrate his three-pointer and breakthrough threat with his passing ability. As shown in the round above, Harden held the ball at 45 degrees from the right side outside the three-point line.After a series of free moves, he failed to completely shake the defender's center of gravity. When he chose to take a three-pointer, he found that he was very determined in the defense. Harden temporarily changed his strategy, passed the ball to his teammates in the bottom corner, and completed an off-ball breakthrough. As teammates passed the ball back, Harden attracted the attention of two inside defenders in the penalty area. He threw the ball high and sent an air relay to Jordan, who was ambushed in the ghost position.
[Breakthrough to attack the basket]
Harden's breakthrough can instantly change the opponent's defensive formation. His impact on the basket has an equally important tactical position as a three-pointer in retreat.
When facing a counterattack whose tonnage is too disparity from himself, Harden will choose to take his opponents hard. After physical confrontation, he can still maintain a very stable center of gravity and shooting feel. Another more important point is Harden's excessive exposure to the ball after breaking through and closing the ball. Harden has strong upper limb strength, and the seemingly overexposed basketball is actually firmly under his control.
At this time, it is a test for the defender. If you want to reach out and intercept the ball, Harden will choose to raise his arms and cause you to foul. If you can't help but reach out, Harden can drive straight into the basket.
Harden easily gives people a lazy state when he holds the ball over the half. But in fact, he is observing the opponent's defensive layout all the way, so you can rarely see the scene where Harden is pushing the fast attack with the ball and finally attacking the basket.
But we can see a large number of Harden's "early attack" rounds between fast attack and positional attack when the opponent's half-field position defense has not yet been fully completed.
As shown in the picture above, while Harden was pushing with the ball, he found that the distance between the left and right of the inside defense of the Celtics was too large, and both inside players were sinking near the elbow area. Harden chose to break through the middle immediately. Tatum had just arrived at the defensive position in the middle, and there was a moment of inattention. Harden seized this opportunity and fought all the way to the basket to finish the end.
In the above round, Harden first lies in ambush at the right bottom corner. At this time, Embid holds the ball at the top of the arc. Harden and Harris made a cross-no-ball run at 45 degrees on the right, while Harden took the lead and completed a hand-passing pass with Embiid.
After the downwards, Harris did not find the opportunity, so he quickly moved to the weak side, leaving room for Embiid's downwards. Harden broke through with the ball, and the defender in front of him was Downs. Harden can choose to attack by himself or pass the ball to Embiid, who is in a deeper position.
Due to Embiid's restraining force, Towns did not mention his defensive position. Harden, who observed this, decisively chose to use a throw to complete the end.
Harden's breakthrough and step-back three-pointer are two winning magic weapons that helped him win the scoring champion several times, but with the recurrence of Harden's hamstring injury, his two skills were also affected to a certain extent last season.
The biggest influence is Harden's breakthrough. Harden, who lost his first step to start explosive power, is like an sports car that has lost his sports gear, which is also a major reason for his data struggle last season.
With Harden's active salary cut, the 76ers completed the top signing operation this year's offseason. Tucker and House are both Harden's old teammates during the Rockets. Harden can feel the familiar feeling in them. I also hope that through the offseason recovery, he can regain the familiar feeling of scoring on the court as soon as possible when he was in the Rockets.
