Kevin Durant had high praise for James Harden after the Brooklyn Nets took down the Los Angeles Clippers at Barclays Center on Tuesday night. It was a complete showdown that saw the New Yorkers beat the Los Angelenos in a game full of action.
Kyrie Irving took over and led the Nets to the win with 39 points to close a terrific game for the point guard. Steve Nash’s team earned the 124-120 win over one of the best defensive teams in the league and that made everybody happy.
Moreover, Durant believes it was Harden’s defense that had a big impact on the game and explained why going to Houston changed people’s perception of the Beard and his defense, something that has changed in Brooklyn.
Kevin Durant says James Harden is an underrated defender
The 2014 MVP had nothing but good words to say about his new teammate and he broke down how things changed for No. 13 since his time in Oklahoma City, Houston and now in the big apple with the Nets.
“Coming in with James his rookie year, we asked him to guard guys, the best players off the bench, so he knows exactly what he needs to do on the defensive side of the ball,” Durant said, via the New York Daily News. “When he [went] to Houston, he had to control the offense so much that it’s compromising on who you want to guard and what type of defense you want to play, but he’s always been good at getting steals and playing post defense, using his strength, so he’s an all-around defender.
“If we ask him to guard somebody, he can go out there and do his job. I think that’s the underrated part of his game.”
Harden’s defense has been criticized over the years but the player showed his quality during his last two seasons with Houston. He could guard some players and do a decent job but people didn’t seem to notice that.
Now he’s trying to help his new team on both ends of the ball, even using different strategies to contribute. He’s the assisting leader of the league and seeing how well KD talked about him, you know his efforts in defense are paying off.
