How do you guard a problem like James Harden?
如何解决像Harden这样的防守难题?
James Harden is having one of the greatest scoring seasons we've ever seen.
In the 45-year history of Basketball Reference's possession-tracking
database, no player has piled up points at the rate Harden has this season.
Harden打出了我们曾见证过的最伟大的得分赛季之一, 据BBR数据库追踪过去45年数据,
没有球员做到过Harden这赛季的得分效率.
His usage rate of 40.5 percent ranks second in recorded history, behind only
Russell Westbrook's indulgent 2016-17 campaign, but he's used those
possessions far more efficiently, with 61.6 percent true shooting. And he's
done it for a Houston Rockets team that's been missing three of its four best
offensive players for a combined 51 games but still owns the ninth-best
offensive rating of all time.
他的40.5%USG为历史第二高, 只落后Westbrook 16-17赛季, 但是他的61.6 TS效率却远远
更好, 他是在火箭缺席4位最好的进攻球员, 共缺席51场的情况下做到, 但仍然打出历史
第9的进攻效率.
Harden is an elite offense unto himself, with his mastery of footwork, ball
handling, passing, and off-the-dribble shooting; his ability to hit
impossible threes or set up easy ones for his teammates; and to juke or bully
his way to the rim and draw fouls in every way imaginable.
Harden是一位菁英级进攻型球员, 他拥有大师级脚步, 运球能力, 传球能力, 运球投篮能
力. 他有能力投进高难度三分, 为队友创造简单机会, 靠身材进攻篮框以及用各种方式买
饭.
Over the past few years, Harden's become one of the most unique and
fascinating riddles posed to NBA defenses. And while there's no "solving" it,
really, you can avoid being completely consumed by it if you can decipher its
internal logic.
在过去这几年, Harden已经成为NBA最独特的防守难题之一了, 虽然没有万全之策能解决
他, 但如果你能理解其中一些逻辑, 那么还是能避免被Harden完全吃死.
Here are a few of the ways teams have defended Harden this year, and some of
the ways he's countered those coverages.
下面这些方式是这赛季各球队防守Harden的方式以及Harden应对方式
Drop the big, force the drive
把长人放禁区, 强迫对手切入
When scheming for Harden, the first thing you have to decide is what you're
willing to live with, because you can only take away so much. An increasingly
popular pick-and-roll coverage, particularly for teams that rely on
slow-footed bigs, involves dropping the screener's defender deep into the
paint to protect the basket, while the on-ball defender chases Harden over
the screen and pursues him from behind.
制定策略对付Harden, 第一件事你必须去选择你能容许他做什么事情, 这是因为你能限制
他的选项是有限的, 比较普遍的挡拆防守策略, 特别是那些依赖脚步慢的长人的球队, 会
把长人丢到禁区去护框, 同时对球的防守人会挤过掩护从后面追着Harden.
The strategy isn't so much about denying Harden scoring opportunities as it
is about taking away the spots from which he generates his most efficient
shots. The rearview pursuit should force Harden off the 3-point line and into
the paint. From there, the goal is to bait him into no-man's-land shots like
mid-range pull-ups, which he's reluctant to take and (relatively speaking)
not that good at. By stationing a big body near the rim, teams can
essentially sandwich him with shot contesters from both directions.
这策略并不是要限制Harden出手机会, 而是要让他远离他能投出高效出手的投篮点, 迫使
Harden离开三分线并让他进入到禁区, 目的是诱使他出手那些无人防守的投篮, 例如中距
离急停跳投, 这个他不怎么想出手的类型以及效率也相对较低. 在篮框周围摆长人, 让球
队能够前后夹他, 干扰他出手.
If executed well, this also allows the three defenders who aren't involved in
the central screening action to stay home on the shooters dotting the arc
around the Harden pick-and-roll. That means avoiding the impulse to help once
he gets into the middle of the floor and trusting your big to protect against
a layup while staying attached to the roll man, all without fouling. The
Spurs created the blueprint for this scheme in the 2017 Western Conference
semis, and other teams like the Raptors and Trail Blazers have copied it as a
way of both protecting and optimizing their hulking centers defensively.
若执行得好的话, 这会让外围三个防守者不用参与中间的Harden挡拆防守, 可以待在原地
防射手, 这意谓著当他切进来时, 可以避免协防的冲动, 可以信任你家的长人来干扰上
篮, 同时守住roll man并且不犯规. 马刺在2017西区半决赛使用此策略, 而其它队例如暴
龙以及拓荒者也复制同样的策略来护框以及保护速度慢的长人.
This season, the Bucks took it a step further. Their on-ball defenders,
particularly Eric Bledsoe, overplayed the hell out of Harden's left hand,
giving him a free lane to attack with his right. The tactic made it harder
for Harden to dance into pull-up threes in isolation, and also limited the
utility of a screen. For the offense: Why clutter an already clear driving
lane? For the defense: When you're shading Harden that aggressively, it's
easy enough to wedge yourself between him and the screener to force him away
from the pick. The Bucks' bigs were waiting for him at the rim every time.
而这赛季公鹿则更进一步, 他们的有球防守人, 特别是Eric Bledsoe不给Harden用左手,
完全放掉右侧给他切. 这策略会让Harden在单打情况下, 很难出手急停跳投三分, 也限制
了掩护效果. 为何要放他切? 当你压的足够侵略性, 就可以很简单地把你自己卡在他和掩
护人之间, 来迫使他不使用掩护, 公鹿的长人就可以无时无刻龟在篮下.
http://tinyurl.com/y55p4xqg
他仍然砍下42分, 但是失误9次, 对比他的6次助攻
Harden's counters: Against the drop coverage, Harden can basically get all
the floaters his heart desires, and he's responded to the popularization of
the scheme by becoming better at hitting them. He's shooting 43.2 percent
from floater range (inside the paint, but outside the restricted area)
compared to 35.3 percent over the previous four years combined.
Harden应对: 对付这种龟在篮下, Harden可以出手抛投抛到爽, Harden就是用投进更多抛
投来回应这种策略, 他在抛投距离投出43.2%命中率, 对比前4年只有35.3%命中率.
On its own, that still represents a great percentage play for the defense.
But it doesn't account for the fact that Harden draws fouls on 11 percent of
his drives, or that he still finds passing seams that lead to corner threes,
or that getting the drop man to commit to stopping his drive opens up a lob
or shovel pass to the roll man (usually Clint Capela). The Rockets can also
set their screens higher to give Harden a longer runway, which allows him to
gather speed and Euro-step around the backpedaling big man. Here, Harden
exploits the Bucks and then the Nuggets:
就个人得分而言, 他就已经投出较高的命中率了, 但这还没有算进他的切入有11%机会买
饭, 或者找到传球路径传给底角射手, 又或者为了防他切入而创造的lob以及地板球传给
roll man的机会(通常是Capela), 火箭也可以在高位更远位置设置掩护, 创造出够远的距
离, 这能让Harden保持高速以及欧洲步来对付不断沉退的长人.
http://tinyurl.com/yxtr9rz3
Against the Bucks' exaggerated version of the coverage, Harden also used his
lethal side-step move to create enough space to get 3-pointers off going to
his right. He wound up hoisting 16 threes in that game and hitting six.
在公鹿夸张的防守策略之下, Harden从右边用他致命的side-step创造足够的空间来投三
分, 他16投6中.
Switch the small stuff
用小个子换防他
Harden is as good an isolation scorer as there is, and he can work basically
any defender in the NBA. But he still prefers to operate in a controlled
environment where he's selecting his opponent. Most Harden coverages are just
teams' best attempts to avoid the terror of seeing their most vulnerable
perimeter defender stranded on an island against him. That's why so many of
these game plans are geared toward protecting big men against a switch.
Allowing Harden to isolate against a big with limited mobility is asking to
get burned, either by a clean step-back three or a blow-by with a path to an
unprotected rim.
Harden是个优秀的单打手, 他基本上可以单打任何一个NBA防守者, 但他仍然倾向挑选想
要的防守者去执行单打, 大多数对付Harden的策略就是避免最弱的防守者去对位Harden,
这就是为何大多数的比赛计画都是倾向保护长人而不是换防, 让机动性较差的长人去防
Harden单打就是自杀, 不是被投进后撤步三分, 不然就是被过并且篮下没护框.
But some teams have the personnel to avoid that fate, or at least mitigate
the risk. The Warriors are one such team, thanks to their ability to downsize
and play Draymond Green at the five for extended minutes. Even so, having
Steph Curry on the floor still gives Harden a soft spot to attack. Golden
State sometimes responds by trying to pre-switch and sub Curry out for Green
or Andre Iguodala as the screen defender, snuffing out the targeted mismatch
before the Rockets can adjust.
但有些球队却拥有人员配置来避免被单打的命运, 或者说至少风险比较低了, 勇士就是这
样的一支球队, 这得感谢他们的小阵容以及Green扛五号的能力. 把Curry摆在场上, 这会
这变成Harden突破口, 勇士有时候会使用预先换防, 在火箭能做出反应之前, 让Green或
者Andre Iguodala做为掩护者换回来, 来避免被错位.
For the most part, though, switching one wing or guard for another - even
when you lose some size - doesn't pose the same risk as doing so with bigs.
Harden can physically overwhelm guys, but he hardly ever posts up, and will
often look for his step-back when he's faced with a defender capable of
sliding with him on drives. In other words, you can get away with not sending
help after giving up size on a switch (though it makes contesting his jumper
more difficult).
而大部分的情况是直接用侧翼或者后卫换防, 即使这会失去size优势, 但这与直接用长人
换防的风险不同, 当Harden碰到防守人能滑步跟上他的切入时, 虽然Harden可以直接用身
材辗过去, 但他却很少去打低位, 而是倾向用后撤步. 换句话说就是你用换防牺牲了
size, 但也不需要额外协防(这也意谓着你可以直接干扰他投篮, 让他出手更困难).
http://tinyurl.com/y64vu66u
Obviously, there are some weak guard defenders that Harden can rip through
like tissue paper. But for teams like the Raptors or Thunder, who are stocked
with length and strength on the perimeter and quickness in the frontcourt,
switching everyone one through four is manageable. Pascal Siakam handled
himself beautifully on Harden switches Tuesday night.
很明显, 联盟有一些比较弱的后卫, Harden可以像撕掉卫生纸一样撕碎他们, 但对于某些
球队例如暴龙以及雷霆, 他们囤积了一堆有臂展, 力量, 速度兼具的前场球员, 可以换防
1到4号, Pascal Siakam在礼拜四晚上的比赛中, 换防Harden就执行得特别漂亮.
The Thunder switch against Harden as liberally as anyone, as long as it isn't
center Steven Adams being drawn into the action. (They can get a bit quicker
at that position with Nerlens Noel, or go small with Jerami Grant at the
five.) They don't protect Westbrook the same way the Warriors do Curry, and
for that reason, the Rockets tend to target Westbrook most. They know the
Thunder will concede that switch, and they know it's a favorable matchup for
Harden.
雷霆也有能力执行换防, 只要别让Steven Adams去换防就行(他们这位置有速度更快的选
择, 例如Nerlens Noel, 又或者打小阵容让Jerami Grant打5号), 他们不会像勇士那样(
保护Curry)去保护Westbrook, 所以火箭大部分情况下都会锁定Westbrook来攻击, 他们知
道雷霆一定会换防, 而这对于Harden来说也是最佳对位.
Harden's counter: This one's simple: Seek and destroy. As long as there's an
exploitable defender on the floor, the Rockets will target him relentlessly
in an effort to get him isolated on Harden. Generating a switch is usually
exactly what they want.
Harden应对: 这就很简单, 就是寻找错位然后摧毁他, 只要场上有可以打点的防守人, 火
箭就会无情的锁定他攻击, 透过换防来得到想要的错位.
Blitz
闪电夹击
Some teams prefer to try force the ball out of Harden's hands when they have
the opportunity. They can do that by trapping or "blitzing" the
pick-and-roll, sending two to the ball and trying to prevent him from turning
the corner.
有些球队会比较喜欢不让Harden拿球, 他们是利用包夹或者闪电夹击来针对挡拆, 派两个
人去包持球者, 阻止他(透过挡拆)绕过对位.
Plenty of teams have turned to the blitz at various times against Harden, but
the Nuggets are among the few who've relied on it as a primary coverage plan.
Where most teams try to protect their plodding bigs by stashing them as close
as possible to the basket, the Nuggets use theirs, Nikola Jokic, to create
traps 30 feet from the basket when he gets pulled into the high-screen
action. It's a gambit that toes the line between aggressive and reckless.
大多数球队会在不同的时间点, 去执行闪电夹击来防Harden, 而金块是少数把这招作为主
要防守策略的球队, 大多数球队会保护她们的长人, 尽可能地把它们摆的离篮框越近越
好, 而金块则是让Jokic在远离篮框30呎位置执行包夹.
In a vacuum, the strategy makes sense. Even if it opens up rim runs for
Capela or open threes for P.J. Tucker, Austin Rivers, and Gerald Green, isn't
it better to make those guys beat you than to let Harden do it?
Statistically, a Rockets catch-and-shoot 3-pointer (35.9 percent) is a better
outcome for a defense than a Harden pull-up three (36.4 percent).
这策略是有其道理的, 即使这会给Capela攻击篮框机会, 会给P.J. Tucker, Austin
Rivers, and Gerald Green空档三分机会, 但是让这些球员来击败你比让Harden来击败
你, 更好不是吗? 据统计, 火箭C&S三分命中率(35.9%), 相比Harden在防守下的急停跳投
三分命中率(36.4%), 前者则是更好的结果.
A team's willingness to sell out with traps varies depending on the time on
the shot clock. Some are aggressive about doubling Harden with five seconds
or fewer on the clock, when they don't have to worry about making more than
one or two subsequent rotations (more on that shortly).
一支球队执行包夹的时机是取决于场上进攻时间, 有些球队会在时间剩下5秒或者更短的
时间执行侵略性包夹, 这样他们就不用担心随后的多打少问题.
Harden's counters: Harden doesn't really get spooked when faced with pressure
(his turnover rate against the Nuggets is lower than his season-long mark),
and he can comfortably thread passes through traps - whether it's a pocket
pass to the rolling big, a skip pass to the weak side, or a reversal to an
open shooter out of the pick-and-pop. As soon as that pass is delivered, the
defense is in scramble mode. This puts a huge strain on the shorthanded
defenders on the back end, who risk giving up a dunk or an open three if
their rotations aren't perfect.
Harden应对: Harden根本不害怕受到压迫(他的失误率在对抗金块的情况下更低), 他可以
很轻松的在包夹下把球传出去, 无论是pocket pass传给roll man, 还是传给弱侧, 或者
通过pop传给射手, 只要传出去了防守就会被打乱. 这会给后方防守带来很大的破坏力,
如果防守轮转做得不够完美的话, 他们就会有被扣篮以及空档三分的风险.
In a Jan. 7 game between the two teams, Harden racked up 14 assists, with
nine of them going for 3-pointers. He contributed a whole bunch more
secondary and tertiary assists when his passes out of traps led to
swing-swing sequences that produced wide-open threes. Tucker hit seven of
them.
在1月7日的比赛中, Harden送出14助攻, 有9个是来自于三分球, 他从包夹中传出去的
球, 这产生了大量的间接助攻三分, PJ命中了其中7球.
http://tinyurl.com/yxeyvfrp
Lest you think the blitzes only opened up the long ball, Capela's averaged
27.5 points in the season series against Denver. The trade-off for the
Nuggets hasn't really been worth it.
闪电夹击并不会只会导致空档三分, Capela这赛季对阵金块场均27.5分, 这代价对金块来
说并不值得.
Hedge and recover
A more conservative way to defend a Harden pick-and-roll without switching is
to hedge. It carries some of the same risks as blitzing, but it works toward
a more sustainable outcome that should involve less scrambling and less
stress on the back line.
有一种更保守的策略来防Harden挡拆而并不需要换防, 那就是hedge, 这种方式与闪电夹
击有相同风险, 但是这种方式的后续可延续性比较好, 带给后方防守的压力比较小.
The Thunder usually hedge with Adams when the Rockets use his man as the
screener. They also do it sometimes with one of their weaker wing defenders.
Dennis Schroder did a good job at this late in the teams' Christmas Day game,
buying Paul George enough time to loop under the screen and recover, and thus
affording the Thunder more possessions with their best defender stapled to
Harden:
在Adams的对位者上前掩护的情况下, 雷霆经常用Adams来执行hedge, 有时候会让用比较
弱的侧翼来执行, Dennis Schroder在圣诞节那场比赛就做的很棒, 给Paul George争取到
足够的时间来绕挡拆并且防守还原, 这给雷霆的最好防守人保持在Harden身前更多回合:
http://tinyurl.com/y6txfjok
Here's an example of Curry doing a poorer job of it, but the rest of the
Warriors covering for him (note Curry motioning for the pre-switch before his
man, Rivers, goes to set the screen):
http://tinyurl.com/y5zwfeuv
Curry做了最差的示范, 但是勇士其他球员帮他弥补错误
The Pelicans are another team that used hard hedges as a means of keeping
their best perimeter defender, Jrue Holiday, attached to Harden.
鹈鹕是另外一支球队使用hard hedges来让他们最好的防守人Jrue Holiday保持在Harden
身前.
Harden's counters: Similar to what he can do to beat traps, Harden can bust a
hedging defense by slinging a quick pass to the screener once he slips off.
He can also make a quick move to the basket before his primary defender has a
chance to recover. That effectively gives the Rockets a four-on-three, but
with Harden running it instead of a secondary playmaker.
Harden的应对: 跟破解包夹的做法类似, 他可以吊球给掩护者或者在防守人recover之前
就先快速切入到篮下, 成功的话就会形成四打三局面.
Go zone
使用区域联防
An increasingly common look against the Rockets is a zone, with the Nets and
Heat using it most prominently. That might seem counterintuitive against such
a prolific 3-point shooting team, but for the most part, it's been effective,
largely because it simplifies pick-and-roll coverage.
对付火箭有一种策略最近开始普及化了, 那就是区域联防, 篮网以及热火用的最明显, 对
付三分大队而使用这种策略看起来是有违常理的, 但结果是绝大部分都很有效果, 这是因
为它简化了挡拆防守策略.
The Rockets' offense plays outside-in, doesn't really utilize back cuts, and
doesn't feature a playmaking big man. So, leaving the high post and baseline
vulnerable is a perfectly acceptable trade-off for diverting Harden's
north-south drives. The scheme does put a ton of pressure on the perimeter
defenders, however, particularly against someone who can shoot and make skip
passes as well as Harden can.
由于火箭进攻并不跑开后门, 也不使用策应型长人, 所以放空高位以及底线区域, 来阻挠
Harden的切入, 这是完全可以接受的. 这策略会带给弧顶防守人很的压力, 特别是对抗
Harden这种能传能投的.
In a Jan. 16 game against the zone-happy Nets, the Rockets got up an NBA
record 70 threes. Harden took 19, hit five, and assisted on five others (he
had 14 potential assists go for naught thanks to cold shooting from his
supporting cast). The Nets did a good job of contesting those threes, though,
and came away with the win because the Rockets hit fewer than a third of them.
在1月16号对阵篮网的比赛里, 火箭出手了70个三分, 打破了NBA纪录, Harden 19中5, 5
次助攻(他拿了14次潜在助攻做了白工, 这得感谢他队友太铁了). 篮网在干扰那些三分出
手做的很棒, 并且赢下了比赛, 而火箭命中率却不到三分之一.
Teams have typically set up in a 3-2 formation to account for Houston's
outside shooting, but the Heat often converted it into more of a 1-2-2, with
one guy pressing up on Harden to guard against his pull-up from as far out as
35 feet. Their configuration also made it easy for them to trap Harden late
in the shot clock, which worked some of the time.
他们通常会祭出3-2区域联防来应付火箭外线, 但热火比较常用1-2-2区域联防, 派一人去
对Harden施压, 让他出手35呎远的急停跳投三分, 他们的人员配置使得他们能够很简单的
在进攻时间快到时, 去执行包夹Harden, 这在某些时刻确实很奏效.
http://tinyurl.com/y36r9nrz
Both teams mostly did a good job of executing the scheme, and Harden lit them
both up for 58 points. Against Harden, good process often begets poor
results. He did a lot of his damage versus the Heat in transition and
semi-transition, off turnovers and offensive rebounds, and on contested
pull-ups you really can't do anything about.
这两支球队大部分都执行的不错, 但Harden还是砍下58分. 对付Harden即使执行的不错,
但经常还是会导致不如预期的结果, 在热火那场比赛里, Harden利用对手失误打了很多转
换快攻, 半转换快攻以及进攻篮板, 这对热火造成极大伤害, 而他出手的那些受干扰急停
跳投, 这完全拿他没办法.
http://tinyurl.com/yxlynwem
Despite Harden's individual numbers, it feels like we'll keep seeing more
zone schemes from Houston's opponents.
虽然Harden个人数据依然猛, 但似乎我们以后会从火箭对手中看到更多区域联防的使用.
Harden's counters: Against the Heat, the Rockets frequently cleared out the
strong side of the floor. The Heat left an extra defender on that side
anyway, meaning an open shooter on the weak side was only one swing pass
away. Harden's vision and passing precision make that a dangerous proposition.
Harden应对: 对阵热火火箭经常清空强侧, 而热火会留一球员在强侧, 这意味着弱侧有人
被放空, Harden的视野以及精准的传球能力会让这策略变的很危险.
What's next?
接下来是什么?
A lot of this stuff comes down to execution, and a lot of execution comes
down to personnel. It takes strength, length, quick feet, and smarts to
tackle the assignment, and some teams simply don't have defenders capable of
bothering Harden. Some teams do have the right personnel and a smart scheme
that they execute to a T, and they get burned anyway.
很多策略需要执行力, 执行则需要球员具备力量, 臂展, 移动速度以及球商来完成任务,
有些球队就是没有人员配置来防Harden, 而有些球队具备了正确的人员配置并且拥有聪明
的防守计画来执行, 但还是被打爆了.
Just about every team employs most of these approaches to defending Harden in
some variation. Each scheme has nuances, and every team executes them a
little bit differently. It'll be interesting to watch how or if those
coverages evolve, which ones stick, and whether any teams come up with an
entirely new wrinkle, particularly since the Rockets could see one or more of
the Nuggets, Thunder, Warriors, and (dare to dream) Bucks in the postseason.
Historically great players force the rest of the league to get creative in
response. Few players are inspiring more creativity right now than Harden.
http://tinyurl.com/yxs2cluk
出了一段时间的文章
虎扑也没人翻
这几乎整理了全联盟对Harden的防守策略
而且样本足够大 不是凑巧拿下几场
我的感觉是今年Harden处理球能力又达到另一个境界
去年射手太多 空间拉太开 导致对手防守策略简化成换防
所以我没感觉去年Harden处理球有到这种程度
Zack Lowe上周在podcast上也有聊到这点
他举一个Harden mvp case就是他对联盟教练做过mvp民调
其中一位支持Harden教练说 字母哥的MVP要跟他的教练摆在一起讲
字母哥不会投篮 必须围绕一堆射手 但是Harden不用
Harden几乎谁都能搭 你可以搭两个roll man 配2个半吊子射手
要从头到尾单打 Harden也做得到
搭3个半吊子射手 1roll man也行
Harden可以搭你 我这样的路人 甚至是Ben Simmons
对手防守策略证明了这点 Harden队友证明了这点
说Harden就是个独立的生态系统
Lowe说他一整季都支持字母哥 直到打完马刺他动摇了
虽然他十之八九还是会投给字母哥
不过他对Harden这样的评价我倒是很意外