Houston Rockets star James Harden is struggling with multiple injuries, including wrist and foot issues. While he may miss practices or games, his inability - or unwillingness - to play sound defense is becoming increasingly obvious. If Houston wants to be a championship contender, Harden must improve his "unreliable, apathetic" defense, Sports Illustrated reports.
Harden's injuries - issues with his feet, wrist and back - may prevent him from fully participating in practices and playing in back-to-back games, the Houston Chronicle reports.
"I have decisions to make as far as practices and limiting myself and things I can go hard at and things I need to sit out," Harden said, via The Chronicle.
He also didn't dismiss the idea of sitting out one game this week in Houston's back-to-back against Philadelphia and New York.
"It's very difficult," said Harden. "Any game is difficult - just the way I move and cut and do things. It's tough but like I said, once the game starts and the ball is thrown in the air, I am focused on what I need to do to help my team win. Adrenaline kicks in, but after the game, I really feel it."
While Harden deals with injuries, his flaws on defense are becoming more glaring. Teams are exploiting Harden's inabilities to track his man through screens and to guard against players cutting to the basket. Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated published an article on Monday giving specific examples of Harden's "apathetic" defense.
In short, Harden's poor defense and seemingly lazy approach to it may keep him from becoming a truly elite shooting guard and keep Houston from making a deep push in the postseason.
"(Harden's defensive problems) are not new problems," Mahoney wrote. "Houston has been exploring how best to hide Harden for the better part of a year, as the same underlying laziness and lack of awareness were problematic for the Rockets last season as well."
Houston visits Philadelphia on Wednesday.
