Houston Rockets star James Harden spoke to reporters on Monday for the NBA's annual media day and addressed the criticisms of his defensive play.
"I hear it, but I don't pay attention to it," Harden told the media. "I know I can be a really good defender. Obviously, there's times my defense is pretty bad. There's a lot of stars whose defense is pretty bad sometimes. That category, I know I have to be better."
In April, an 11-minute YouTube video emerged that chronicled Harden's lackluster effort on the defensive side of the game. The video quickly gained traction online and became a source of public mockery for Harden.
"It's just (about) me being focused," Harden said. "It's not whether I can do it. It's me losing track of my man or small things like that that can easily be corrected. It's not the fact that I can't do it. I'm a pretty good defender. It's me being able to focus on small things that I kind of lose track of. I know that."
To his credit, the coaching staff has not had to prod Harden constantly to improve his defense. The shooting guard has acknowledged the importance himself.
"We talked about it all last year, too," coach Kevin McHale said. "He has to improve. We've constantly been challenging James, and he is taking on challenges. He knows he has to improve in areas. There is a lot of offensive pressure on him to deliver every night, but you still have to go out there and play the other side of the ball. He understands that."
Harden has even discussed challenges that need to be overcome with fellow teammate Dwight Howard.
"Before he left, we talked a lot," Howard said. "We talked about the season and our mindset headed into this year. I just really tried to do whatever I could to build his mindset up. I know a lot of people were saying a lot of things about his play. I know he was down on himself, but I believe in James. I think he is going to have one of his greatest seasons to date."
The Rockets were upset by the lower-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the NBA playoffs last season. After losing forward Chandler Parsons in free agency and trading away valuable rotation players in Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, the onus on Harden to become a better all-around player is even more important.
The Western conference is packed with talented teams, and Houston needs Harden to step up his game if they have any hope of making a run in the playoffs.
