this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2023
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The Pels announcers think the Zion vs Harden matchup is favorable for them 1 on 1. Post defense against strong guys is basically Harden's only defensive skill. Zion won that rebound right there, but Harden's pretty much shut him off down the stretch 1 on 1.
Lol if you actually think that James Harden, of all people, has an answer to defending Zion...
I'm not saying he has the answer, I'm just saying he's better at that kind of thing than people think. I went back to look at Zion vs Harden matchups in the last 3 minutes of the game:
Zion fumbles the dribble, settles for a midrange that falls short
Early double by Powell above the break, Zion passes out
Ingram sets a screen, Harden knocks the ball out of Zion's hand as he comes around the screen, Jonas recovers the ball and Zion resets. Zion drives to his right, Harden slows him up and Kawhi is filling the lane so Zion passes it to the corner
Zion drives to the rim, Paul George doubles and Zion misses the contested midrange shot. This is when he pulls down the rebound and scores.
One thing I'd point out about these possessions is that the Pelicans only scored on the last possession. Small sample size, but my point is just that Harden's only skill is staying in front of big dudes. Remember when he was stopping Giannis in the 2021 playoffs on one leg?