OKC Thunder Better Suited to Face Leonard over Harden in Playoffs
By Gideon Lim
The Beard is Unstoppable
Contrast this with the Rockets.
Harden is all about using his handles to get to the rim, baiting his defenders into foul trouble and facilitating for his teammates. None of these things belong in Roberson’s comfort zone.
Roberson does much better with players that pull-up rather than those than drive. Harden is one of the sneakiest in the league at getting foul calls, much more so than Leonard.
This will either force Roberson to sit long enough for Harden to get his own or at least for Roberson to give Harden just enough room for him to flex his range.
Must Read: The Rich List – top performers in March
More crucially, Harden is a premium play maker. This is what separates him from Leonard. Through their regular season match-up, Harden has still managed to get his teammates going even when Roberson is draped all over him. Roberson can hound Harden, but there is very little he can do to stop Harden from making the right passes.
This is what makes the Rockets’ offense so effective. Even if their opponents have an elite defender in their ranks, it may still not be enough to stop them. Their ability to switch between three-point barrages, Harden’s trips to the line and Capela’s rim running will be quite the headache, even for Roberson.
More favorable match-up: San Antonio Spurs
Conclusion:
Leonard the Lesser of Two Evils for OKC Thunder
Both the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets are nasty match-ups. That is why the team is gunning for a higher playoff seed, so they will hopefully avoid having to play these two teams so early in the playoffs.
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
But if it comes down to it, be it in the first round or conference semi-finals, Houston’s offense precisely negates the OKC Thunder defensive strengths such that even if he was lights-out brilliant this year, Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs are the more favorable match-up.