Harden has not been very involved in defense throughout his career, and has even been teased for "eye defense". However, Harden has enough size to participate in the confrontation on the defensive end, so sometimes even a macho man like Brother Alphabet wants to chisel Harden in the low post, and it will find it quite difficult to top. But if the opponent uses the same way as Davis to show off his skills like turning, he will completely leave Harden behind and score easily. But there is a phenomenon that Harden has not delayed the Clippers' defense when he was originally criticized for "eye defense" and his athleticism is still declining?
The first is that Harden's defensive willingness has increased. It may be that Harden has more energy on the defensive end because he is less involved on the offensive end and is more involved in the organization and plays like a point guard. Even head coach Tyronn Lue praised Harden's defensive willingness, and Harden did improve his defensive efficiency with the Clippers.
The second is that the Clippers' defensive system is too strong to help Harden or Westbrook wipe their butts at any time. For example, in the Clippers' victory over the Celtics on January 28, there was such a round, the Clippers' rotation was very fast, Harden was confused throughout the whole process, didn't know who to guard, changed positions everywhere, and was commanded by his teammates. Although Harden ran several times and didn't find a player to defend him, there were Clippers players who helped him fill in before he dropped each position.
In this case, when most of the Clippers' players have very good running awareness, Harden will not become a defensive hole for the Clippers even if he has a hard injury in his defensive ability.