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#3 Defense
With Paul and Harden expected to split their minutes on the floor other than crunch time, the pressure on "The Beard" is far lesser. That should and has resulted in more effort on Harden's part - more importantly on the defensive end of the floor - something he has been mocked for in recent years.
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Effort is one thing but it has to translate to a positive impact on the team's results and going by the numbers so far, Harden's defense has improved and by quite the margin.
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His defensive rating has moved the needle in the right direction by almost five points, which is from 107.3 last year to 102.3 this season. And with his offensive rating also jumping from 113.6 to 115.5, he is able to raise his net rating by that much more.
Are the above numbers too confusing?
How about this: How many memes of no defense has Harden appeared in this season?
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