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Who better to offer a detailed analysis on how to defend basketball’s most refined scorer than Scottie Pippen? Nobody.
Scottie Pippen was a legendary basketball defender in his heyday. The 6’8 Bulls forward was his team’s most dangerous weapon, capable of doing everything an NBA coach wishes his superstar could do.
The 7-time All-greatest Star’s attribute, though, was his tenacious defense. With his 7-foot wingspan, the small forward could guard any position against one to five without regard for an opponent’s size.
Pippen warned McGrady that he would stick to James Harden’s left solid side and attack him early if he was ever defending the current NBA star. He had a simple strategy for guarding the guy who was expected to average 36.1 points in the 2018-19 season. After Michael Jordan achieved it in 1987 was the first to average 36 points or more.
Scottie’s strategy included delaying the shot clock, so Harden would be uncomfortable moving the ball up the floor or opening the action. He would wear him out as a magnet throughout the game, which was his bread and butter in the 1990s.
When T-Mac mentioned the gap Harden created with his double step-back jump jumper, T-Mac suggested protecting the now-Philadelphia guard from behind. That’s how Harden’s teammate Matisse Thybulle usually defends jump shots.
And his final point, in which he argues protecting Harden should be a team effort, demonstrates his admiration for the fellow Top-75 player of all time.
Maybe the NBA players heard this study, The Beard is deteriorating, and he wants to play second fiddle, but defenders are catching on to the 32-year-old who averaged just 22 and 24 PPG in the previous two seasons after five years of 29+ PPG.
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