featured-image

Battle of the Lefties: IT & The Beard Set for Shootout

addByline("Taylor C. Snow", "Celtics.com", "taylorcsnow");

HOUSTON – If you take size out of the equation, Isaiah Thomas and James Harden have a lot in common.

They can both score at will from all over the court, whether it’s from beyond the arc or on a shifty, explosive drive to the rim.

They’re both outstanding playmakers who are always looking to get their teammates involved.

And they’re two of the top left-handed shooters in the game.

James Harden believes the latter quality gives he and Thomas an advantage, as he explained Monday morning before hosting IT and the Boston Celtics in Houston.

“Lefties are just weird,” Harden said as his Rockets left the court following their morning shootaround session at Toyota Center. “We’re weirdos. The majority of the players are right-handed, so (we) catch defenders off guard.

“They’re not used to guarding left-handers – especially left-handers that are very crafty. [Isaiah] is very crafty. He gets to the paint. He uses his body well, and he’s just always in attack mode.”

Both Harden (28.3 points per game) and Thomas (26.3 PPG) have been in attack mode throughout the first quarter of the 2016-17 season as they both rank among the league’s top 10 scorers.

Harden has been a mainstay among the NBA’s top scorers over the last five seasons. Thomas, meanwhile, is just beginning to earn the reputation of being an elite scorer, and his counterpart tonight has certainly taken notice.

“He’s just in attack mode, man. He’s so aggressive,” Harden said of Thomas. “He can obviously shoot the ball at a high level, but he’s just getting it to the paint, he’s creating opportunities for his teammates and he just looks more comfortable.

“I think any player who’s comfortable on the court is going to play a lot better, and the ball is in his hands and he’s making plays.”

Thomas has shown growth in his playmaking ability this season as he is dishing out a career-best 6.4 assists per game, while Harden’s much-improved playmaking has been one of the top storylines in the NBA this season.

After spending his first seven seasons as a shooting guard, Harden has transitioned to a point guard role under new head coach Mike D’Antoni. And the results have been astounding.

The 6-foot-5, four-time All-Star is leading the league with 11.8 assists per game, which is more than double the 4.9 APG he was averaging entering this season.

Harden’s increased role as a facilitator creates a whole new challenge for opposing teams, and figuring out how to slow him down will be one of Boston’s top priorities tonight.

“They made it pretty clear in the offseason that he was gong to be the point guard, and he’s got the ball all the time,” said C’s coach Brad Stevens as his squad exchanged practice spaces with the Rockets Monday morning on the Toyota Center court. “He had the ball a lot before, but certainly now with their spacing and his ability to make the play himself, or make the right read to the big rolling or to one of the many good shooters around, it’s a perfect setup for him and his skillset.”

When it comes to defending Harden, Stevens says it’s definitely going to take more than one guy to stop him.

Jae Crowder plans to be one of several Celtics defenders to take a crack at it.

“You just gotta switch it up on him,” said Crowder. “Not make him feel comfortable because he’s having a good balance of scoring and passing right now. So you’ve gotta mix up coverages and things like that to keep him off balance.”

Houston will face a similar challenge in stopping Thomas, who is fresh off a 37-point effort Saturday night against the 76ers.

Stevens told reporters after the game in Philadelphia that Thomas “is really good. He's really, really good. My advice to anybody is to talk whoever you work for into buying League Pass and watch him as much as you can. Because he's a fun guy to watch."

This is certainly a matchup that you’ll want to tune into tonight at 8 p.m., as Thomas and Harden face off in a battle of two of the top scorers, playmakers, and lefties in the league.