An unconventional approach
Prior to the Bucks’ first matchup with the Rockets in early January, head coach Mike Budenholzer had a plan to try to slow down James Harden.
Harden has had an MVP-caliber season, carrying the Rockets through an injury-plagued regular season by averaging 36.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.0 steals on 61.6 percent true shooting.
No team had found a proven, consistent way of slowing him down, but Budenholzer, the mastermind behind the league’s top defense, had an idea.
Harden is left-handed and is thus much more comfortable shooting, driving and finishing with his left hand.
With that in mind, Coach Bud instructed his team to do something rather simple: shade Harden to the right. The concept makes sense on paper, but other teams in the league had tried variations of this strategy with limited success.
But Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe, who was assigned as Harden’s primary defender, opted to try something a bit more extreme: stand directly parallel to his left hip and cede the entire lane to the reigning league MVP.
The crazy part? It actually worked.
Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked both Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon about Bledsoe’s unique defensive approach following the Bucks’ first win against Houston in January:
Malcolm Brogdon said the Bucks' exaggerated D on James Harden was created by Eric Bledsoe. Brogdon said plan was to shade Harden. Off the jump, Bledsoe opted to do a bit more than just shade him. Here's what Brogdon and Bledsoe had to say postgame. pic.twitter.com/Seq125ePTE
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) January 10, 2019
Mike Budenholzer has said in the past that Eric Bledsoe has the longest leash of any Bucks player defensively.
Bledsoe simply made an adjustment to play to Harden’s tendencies, and the rest of the team followed suit, to great success.