“I can finally move (better) now.”
When Harden said this sentence lightly, no one except himself knew how much burden he had laid off in his heart. Behind this sentence was 18 months of struggle and suffering.
In the first two battles of the new season, Harden scored a total of 66 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists. After a dark road lost and hit the wall, Harden finally found the exit. After surviving the leg tendon injury buffer period in endure untold hardships and sufferings, Harden can finally play with confidence as in the past.
In this era of social media with fragmented information and per capita Up owners, the black spots of any star will be magnified. Last season, Harden’s performance was far worse than that of 76 people in basketable nets or at the peak. His score data, efficiency and stability all declined to varying degrees. His mistakes, the iron strike is edited into a collection. After 76 people lost to the heat to stop the eastern semi-finals, enbide’s evaluation of Harden changed from “unstoppable” to “He is no longer Harden in the MVP era”.
It is true that Harden did not perform well last season, but where is Harden? Why is it bad? Look at the following sets of high-order data:
In the 2019-20 season, the proportion of past defenders in Harden’s breakthrough reached 44.1 percent, but last season plunged to 29.1 percent.
Last season, 71 players in the league layup and dunk at least 300 times, only two players hit less than 50%, one is Barrett and the other is Harden.
Harden was rated 9.6% by cap, the worst player among at least 700 shots. He hit 48% in the conversion attack, which is Harden’s lowest personal record since this data was counted.
In the playoffs, Harden hit 44.2 percent in the paint area, the lowest playoff career. In the series against the Heat, Harden scored 0.88 points per break, the worst personal record since 2014.
The hit rate in harden breakthrough is 40.2%, and the hit rate of backward jump is 34.9%. In the 2020-21 season, Harden’s two data were 51.4 percent and 38.9 percent respectively.
So, where is Harden? Why is it bad? The conclusion is very clear. In any technical link that requires hamstring strength, Harden’s performance has declined to varying degrees. Because of the hamstring injury, when Harden broke through, when he pulled back, and when looking for confrontation, he was far less powerful than before the injury, and it was difficult for him to create a good shot space. In this way, Harden became an ordinary attacker who relied heavily on the referee’s penalty scale and three-point projection feel.
Many people who do not know the hamstring injury will question: Harden hamstring injury was on April 1, 2021, and there was an off-season in the middle. Can you raise the hamstring injury for such a long time? Harden also played 65 games last season, and he didn’t hear of any injuries when he went out. Why can he use injuries as an excuse?
The fact is that injuries can be well raised, but it takes a long buffer period to overcome psychological barriers and recover competitive conditions. This is not an excuse for Harden, because Harden is not an example. Chris Paul and Mike Conley have all had this experience. Through the study of the same case, it can be concluded that it often takes half a year or even a year for players who have experienced severe hamstring injuries to recover after recovery.
In the 2018-19 season, Paul, who had just experienced a hamstring injury in the previous season, fell sharply. His score every 36 minutes, Real hit rate, and player efficiency rating (PER) all fell. At that time, how many people looked down on Paul’s prospects? Especially after Paul was sent to thunder. But in the 2019-20 season, Paul “The Return of the King” in thunder. His data returned to the level before the injury and returned to the All-Star and the best team (the second team), he didn’t get these two honors in the rocket for two years.
In the 2019-20 season, Conley also suffered a sharp drop in the previous season due to hamstring injuries, and various data declined. However, after surviving this season, Conley recovered in the 2020-21 season, with scores, assists, real hit rates and player efficiency rating values all improved every 36 minutes. He was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Why does hamstring injury have to go through a long buffer period after recovery? Conley had a detailed interpretation, and his words were full of helplessness. Conley described it like this: “I have been practicing hard day and night, and I have made a lot of efforts. I go out early and return late every day, and have conducted various intensive training and physical therapy. But sometimes the absence of the game is not because the hamstring is really pulled again. A small pull may be enough to introduce your discomfort.”
To put it bluntly, when a player has experienced a hamstring injury, it is like carrying a bomb that does not know when it will explode. You think that after a long time, the bomb has become a dud, but in fact, this bomb will explode if it is cold, which brings a heavy burden to the players’ psychology. If they want to exert their strength, they dare not exert their strength. Most of the time, they cannot overcome the fear in their hearts.
In the past 18 months, Harden’s situation has been like this. In the 2020-21 season, Harden missed 18 consecutive games due to hamstring injuries at the end of the regular season. It was hard to return but the first old injury with the Bucks recurred in the eastern semi-final. This is what Conley said. You think the injury is fine, but any small pull may cause discomfort to the hamstrings.
In the Battle of Mount Tianwang, Harden returned with an injury and the injury was aggravated. Later he revealed that what he suffered was a secondary strain of his hamstring. Secondary strain means that the muscle has been partially torn, which directly prolongs the recovery period of Harden after recovery. Referring to the cases of Paul and Conley and the actual situation of Harden, the real cause of his decline and instability last season was found.
This year’s offseason, Harden finally ushered in a complete offseason. Last year, Harden couldn’t complete the basic aerobic training because of his recovery, which led to his overweight when he entered the training camp. However, during the off-season this year, Harden started training early. He successfully lost weight and reduced the burden on his lower limbs. In addition, Harden strengthened the strength of the hamstrings through targeted training such as slope piercing and running, and the effect was obvious. From the first two games of the regular season, Harden’s feeling of strength in his legs has recovered a lot, and the end efficiency has improved.
Harden broke into the basket in 4 of the 6 shots restricted area near the basket. Harden cast a total of 8 shots and 5 shots, and it is obvious that he will not hesitate until one step within freethrow line. Harden made 7 goals in the middle distance shot, 6 goals in the three point line outbound shot, some were emergency stop and dry pull, and some were retreat jump shots.
Harden recovered his weapon and regained the CIC. Behind it was the shadow of the hamstring injury. Harden, who was hesitant and afraid to exert his strength, was never seen again.
Now Harden does have the elegant demeanour of “rocket boarding”, but objectively speaking, Harden was forced to be helpless for two consecutive 30 + rounds, it is not realistic to require him to remain in the “rocket boarding” mode throughout the season. Once enbide recovered the State, 76 people figured out the problems exposed in the first two losses, Harden would still return to the mode of more organizations and seeking to take over at the critical moment.
But for Harden, what mode to play is actually secondary. He has entered the realm of light clouds and light winds, and the ball power and money can be put aside. The most important thing is to be able to play a healthy game like now, to play a 100% fighting capacity, and then to win constantly. What is uncertain is whether enbyd and 76 people can live up to Harden’s sacrifice.