James Harden managed to outmatch his MVP-candidate counterpart Russell Westbrook in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series on Sunday, despite the two going against two defensive juggernauts of their own right.
The Oklahoma City Thunder guard had to go against one of the grittiest defenders in Patrick Beverley while Harden went toe-to-toe with Andre Roberson.
So how did head coach Mike D'Antoni put Harden in a situation to put up 37 points while Westbrook only had 22, shooting a poor 26 percent from the field?
Simple — stay as far away from Roberson as possible.
Harden thrived when he was defended by any other player other than the Thunder's defensive ace — racking up 25 of his 37 in an efficient 9-of-14 shooting, averaging close to a point-and-a-half per play.
D'Antoni's mastery of pick-and-roll switches within the natural flow of the offense gave Harden the chance to feast on his opposition, embarrassing the likes of Enes Kanter, who was in la la land attempting to guard The Beard on the perimeter.
To prove D'Antoni's offensive adjustments — Harden faced Roberson on 55 percent of his plays in the first half, and only on 33 percent of them in the second half, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
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