A master at getting defenders to foul him, Houston Rockets All-Star shooting guard James Harden averaged 10.9 free-throws per game during the regular season, which was third overall in the entire NBA. During the playoffs, Harden is still averaging 10.9 free-throws on a nightly basis and is shooting a stellar 89 percent from the charity stripe.
However, against the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the NBA playoffs, Harden's free-throw numbers have dipped ever so slightly. In Houston's five games against San Antonio, Harden is averaging 7.2 free-throws. This is a decrease from his overall average but Harden is still shooting an excellent 86.1 percent from the free-throw line against the Spurs.
Despite this decrease in his free-throw attempts, Harden isn't worried in the least bit and is not blaming the officials. He is only focused on playing and trying to lead the Rockets to victory.
Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni on the other hand, thinks Harden is not getting to the free-throw line as often against the Spurs because of San Antonio's discipline on the defensive end of the floor.
From the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen:
“I don't know,” Harden said. “I don't really worry about officiating. I just go out there and do my job.”
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“They call what they see as fouls,” D'Antoni said. “They might hesitate a little bit because they don't want to be the determining factor. It's mostly what San Antonio is doing, I think.”
“The biggest thing is what they're doing. They're guarding with their hands up, which you almost have to because you start putting them down, he's really good at drawing you into a foul. You have to have the discipline to be able to not to foul. That's huge. That's why they every year are a championship-caliber team, because they have that discipline to make winning plays.”
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