re: Grantland writers new NBA defensive metric.

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Well now I feel like an idiot... Haha.

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Why do you want to hate Harden so bad, man? Just accept his greatness.

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Is it better to deter shots and have the player you are defending pass the ball to other players, or to have your opponent shoot the ball against you at a below average rate?

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if by below average you mean shoot at a lower TSP than the other options on the floor then that would seem like the answer... unless of course the shot clock is running out and they get no shot off at all.

I think it's an interesting question, and the answer probably lies in how well your other teammates can defend.

I thought of this after looking at the combo of Howard and Harden's shot charts and Duncan and Leonard's shot charts.

It looks as though the Rockets don't allow many shots in the paint and force outside shots, but Harden gives up above average shot percentage from outside, where as the Spurs (Leonard) don't allow outside shots, but Duncan gives up lower than average percentage shots from around the paint.

Two different strategies, both interesting. I would initially think that you would want to force more outside shots, but I'm not certain that's the best strategy.