National Basketball Association

James Harden shows he's a real NBA defender when he decides to care

Published Mar. 24, 2016 4:01 p.m. ET

foxsports

NBA fans love to poke fun at James Harden's defense. Some of the time, it's well deserved. The four-time All-Star is known to day-dream himself out of a possession or two, here and there. But a good chunk of the criticism is also unfairly off reputation, as a player who takes the occasional play off to catch his breath.

It's not the most admirable quality, but there are so many nights where Harden is the only offensive option the Houston Rockets have. Right now, he leads the NBA in minutes, and is second in usage percentage (just ahead of Steph Curry and right behind DeMarcus Cousins).

Harden isn't always a zombie when the other team has the ball, as he showed Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz:

Eight steals don't happen by accident (even though a few of these did). Harden was active in passing lanes, and found himself in the right place at the right time throughout the entire game. He also chipped in 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, for good measure.

The Rockets would be at the bottom of the Western Conference standings if Harden wasn't on their roster. He's one of the 10 best players in the league, bad defense and all.