Wolves try to drive like Harden

MINNEAPOLIS - James Harden’s most consistent characteristic is getting to the free-throw line every night, regardless of the opponent or how he’s shooting.
The Rockets star guard led the league in free-throw attempts heading into Saturday night’s game in Minnesota, attempting 276 over Houston’s first 27 games.
Seemingly every time Harden goes to the rim, he draws a whistle. The question is how?
“He’s always on balance, and if you put your hands out, he’s hitting them. You’ve got to be extremely careful with him,” Houston coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I don’t know. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t think about doing it, so I have no idea how he does it.”
Harden has some moves designed to draw contact. He extends his arms out to attract reaching attempts from opponents to knock the ball away. And as soon as you put your hand out, he’ll create the contact.
Harden also has a devastating Euro step - stepping in one direction with one foot, then quickly stepping the other direction with his other foot - which keeps defenders off balance and often takes them out of optimal guarding position, which often leads to contact.
And, most importantly, “he sells that contact to the officials,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Harden’s ability to make frequent trips to the charity stripe has helped him maintain his consistent standing as one of the NBA’s top scorers. He’s tied for fifth in the league at 27.7 points per game, while leading the league in assists at 11.8 per game.
That ability to get to the line is a valuable trait the Timberwolves’ young stars would be wise to mimic.
“I’ve taken notice,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “We’ve all taken notice. I’ve tried to implement it into my game a little bit. It’s not as effective as he does it, but I’ve tried and he’s a great player and, obviously, you want to learn from the best.”
Andrew Wiggins leads the Wolves at 6.9 free-throw attempts per game, good for 11th best in the NBA. Towns averages 4.8, while Zach LaVine is at 3.2
LaVine said he has to stick to his game and can’t simply adopt moves like Harden’s Euro step, because attempting to do so might make him look silly. But he knows how important it is to get to the free-throw line.
“Yeah, it’s bigger and bigger in the NBA, because if you get to the free-throw line, it’s easy points for your team, as well,” LaVine said. “I feel like as a driver and a slasher, getting to the line is a big thing, so you’ve got to work at it, just like other parts of your game in the offseason. Try to learn how to draw defenders in the air, draw contact, stuff like that.”
D’Antoni said Harden’s ability to draw contact is unique. It’s something you probably can’t teach, and if you can, you’ve struck gold. Some players, Thibodeau said, are just better at it than others.
“But you try to get guys going downhill,” said Thibodeau, who emphasized the value of Houston being able to spread the floor with shooters to create space for Harden. “The way he does it, and again, it’s a credit to him changing direction, strength and also selling, he’s very good. When he extends his arms and the ball, you have to fight the instinct to reach, because if you reach, they’re going to call the foul.”
Muhammad’s struggles
Shots just aren’t going down for Wolves forward Shabazz Muhammad.
Heading into Saturday night’s game, Muhammad was shooting 42 percent from the floor and 24 percent from 3-point range, the worst shooting numbers of his career.
Muhammad mentioned the need for consistent playing time in the past, but his shooting numbers haven’t improved much even when he’s seen solid minutes.
“I’ve got to get my 3-point shot back on point,” Muhammad said. “I think the drive and everything is good, but, like I said, I’m if shooting the 3-ball well, I can really spread out the floor.”
Muhammad said his shot is just “not falling” at the moment. Thibodeau’s offensive scheme has led to a load of open 3-point shots from the free-throw line extended and the corner, but Muhammad hasn’t been able to take advantage. He’s putting in the time to correct it, seen as recently as this week taking extra shots with coaches after practice.
“I’m really working on the corner, that’s basically where I’m always at,” Muhammad said, “so that’s something that I’ve got to be able knock down and those are pretty easy 3s to make, so I’ve got to start making those and concentrate.”