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Daryl Morey thinks the James Harden defensive failure videos are 'completely unfair'

Eric Freeman

If you have read anything about Houston Rockets All-Star guard James Harden in the last six months, then you have probably watched or at least seen a link to this 11-minute video of his worst defensive failures:

The lowlight mix has become as much a part of Harden's reputation as his elite scoring, casting him as a lackadaisical defender whose regular lapses could be holding back the Rockets from championship contention. Some videos become viral and seize the sport's attention for a few days or weeks, but this one has become shorthand for the "Weaknesses" section of a Harden scouting report.

The Rockets are understandably not especially happy with the ongoing popularity of the Harden defense video and other related clips. So much, in fact, that general manager Daryl Morey thinks continued focus on these videos is ridiculous. From Sam Amick for USA Today:

"For whatever reason, it has taken on a life of its own," Morey says about the criticism about Harden's defense. "You've got people doing a 10-minute YouTube clip that everyone references, and I just ask anyone, 'Take your worst 10 minutes from your job the last year and just take those worst 10 minutes and put them in a YouTube clip.' I'm guessing it wouldn't come out very well for anybody. That, to me, was completely unfair. That bothered me in a big way. Without context, you can grab 10 minutes of anyone and make them look like (expletive). I think reality TV proves that." [...]

"He knows that without him and Dwight putting focus on that end, it's not going to work," Morey says. "My sense is that he obviously understands that. When he's locked in, he's good." [...]

"We put just such incredible pressure on him on offense — as much as any team in the league," Morey says. "We rely on him and Dwight. But James is No.1 on who we lean on offensively, and that gets really, really hard, especially in a playoff series. So that's a little unfair."

Morey makes a decent point, because Harden's worst defense obviously isn't representative of his performance at that end of the floor. His 2013-14 DRtg of 107 (an estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions) and Defensive Win Shares mark of 2.7 are not especially fantastic though also not so bad as to single out Harden for special criticism. He's not a good defender and his deficiencies become more glaring on a good team like the Rockets, but the guy could use a break.

On the other hand, Morey's plea for understanding misses a few salient points. While it's true that these videos only show Harden's worst moments, it seems pretty clear that Harden's worst moments are in fact especially terrible in a way that those of other superstars aren't. If other All-NBA First Team players suffered such terrible defensive errors then they would probably also get their own similar 11-minute #EpicFail megamixes. But they don't, because Harden happens to screw up in his own special way.

Perhaps it's not fair to let those extreme screwups speak for Harden's total defensive performance. By that rationale, though, it's also not sensible to collect his best baskets of the season because his average possession doesn't end in a highlight-reel dunk or game-winning shot. Harden grabs attention for his defense because it's really, really awful at its worst. Sports fans have been drawn to extremes for years. If Harden doesn't want to be the focus of these videos in the future, then he should focus on raising his defensive floor, not just becoming better on average. Video compilations have rarely intended to summarize with complete accuracy.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!