Guarding Harden: Jazz face difficult task of trying to stop the NBA's top scorer

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SALT LAKE CITY — He can be maddening to watch. He hooks arms and initiates contact. He shows the ball as he drives, begging defenders to reach out and foul. That unique ability to draw contact has helped him become the best scorer in the game.

But look through all the foul hunting, the calls and all the trips to the free throw line, and you’ll find the actual reason why James Harden is so infuriating to go against: He’s just really really good.

“There is no better player in the league, obviously,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “That’s something that doesn’t even need to be discussed or debated.”

Harden averaged 36.1 points this season — and did plenty of damage against the Jazz. In the Rockets’ final two games against Utah this season (both Houston wins), Harden scored 47 and 43 points.

The Jazz will have the unenviable task of trying to slow down Harden. How will they do it?

“A lot of times, he gets to his comfort zone,” Donovan Mitchell said. “You can say take him out of his comfort zone. It’s easy to say but he has done it to every team.”

Mitchell said that the key was to try and find ways to break Harden’s rhythm and then react to his counters. And, of course, the Jazz will try and try and try not to foul him.

Don’t be surprised to see Jazz defenders with their hands high and wide when playing against Harden to try and avoid some of his trickery.

But keeping Harden off the free throw is just one of the issues he presents. Harden both made (378) and attempted (1,028) more 3-pointers than anyone in the league this year — and both by a wide margin. And most of those come off the dribble. And he can pretty much score from anywhere on the court.

So defenders have to stay tight at the 3-point line, but not too tight because he’ll draw a foul on a rip-through move or on a quick drive.

And they have to keep their arms out during a Harden drive or else he’s likely going to be headed to the line.

And then there’s always the worry of the step-back 3-pointer — a shot that isn’t a high-percentage look for pretty much anyone not named James Harden.

So when asked what the formula is for guarding the reigning MVP, Jazz center Rudy Gobert asked for a little help himself.

“We are looking for it,” Gobert said. “If there is one, let me know.”

Not many, if any, teams have figured that formula out. But the Jazz will have to consistently slow him down if they hope to advance to the second round for the third straight season.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Mitchell said. “It’s not going to be just one person. It’s going to be a joint effort. We all have to do our part.”

And the Jazz got some outside help, too.

Following the Jazz’s regular-season finale against the Clippers, former Rocket Patrick Beverly freely offered some advice to Jae Crowder on how to guard his old teammates.

“He was just giving tips and his opinions of how he feels like we should approach the series,” Crowder said.

The Jazz will take any advice.

“There are no players like him,” Ricky Rubio said. “Playing as many one-on-one and step-back 3s as he does. … We know he’s going to score, he going to take shots, what we have to do is make it tough on him over and over and over.”