NBA: New Team, New James?
James Harden is on a mission this year.
Last season he didn't make any of the All-NBA teams, despite averaging 29.0 points, 7.5 assists, and 6.1 rebounds; which made him just one of four players to do so. His new coach, Mike D’Antoni, decided he could be point guard.
"James (Harden) is one of the best pick-and-roll players we have in the league, without a doubt," D’Antoni told the Houston Chronicle.
At first it seemed like a wild notion, but through 28 games, Harden is averaging 27.7 points 11.8 assists, and 8.0 rebounds. A phenomenal stat-line. He is close to averaging a triple-double, something he has accomplished six times this year. Harden also has 13 in his career with the Rockets, which is a franchise record that Hakeem Olajuwon used to hold.
So far the Rockets record is 21-8, which makes them 3rd in the West, and were on a 10-game win streak before a recent 102-100 loss against the San Antonio Spurs.
They are on pace to be top-5 in the Western Conference, after being in the 8th seed last year, barely making the playoffs.
Harden has notable shooters around him this year, with Ryan Anderson shooting 40 percent from behind the 3-point line, while Eric Gordon is shooting 44 percent from behind the 3-point line and is scoring 17.5 points per game.
Last year, the Rockets had a hard time finding a second scorer to help Harden lift the load, and he had to carry the team, night in and night out.
Rockets' offensive prowess is being showed in full effect this year, averaging 113.0 points per game, which is second in the NBA. Not only are they scoring at a rapid pace but they are sharing the ball at 25.5 assists per game which, also ranks second in the NBA.
Those assists could be mostly due to the part that Harden is leading the NBA in assists, which is something D’Antoni said he could do in the beginning of the season.
Even though so many things are going right for Harden and the Rockets, how long will they last? We know the history of D’Antoni and his teams; known to have great regular seasons but not do so well when it comes to the playoffs.
With his four years coaching the Suns, he averaged 58.0 wins per regular season, but the furthest Phoenix got was the Western Conference Finals, which they lost twice.
We have all seen the six-minute video of Harden having horrendous defense, which is not a main priority on a normal D’Antoni team.
This season the Rockets are 20th in the NBA in opponents points per game, so a lot of their games they are just outscoring their opponents. Which could be okay in the regular season, but in the playoffs, has not been known to work that well.
But that is something that the Rockets can fix if they come together and realize that they need a better defensive team in order to get far in the postseason.
Another potential downfall for Houston is turnover problems, led by Harden. He is averaging an immense 5.6 turnovers per game, which is the second most in the NBA behind Russell Westbrook. This is something he needs to cut down on.
Overall the Rockets are looking like they are going to have a promising season which will lead to a lot of regular season wins, and a high seeding in the playoffs. However, I do not see them getting very far in the postseason.
Harden and Houston have a lot of problems to fix in order to be a true contender in the playoffs, their defense being a major one. But with a superstar like Harden, it is possible for them to break through and come out the West.
Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports.
