Is James Harden The Problem In Houston?
Over the years, James Harden has been able to play with some very talented players. But with those talented players he has never been able to net a championship. And after a bit of unsuccessful runs with each partner, the Rockets jettison Harden’s partner and they try it again. But now after a third running mate is likely to leave, is James Harden the problem?
James Harden and Dwight Howard
As soon as Harden went to Houston, he teamed up with defensive lord Dwight Howard. Howard had been great with the Magic but then things got messy. He wasted a year in LA with Kobe and Steve Nash and then made his way to Houston during the 2013 offseason. The Rockets duo during the 2013-14 season was great. Howard averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds with nearly 2 blocks per game. Harden added 25 points and 6 assists. This duo was very good in their first season together.
But this individual success didn’t lead to much as the Rockets lost in the first round to the hands of Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. The next season the Rockets won 56 games but Dwight only played in 41 games that season and Harden had to carry the load. The Rockets still were able to make it to the Western Conference Finals vs the Warriors, but lost in 5 games.
And here is where things started to go downhill. Harden and Howard weren’t the greatest of friends as they were both trying to get each other traded. Howard again regressed during the 2016 season and the Rockets went 41-41 and lost 4-1 at the hands of the 73-9 Warriors. That season would be Howard’s last with Houston and his downward spiral in the league continued.
But everybody thought that Harden was in the right. Harden was still putting up numbers and trying to make the Rockets good while Howard regressed in each of his 3 years with the team. That was the first duo split that we saw with Harden. It would certainly not be the last.
James Harden and Chris Paul
After the flame out of the 2017 NBA Playoffs in which Harden and the Rockets lost to the Spurs, the Rockets made some big moves. They acquired veteran PG Chris Paul from LA to pair with Harden. On paper these two were great together and should have been a great duo to pose a threat to Golden State in the West. It started out that way, but ended bitterly.
The Rockets went 55-27 during their first year with Harden and Paul. Harden and Paul were great as they were leading one of the greatest offenses in league history. James Harden was the MVP and all was well in Houston. Mike D’Antoni wanted to shoot a lot of 3’s and play fast, and the Rockets perfected it. The Rockets made it to the Conference Finals where they met the absolutely stacked Warriors with Curry and KD. And they gave them quite the fight.
The Rockets led 3-2 in the series after a Game 5 win in Houston, but that’s where it all turned downhill for the Rockets. Paul injured his hamstring and would be out for the rest of the series. The Warriors came back, winning Games 6 and 7 en route to them winning their 2nd title in a row. The Rockets were one game away from a trip to the Finals.
But even after that offseason there were trembles of beef between Harden and Paul. It was an adjustment for both, playing with another ball dominant guard. Harden was the isolation scorer and Paul was used to running pick and rolls. The two would never be a perfect combo because their styles were never meant for one another.
The Harden and Paul duo wasn’t as smooth during the 2018-19 campaign. The Rockets went 53-29, good enough for the 4th seed in the West. This season Paul played 58 games, equaling his total from the season prior. But Paul’s numbers took a considerable dip and most people were calling him washed (a bit premature). Harden was the same killer scorer and the Rockets rolled the Jazz in the first round. But then came the Warriors.
But the Warriors didn’t look invincible like before. They were having beefs of their own and they weren’t at full strength. The Rockets fell behind 0-2, but then tied the series 2-2 heading back to Oakland. In Game 5, KD was hurt and the Rockets pulled ahead. With a 3-2 series lead the Rockets could once and for all defeat the Warriors. But they couldn’t stop Curry and Thompson and the Warriors rallied back to take a 3-2 series lead. And in Game 6, the Rockets again had their chances to win the game. The game was tied at halftime with Curry being held scoreless. But Curry scored 33 points in the 2nd half and the Warriors won. It was the last game between Paul and Harden.
After this disappointment, Daryl Morey decided it was time to make a move. He wasn’t impressed with Paul during the regular season and didn’t like how his team lost Game 6 against a Durant-less Warriors on their home-court. He felt like it was time for a change. He was wrong and the move that he made has ended up back-firing in a big way.
And Harden and Paul weren’t exactly thrilled with playing with other. Paul reportedly said some things about Harden’s body and the two were fed up with each other. It was a bitter end to a duo that had some potential in the West.
Harden and Westbrook
Morey decided to go all in, again and trade for former MVP Russell Westbrook. Westbrook had lost most of his team success when KD left and now went to a team with real title aspirations. While the two MVP’s looked like they could compete in the West, they were similar to Paul and Harden.
They were two ball-dominant guards, and this pairing was even worse than the prior duo. Westbrook can’t shoot and is the least efficient player in the league. Harden doesn’t compliment him because he doesn’t use the catch-and-shoot option more, it’s all isolation. While these two put up impressive numbers again, it didn’t matter in the end.
The Rockets nearly lost to the rebuilding Thunder in the first round as they won in 7 games. It took a rare sighting of James Harden defense and terrible late-game management from the Thunder in order for Houston to win. Their reward was facing the eventual champion LA Lakers. After the Rockets won Game 1, it was all Lakers. The Rockets offense was reduced to nothing and the Lakers bullied them to win the series in 5 games.
And now after that, the Rockets might be losing another duo. D’Antoni and Morey are gone and Westbrook is likely to get traded. Another duo that James Harden has been apart of.
My conclusion is that Harden should be blamed quite a bit actually. His playstyle is very hard to play with as he commands the ball so much. And he’s not willing to change for the better of his team. He just wants his and the rest can come later. I get that he is talented, but a little more team oriented play from the Beard could have benefited the Rockets a lot. Now Mike D’Antoni is also to blame for not forcing Harden to play off-ball more and just giving isolation after isolation for the whole game. But I think that Harden won’t find success. Even with Chris Paul the Rockets weren’t great in their 2nd season together. So centers like Dwight Howard don’t work. Precision passers and traditional point guards like Chris Paul don’t work. And hyper-athletic slashers like Westbrook don’t work. It is becoming increasingly apparent that Harden will end his career without a title, and much of it is because of the style of play that he owns.
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