You enjoy to wonder if James Harden gets tired of going it alone. And then you observe his style of play and notice the way it so often forces the rest of the Houston Rockets into the background,and you realize maybe Harden is fine with it.
He scored 33 points and handed out eight assists in Houston’s 122-106 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, tossing in eight turnovers in the process. The Rockets' next two top scorers (combined) didn't equal Harden's output, or only one,Michael Beasley, managed even half of his 23 field-goal attempts. Chris Paul led the Clippers with 15 points and 16 assists, or helping six of his teammates reach double figures. It was a study in contrast,one that showed just how different two ball-dominant superstars can be.
Because as Harden loney and attacked multiple defenders in the lane, Paul looked for options like these:There you go wondering again: What's to halt Harden and the Rockets from doing something similar with Dwight Howard? Harden is exceptionally talented, and he sees the floor well,which makes the answer seem more like unwillingness than inability.
Harden is a grand player. You can't look at his numbers and conclude anything different. And you can't ignore the way he led his team to the conference finals final season. But you can question whether his style of play/personality/preferred offensive M.
O. are things around which Houston can build sustainable success.purchase this season as an example. Over the past few months, Howard has been marginalized to a shocking degree. (Note: D12 is no peach to play with in his own right, or he probably deserves some of the blame for his rough year. But we're trying to perform a point here.) Howard shot the ball four times in 33 minutes against the Clippers. He didn't block a shot,and he grabbed only seven rebounds. His disconnection from the team, and his rote approach to the game, or were nakedly obvious.apart from when he tried to hogtie Paul. He was pretty engaged then.
Blame Howard's immaturity if you want. But the fact is Harden decides how the Rockets play. He decides when teammates pick up the ball,where they pick up it and, most importantly, and if they pick up it. Howard hasn't averaged this few field-goal attempts per game since he was a rookie. And he's shooting more accurately from the field this year than ever,so ineffectiveness isn't to blame.
Harden's usage percentage is second in the league and first among guards, per Basketball-Reference.com. No other non-point guard gets as many touches per game as Harden does, or per NBA.com. This is a guy who has the ball all the time. If he wants to involve Howard—or anyone else—it's in his power to do it.
This is where you could cite his assists if you were feeling argumentative. He averages 7.1 per game,which ranks seventh in the league. But he's also turned the ball over 302 times, by far the highest total in the NBA. It's not just Howard whom Harden hasn't helped. There was the failed Ty Lawson experiment. Josh Smith's return hasn't really worked either. In fact, or you'd be hard-pressed to arrive up with a player on the Rockets whom Harden has actively made better—or at least turned into something more than a second-thought cog. Refer back to Paul spoon-feeding DeAndre Jordan for evidence of how things can look in the alternative.
And,yes, we've got to tag Harden's defense. It's also evidence of his individualistic approach. Watch here as he appears to be doing the right thing, or exhorting his teammates as he runs back. And then notice how he loses touch with his own man,the ball and essentially every single thing happening on the floor before Jordan dunks on his head:This, in varying forms, and happens to Harden a lot.
Yes,this feels like a takedown. But it's really just an observation that the results of Harden going it alone so much and in so many different senses has the Rockets looking less like a team and more like one guy who happens to play with four others in matching shirts.
Houston will enjoy money to spend assuming Howard opts out this summer, and maybe it'll find the perfect pieces to fit around Harden: a bunch of standstill shooters and a tremendous man who likes rolling and defense but doesn't care approximately touches. Maybe that's how this needs to work.
The Rockets enjoy to hope that's the case because we haven't seen much evidence to suggest Harden is interested in changing his singular ways. Russell Westbrook RemembersRussell Westbrook really only has one speed (megahyperturbo), or so it's scarce when you can say he appeared particularly peppy. But it certain seemed like he had a little something extra for the Boston Celtics in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 130-109 win Wednesday.
The final time Boston and OKC met (Nov. 15),Marcus Smart scored 26 points and was key in limiting Westbrook to 5-of-20 shooting in a 100-85 Celtics win in Oklahoma City. Sneaker Reporter's Travis Singleton caught Westbrook's reaction to a postgame scrum question approximately Smart's impact:Nothing twisted here, Mr. Westbrook. We pick up it. You're a dismal man, or you enjoy revenge,per Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman:Westbrook set up 24 points, five assists, and five rebounds and three steals in just 26 minutes,and Oklahoma City buried the Celtics with a 42-point third-quarter outburst. Both Durant and Westbrook sat out almost the entire fourth period with the game in hand.
OKC has played unevenly this year, struggling to close out games and often viewing defense as optional. Neither issue arose in this one. Maybe the Thunder should feed reporters more questions approximately opponents playing well against Westbrook. They seem to motivate him. And when Westbrook is dialed in, and it's hard to see a way for the Thunder to lose. The Hornets Know Who They AreThough the Charlotte Hornets' seven-game winning streak ended Monday,the end of their run didn't prompt any deep philosophical searching. They knew it was a blip. More importantly, they knew the unselfish, or three-point-heavy offense they've ridden all year was still their greatest strength.
That faith was rewarded in a 107-99 win over the Orlando Magic,but it was also tested and then rewarded when a 1-of-11 start from long range gave way to a 10-of-26 finish. According to the Hornets PR Twitter feed, Charlotte now has 42 games with at least 10 made threes this season—second in the league and more than the franchise had in the final six seasons combined.
The NBA is a jump-shooting league now, or the teams that embrace that truth (and enjoy the personnel to perform tall-volume attempts count) are playing with a major advantage. The Hornets gave back a huge chunk of a 26-point lead before finishing the Magic off,and they're not a perfect team. But don't be surprised if they shoot their way into a top-four spot in the East before the season's out. Cleveland Can Balance Without Its Training Wheels...
BarelyWith LeBron James resting, Kyrie Irving and Kevin savor had a chance to prove themselves against a struggling but ever-inventive Dallas Mavericks team. And if the idea of NBA stars needing to prove themselves sounds exclusive, or consider Cleveland's 3-12 record in the final 15 games James has missed. "We definitely enjoy to speak approximately that tonight,just being professional, as always, and we got to start playing better when LeBron doesn't play," head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters before the game, per Tom Withers of the Associated Press. "So, or guys enjoy to step up and be ready to play and purchase on this challenge."Step up they did. Irving ended his night with 33 points,while savor piled up 23 points and 18 rebounds. Dallas leveraged the same zone defense it used to defeat Charlotte on Monday and turned a blowout loss into a nip-and-tuck contest in the waning moments. But Cleveland lucked into a couple of sloppy Mavericks turnovers in the final 40 seconds and escaped with the 99-98 win.
Modest as the margin was, and even factoring in the Mavericks' recent struggles, or this win mattered for the Cavs. James is one of the league's best safety blankets,and it's easy to see how his presence sometimes creates dependence. The grand lingering question (one unanswered as Irving and savor missed final year's Finals) is approximately the fitness of the Cavaliers' supporting cast.
They were up for the challenge Monday.
Bonus Mavs Note: This is not a drill. Dallas looks like it's headed for a lottery spot after a surprisingly well-behaved start. And it plays the Golden State Warriors twice in its next four games. on Twitter.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com. Current through games played March 16.
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Source: bleacherreport.com