Every superstar in the NBA has his fair share of haters, and James Harden is no different. He’s nowhere near as reckless and in-your-face as Russell Westbrook. He’s nowhere near as easy to criticize as guys like Derrick Rose or Carmelo Anthony. And he’s nowhere near as polarizing as LeBron James or Kobe Bryant.
And yet, Harden has somehow become one of the most heavily scrutinized players in the league.
Maybe it’s his penchant for drawing contact and getting to the foul line. Maybe it’s his partnership with Dwight Howard and Daryl Morey, two of the league’s more, erm, “outgoing” personalities. Hell, maybe it’s his unkempt beard that turns people off.
But when a superstar falls short in the playoffs, it’s easy to criticize. Because of his failures in this regard, and because of all the reasons above, the Houston Rockets have somehow become one of the NBA’s most unlikable teams by the general public under Harden’s leadership.
Yet in Game 2 Wednesday night, Harden’s greatness was on display again, whether the general public wanted to admit it or not.
It wasn’t on display for long. Harden was relatively held in check for three quarters, and head coach Kevin McHale benched him for most of the third once the Beard picked up his fourth foul. But he came to life in the fourth, scoring 16 of his 32 points in the final period by doing what he does best: getting to the foul line and knocking down a few step-back threes.
Harden finished with a team-high 32 points, seven assists, one steal and one block while shooting 7-for-17 from the floor. He had seven turnovers, sure, but he also stepped up with his team’s season on the line to help Houston knot the series at 1-1. He also just so happened to go 15-for-15 from the free throw line.
Against a Los Angeles Clippers team playing without Chris Paul, there’s no reason Houston should have dropped Game 1. The Clippers effectively double-teamed Harden out of pick and roll sets, but the Beard was passive in the series opener. No one looked like they wanted to win and when that happens, the team’s leader is the rightful recipient of the blame.
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Game 1 was a massive disappointment, especially since it came on the day when some argued that Harden had been “snubbed” of the MVP Award by Stephen Curry. The Beard really didn’t do much to prove them right, and it felt like yet another letdown in an ongoing saga of playoff disappointments.
He finished that game with 20 points and 12 assists, but he only took 13 shots and committed nine turnovers. Blake Griffin, meanwhile, was busy looking like the real MVP of the series with another triple-double.
Game 2, on the other hand, was a microcosm of what’s wrong with the Rockets AND what makes them so dangerous all at the same time. Even on a night where Harden finished with 32 points, he struggled for 75 percent of the game. But when he ignited in the fourth, the Rockets looked alive for the first time all series.
When Harden turns is on, he’s capable of carrying this team of Dwight Howard and role players against almost anyone. But when he comes out sluggish or lackadaisical, the Rockets seem destined for failure.
Take, for example, the simple stat of how often Harden gets to the charity stripe in wins compared to losses. During the regular season, the Beard averaged 11.4 free throw attempts per game in victories. That number plummeted to 7.4 in defeats. Looking across the board at his numbers, there are few players with a greater contrast in their numbers when comparing wins and losses.
James Harden's 15-15 FT is the most makes w/o a miss in #Rockets playoff history.
— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) May 7, 2015
Through two games in this series, Dwight Howard has been Houston’s best player, averaging 23.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 70.8 percent from the floor.
But as much as he looks like Orlando Magic Dwight Howard again, he’s not the kind of player who can turn the tide of a game. He’ll get his points on offensive rebounds, alley-oops and the occasional post-up play, but the Rockets aren’t going to go to him with the game on the line.
Like they have all season long, the Rockets will rely on their MVP candidate to carry them when they need it most.
Harden with a better late than never game, up to 26 points (half from the line) with seven assists. Get MVP chant again.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) May 7, 2015
Josh Smith has come back down to earth after his resurgence in the first round. The calvary isn’t coming, with Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas out for the rest of the season. This team is starting Jason Terry at point guard for God’s sake!
Do the Rockets have a formula for winning a title this year? Not likely. If CP3 were healthy, you could easily argue the Clippers would be up 2-0 in this series with an opportunity to sweep at home. Harden has played like an MVP for exactly one quarter in this series so far. He has to be better.
But before you go counting out the Rockets and forgetting how sensational Harden was this season, let’s remember that it was only a few weeks ago he was carrying Houston to a 130-128 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3, racking up 42 points, nine assists and five rebounds while going 15-for-24 from the field and 5-for-7 from downtown.
This man was not more deserving of the MVP Award than Curry, but that doesn’t mean he was unworthy either.
The Rockets go as James Harden goes. That’s been true all season long, with or without Dwight Howard on the court. Howard’s defensive presence takes Houston to another level, but without the MVP runner-up playing at his best, the Rockets’ postseason run could very well end in this series — with or without Chris Paul on the floor.
It’s time for Harden to step up and silence his critics. It’s time for him to be a leader in the playoffs the same way he was all season long. But most of all, it’s time for the Beard to earn some damn respect for being one of the most dynamic superstars in the league, haters and all.
Next: Stephen Curry: Top 10 Moments From His MVP Season
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