Hoops Habit
Fansided

James Harden Doing All He Can To Will Houston Rockets To Postseason

By Kenneth Teape

Mar 27, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) looks to dribble the ball while Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) defends in the first half of the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) looks to dribble the ball while Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) defends in the first half of the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

James Harden is doing all that he can to secure a playoff spot for the Houston Rockets, putting up monster numbers despite the losses piling up.

James Harden has been lambasted at times for his defensive effort, as defense has been a struggle for a majority of the season for the Houston Rockets. But Harden is usually able to make up for the shortcomings defensively because he is one of the most gifted offensive players in the NBA.

That has been the case recently, as Harden has been stuffing the stat sheet doing whatever he can to help the Rockets cling onto a spot in the Western Conference.

Unfortunately for Harden, the results haven’t been great, as he isn’t getting too much help and the Rockets aren’t getting victories. The Rockets were able to break the .500 mark last week when they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves, but have fallen on tough times since.

They have gone 1-4 since, losing three games in a row after breaking .500 before defeating the Toronto Raptors and then losing to the Indiana Pacers Sunday night. The Rockets are now clinging to the eighth spot in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks and five games ahead of the Denver Nuggets.

Related Story: 25 Best Players To Play For The Houston Rockets

With the Rockets tumbling in the standings, one player that cannot receive the blame is Harden.

More from Houston Rockets

Harden has been outstanding in the last five games for the Rockets despite their lack of victories. The Rockets are relying heavily on him, as he has played at least 37 minutes in each of the games, averaging 41.0 per, and he has delivered as much as he can.

Over that span of games, Harden has averaged 28.2 points per game, scoring at least 24 in all of the games. It has been efficient scoring as well, as Harden is making 45.4 percent of his shots from the field, 37.8 percent from three-point range and 84.8 percent from the foul line, averaging 9.2 free throws per game.

While the scoring numbers are gaudy, Harden is also getting his teammates involved.

In his last five games, Harden is averaging 11 assists per game. He has at least eight in all five of the games, handing out double-digit assists in three of the games. One of those double-digit assist games Harden also delivered double-digit rebounds for a triple-double.

It was the third triple-double of the season for Harden, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The triple-double against the Raptors ended the Rockets’ three-game losing streak to help them keep pace in the Western Conference playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Rockets that was the only victory they picked up in this stretch of games. Things will not get easy as they pay a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers for their next game before hosting the Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Next: NBA Power Rankings Week 22

The Rockets need to find a way to win some of these games in the coming week, however it needs to be done. One thing you can count on is Harden coming out and providing monster production as he will do everything he can to get the Rockets back into the postseason after making it to the Western Conference Finals last season.

Home/Houston Rockets