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Houston Rockets Will Not Win A Title With James Harden As Main Star

By Matthew Hallett

Apr 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) on the bench against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) on the bench against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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James Harden is a star in the NBA, but with his current style of play, the Houston Rockets will not win a championship with him as their main star.

James Harden is a star of this league; for two consecutive seasons he has finished second in scoring, behind Russell Westbrook, who was carrying a team on his back, in 2014-15 and then this season finishing behind Stephen Curry.

In his seven seasons playing in the NBA, Harden has yet to miss the playoffs.

Harden has led the Houston Rockets to four consecutive playoff appearances in the last four seasons, three first-round losses and one visit to the Western Conference Finals, where they were soundly beaten by the Golden State Warriors.

So, why is it that I say that Houston will not win a title with Harden as their main man? Simple: ball domination.

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Take this season as an example; Harden was awesome once he got going. It did take a game against his old franchise Oklahoma City to kick start his year that  started with him going 12-for-54 from the floor in his first three games (a shocking 22 percent).

The season did get better and Harden was able to score 2,000 points for the third time in four seasons. However, this start showed me that Houston was going to struggle this year; no Harden, no Houston.

Harden’s slash line was 29 points per game at 44/36/86. Compare that to Kevin Durant who scored 28.2 points per game, on 50/38/89 shooting.

Now, why is this important to compare? Harden took 22 percent of Houston’s shots (1,617 of 6,847), allowing Dwight Howard to take only 600 shots, less than 10 percent of Houston’s shots while shooting at 62 percent from the field.

Add into this that Howard had 238 offensive rebounds and we can truly see how little one of the best centers of this generation had plays run for him. This gave Howard his worst return on a season since he was a rookie.

Houston was going to struggle this year; no Harden, no Houston.

There was only one other Rocket that played the majority of the season and averaged more than 10 points per game. That was Trevor Ariza, who took 12.5 percent of Houston’s shots (859 of 6,847) and scored 12.7 points per game on a slash line of 42/37/78.

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Durant only took 19 percent of Oklahoma City’s shots (1,381 of 7,082) and averaged less than one point per game less than Harden. That speaks volumes, but where there is a difference is that Oklahoma City has four regular rotation players that scored more that 10 points per game.

Westbrook actually had more shots than the team leader with 20 percent (1,444 of 7,082) and scored at 23.5 points per game. Westbrook, who is often criticized for his shot selection, shot 45 percent from the field.

The other two players who scored more than 10 points per game for Oklahoma City were Serge Ibaka (12.6) and Enes Kanter (12.7),  Oklahoma City had four players who were actively involved to Houston’s three with much better returns.

Add to this the fact that Westbrook had 10.4 assists per game and you can begin to see why Houston is in trouble.

In a sport where team is key, it appears that Harden thinks that he can take the team on his back and beat anybody. Unfortunately, the NBA does not allow this, although I may use a Curry exception card there; wow, that man can shoot.

Harden said last year that he needed more help. As a result the Houston front office went and attempted to upgrade at point guard, getting Ty Lawson, which was a now-famous failure.

Why was it a failure? Because most point guards need the ball in their hand to be successful. You can’t run the team when you have not got the ball.

Harden has managed to take a serviceable point guard in Lawson and make it Lawson’s fault that he failed at Houston. Harden has also managed to reduce one of the generation’s best centers to an interested onlooker for most offensive sets until the ball is on it’s way to the hoop.

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If players are not engaged, then vital team chemistry is lost and what is more important than individual greatness? Team chemistry.

Golden State would not have won last year’s championship without it; Andrew Bogut, defends and rebounds, Klay Thompson bombs away from three, taking the pressure off Curry, Draymond Green accidentally collects triple-doubles and Harrison Barnes defends to the hilt and does what is required.

All players know their roles and they are happy with them. Even Andre Iguodala, a career starter, comes off the bench because it is what the team needs They work, they mesh, they win.

Harden needs to learn how to be a better team player, while still being The Man. Great players make their teammates better, not shut them out of the game. They also go away in the offseason, despite not winning awards that they believed should have been theirs, and get better.

Curry, despite winning the MVP last season, came back this season and improved his points per game by six, from 23.8 to 30.1 per game. Is it any wonder his team is still playing at this time of the year and Harden’s is planning vacations?

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Then, of course, there is Harden’s effort on defense. If you want to advance your standing in the game and elevate your team to greatness, you have to sacrifice part of your game for the good of the team.

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