Hoops Habit
Fansided

Houston Rockets: Is James Harden On The Melo Path?

By Will Reeve

May 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) looks to drive as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) defends during the third quarter in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
May 27, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) looks to drive as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) defends during the third quarter in game five of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

James Harden is easily the best shooting guard in the NBA right now — however — there seems to be something missing from the equation for the 25-year-old out of Arizona State University.

The striking similarities he shares with fellow great scorer Carmelo Anthony, both subjectively and factually, are a bit eye-opening. Which begs the question: is Harden on the Melo path?

ALSO ON HOOPSHABIT: 30 Greatest Ball Handlers of All-Time

Before diving into the Anthony and Harden correlations an acknowledgement of the team’s success last year is in order.

The Houston Rockets won 56 games and made it to the Western Conference Finals while dealing with a litany of injuries. That said, not many experts and fans alike truly believed they were legitimate title contenders even with Dwight Howard back; and for good reason.

Nov 14, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) is fouled before taking his shot by Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) during the fourth quarter of a game at Madison Square Garden. The foul was ruled to be a non-shooting foul and Anthony was awarded two free-throws rather than three points and a shot. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) is fouled before taking his shot by Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) during the fourth quarter of a game at Madison Square Garden. The foul was ruled to be a non-shooting foul and Anthony was awarded two free-throws rather than three points and a shot. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

The Rockets landed the second-easiest draw in the first round by virtue of their regular season record and were blessed to dodge the San Antonio Spurs in the second round; instead landing the perpetually under-achieving Los Angeles Clippers, a team who still gave the Rockets a run for their money in a seven-game series.

From there they were decidedly trounced by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors 4-1 in the conference finals.

It was evident this team never truly had the makeup of a legit title contender to the trained eye and Harden’s 14-point, 12-turnover, 18-percent FG and +/- of minus-4 performance in the elimination game against the Warriors has since seared into the minds of many.

Harden isn’t a natural leader and while you can have success with teams where your best player isn’t a natural leader — don’t bank on Harden making perennial title runs with Howard and Ty Lawson as the core pieces around him.

Much like Anthony, he’ll likely make the postseason for several consecutive years but never truly be a threat to win a title.

Anthony’s age 25 year in the NBA looked like this: 46 percent FG, 28.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, with a 31.5 percent usage rate. Harden’s age 25 season mirrored Anthony’s not only in playoff disappointment but also statistically: 44 percent FG, 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, with a 31.3 usage percentage in a league that isn’t mostly iso-ball anymore, as Anthony’s teams were.

More from Houston Rockets

While Harden is the better assist guy (seven assists to Anthony’s 3.2), Anthony was much cleaner with the ball in the playoffs during his sixth season in having almost half the turnovers per game than Harden did at 2.3 per to Harden’s 4.5.

No one in the history of the NBA has gotten the benefit of foul calls on flagrantly (and ugly) self-initiated fouls than Harden did last year; which served to inflate his numbers quite a bit. If that pattern continues, he should indeed stay on course as an equally good scorer in hindsight to Anthony — if not a little better.

Live Feed

2 Houston Rockets international players that never played a single minute
2 Houston Rockets international players that never played a single minute /

Space City Scoop

  • Rockets forward Dillon Brooks takes shot at Memphis GrizzliesSpace City Scoop
  • Former Rockets guard finds himself at center of bizarre scandalSpace City Scoop
  • Houston Rockets receive surprising offseason gradeSpace City Scoop
  • 4 Houston Rockets with most on the line in pivotal 2023-24 seasonSpace City Scoop
  • Rockets end war with one archenemy, hope for dissolution with otherSpace City Scoop

    • That said, no one remembers a really good scorer that doesn’t win titles in the same light as a really good player and leader who wins championships.

    This is where the two perhaps share symbiotic characteristics down to their very core. With the: lack of winning core pieces in place around them, non-natural leader reality of their personas, style of play limitations, and quite simply; complete lack of functional defense — these two literally could be NBA brothers.

    At just 25 years of age, Harden still has time to avoid the final career comparisons to high scoring non-winners such as Anthony and Dominique Wilkins; but improving an athlete’s instincts is very difficult.

    Simply put, leadership, sacrifice and developing better instincts is much easier to do in the business world than it is with a 25 year-old superstar athlete who’s had success doing it their own way for his entire career.

    For all of these reasons, it is indeed very likely that Harden is on the Melo path in his career. That is not an insult when you consider that Anthony is one of the better scorers of a generation, but is it how Harden wants to be remembered?

    Will Reeve is a contributing writer for HoopsHabit, you can follow him on Twitter @WillReeveJr or connect with him on Facebook here.

    Next: NBA: The Desire For Offensive Balance

    More from Hoops Habit

    Home/Houston Rockets