The Houston Rockets got off to a terrible start to the 2015-16 season, being the first team in NBA history to lose their first three games by exactly 20 points. They appear to have turned it around though. They’ve won four games in a row since then to bring their record to a more respectable 4-3, and they have James Harden to thank for it.
Harden was named the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday due to his efforts this past week. He averaged 38.5 points, 5.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in those four games, while playing 40.9 minutes per game and shooting 46.4 percent from the floor and 34.9 percent from three-point range.
He also has had his first career back-to-back 40 point games, with 43 points on 13-of-23 shooting against the Sacramento Kings on Friday and 46 points on 14-of-26 shooting against the Los Angeles Clippers.
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This is in stark contrast to the numbers Harden posted in the season-opening losing streak. Over those three games Harden was averaging 18 points, 6.3 rebounds and six assists to go with two steals, and was shooting just 22.2 percent from the floor and 9.4 percent from three-point range while averaging 10.7 three-point attempts per game.
One of the main reasons for this turnaround might just be the fact that Harden and point guard Ty Lawson may have finally collectively gotten their act together.
During the three-game losing streak, the Rockets were outscored 110.6 to 94.8 points per 100 possessions when Harden, Lawson and Trevor Ariza–the Rockets most-used three-man unit–were together on the floor, which is a minus-15.8 point net rating over 184 possessions in 89 minutes.
In that stretch, the Rockets had an effective field goal percentage of 45.1 percent, a true shooting percentage of 49.3 percent, and shot just 38.8 percent from the floor.
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Over the course of the four-game winning streak, though, a switch has flipped.
When Harden, Lawson and Ariza share the floor over that stretch, the Rockets are outscoring the opposition 119.7 to 97 points per 100 possessions, which is good for a net rating of plus-22.7 points over 221 possessions in 111 minutes. They’re shooting 46.6 percent from the floor, with an effective field goal percentage of 53.2 percent and a true shooting percentage of 57.1 percent.
Much like Harden’s personal numbers, this unit’s turnaround is remarkable.
The Rockets net rating has improved by 38.5 points, effective field goal and true shooting percent have both gone up almost 8Â percent, and their shooting from the floor has gone up 7.8 percent as well.
Another reason that Harden’s play has improved so drastically is that his shot selection has improved considerably.
In the three-game losing streak, Harden was shooting over half his shots from behind the three-point arc. That was a grand total of 10.7 of his 18 shots per game coming from long range, all while hitting just over nine percent from behind the line.
Harden’s game is more about getting into the lane and creating contact than it is trying to shoot out of long-range slumps, and he just wasn’t doing it. He shot just 10.3 free throws in that stretch.
Over the winning streak, he’s increased his shot total to 24.3 per game, but his three-point shots per game has barely budged, settling at 10.8 per game. As a result of taking more shots from the interior, he’s been averaging 14.3 free throw attempts per game.
James Harden has gone from a major source of concern in Houston to being considered a top MVP candidate at this early stage of the season. His hot stretch has rallied his numbers from the grim depths of historic ineptitude to what would be some career high numbers if the season was to end today.
He’s averaging 29.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, both of which would be career-high averages. He also has his shooting average up to 37.7 percent and is up to 24 percent from three-point range. Both of these numbers are impressive when you look at the awful start he got off to.
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Harden has the Rockets back in the mix, and now that Lawson seems to have more fully integrated into the Houston puzzle, the Western Conference and the NBA have been put on notice that this is a fearsome team once again.
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