Houston Rockets: 3 goals for James Harden in 2018-19

3. Commit fully on defense

Despite being regarded as one of the top offensive threats in basketball, Harden has yet to fully shun the criticism of his play on defense, as there are moments where last year’s scoring champ fails to show little to any focus on individual assignments.

Last season, Houston’s defense proved to be much more efficient with Harden off the floor, giving up 2.6 fewer points per 100 possessions and holding opposing teams to a lower field goal percentage in the process. Several teams continuously sought to expose the former Arizona State product in one-on-one situations during the 2018 NBA Playoffs.

Although Harden did managed to show major improvements as a post and help defender last season, the face of the franchise must find a way to stay locked in at the defensive end while on the court this upcoming season.

Houston will seek to switch everything defensively within the pick-and-roll, and should Harden fail to bring a concerted effort, opposing head coaches will seek to use their guards to take advantage of him out in isolation throughout the year.

Harden may never emerge into a lockdown defender, but should he showcase a level of desire to become one, then there is a possible chance that he could become one of the top two-way threats in the game, making the departures of Luc Mbah a Moute and Trevor Ariza easier to bear.