Houston Rockets: 3 takeaways from March

1. James Harden is ready for the playoffs

In the current era where game planning and watching film have become essential devices for head coaches and players to use, James Harden has continued to show why most basketball analysts and fans regard him as the most dominant offensive force of his time.

Harden — who scored at least 30 or more points in 32 straight games this season — persisted in his never-ending quest to terrorize opposing defenses, posting 35.6 points, 7.0 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game on 43.1 percent shooting from the field in the month of March.

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"“I think he’s the best offensive player out there,” New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry told reporters when asked about Harden’s play a few weeks ago. “And I can’t think of one, really, over the course of their career that’s been better from the standpoint of being able to put up the kind of numbers he’s done and do it efficiently.” “He’s a genius when it comes to manipulating the rules. He takes advantage of every rule and that’s a real positive to me. That’s not a negative for someone to understand the game enough that they can do that.”"

Although Harden’s brand representatives at Adidas recently put together a series of ads sharing why you’re free to think about whether the league’s leading scorer is deserving of his second straight MVP or not, no one can deny that the Beard is most certainly among the top two of the conversation. He’s together arguably the greatest individual scoring stretch that the league has witnessed since the merger over these last four months.

Despite facing a season in which his team has been beset by the likes of constant roster changes and injuries, Harden has not worn down yet, averaging a career-high 36.4 points and 7.5 assists per game in his seventh season with Houston.

After pouring in a game-high 31 points in the Rockets’ 121-105 win against the Atlanta Hawks on March 19, the 29-year-old guard — who currently leads the league in steals per game — became the first player ever in league history to score 30 points or more against all 29 other NBA teams in a single season.

"“It’s remarkable what he does, and he does it every night,” D’Antoni said told Peter Thompson of Sporting News following Harden’s 50-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist outing in a 119-108 victory against the Sacramento Kings to close out the month. “I keep thinking, ‘Gosh, can he do this every game?’ And then he does it for three years.”"

The Rockets will vie for their 13th win in the last 16 contests as they get ready to take on De’Aaron Fox and the Kings in the second part of a home-and-home series at the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday.