Is James Harden someone who can anchor a championship team? Can he pair with Dwight Howard to win rings?
With the exception of a healthy Dwyane Wade, Harden is regarded as the league's best shooting guard. Harden also is one of the top pure scorers in the game today at any position. But there's a darker side to Harden's game, one that does little to engender a team concept and ultimately just makes him look selfish. Because of that, the Houston Rockets and their fans are fair to ask whether Harden is beginning to resemble a player maligned as a selfish, ball-hogging player -- the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony.
And yet, for all the potential negatives evident in that comparison, Harden's skills are good enough to help the Rockets win the Western Conference if he can elevate his overall maturity and leadership to match his on-court skills.
Breaking down Harden
It is important to recognize the various ways we can evaluate Harden. He is a rare talent on a distinct path, a player who began his NBA career as a role player, a "glue" guy, playing as both a ball mover and an assist man/playmaker. In time, his role evolved toward being more of a bench scorer, something he adapted to because his team in Oklahoma City needed it.
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As far as making "bad shots," there are none better than Kobe Bryant and James Harden.
But it was clear that he longed to be "the man" for a team, and deservedly so. General manager Sam Presti has been criticized for trading Harden and breaking up his trio of star perimeter players, but the truth is, Presti had to do it. Harden now is proving he could do exactly what he always thought he could; meanwhile, OKC has gone 100-34 without him.
Look at it as a win-win deal. Had Presti not moved Harden and had somehow managed to keep him and pay him, it's entirely possible OKC would not have won as many games as they did last season or this season (even with Russell Westbrook's injury). And Harden certainly would not be the star that he has become.
Harden also has usurped Kobe Bryant's title as the best "bad shot" maker in the game. Harden routinely makes contested shots on drives and jumpers. Remember, LeBron James and Kevin Durant are significantly taller than Harden, so while they might be covered as closely, their shots are not contested as tightly as Harden's. I see an awful lot of bad shots in the NBA on a nightly basis, with many or most of those shots ending up as misses. Harden is the one man who makes enough of these bad shots that they can't even be termed as such. And factoring in the fouls he draws and his production from these bad shots, they're actually just his "average" shot these days.
The dark side of Harden's game
Harden is now a complete ball stopper. What's worse is he plays on a team with so many of them, which is possibly one reason why he holds on to the ball so long himself.
Many of the bad shots he takes come after Harden catches the ball with more than 12 seconds on the clock. At that point, it's often the case that no one else touches the ball. The Harden we saw in OKC could move the ball fluidly, but that guy would get fewer shots. This version seems wholly afraid that if he passes the ball away quickly early in a possession, he won't get it back.
Possession after possession, Harden catches and holds the ball, maybe adding a shot fake and some jabs or pivots before he makes a move. According to NBA.com/stats, among all NBA players who are not point guards, only LeBron James has had the ball in his hands more than Harden this season. Correspondingly, Miami has the best offense in the league, and Houston is fifth, so it works for each team.
But Miami also ranks third in assist rate, while Houston is 25th. This disparity is a related to the amount of free throws Houston earns, because they don't accumulate assists when getting fouled while shooting unless the shot is made. It is emblematic though of how Houston tries to space the floor and isolate the best matchup even more than Miami.
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It's a bad sign that Harden's game now resemble's Carmelo Anthony's ball-stopping style.
However, there have been a number of games where the ball just does not move well, and Houston's offense gets bogged down if Harden can't dominate his defender. Coach Kevin McHale frequently asks his guys to get the ball "poppin'," but their instincts are to just take their man and then make a play. Harden leads the charge on this front. Given that he is such a gifted playmaker, it does work well most nights.
But the fact that Harden now is playing more like Anthony should send up a red flag. Anthony's reputation is that of a killer scorer but not much else. Harden is that guy now as well, famously taking off multiple plays -- even quarters or games -- on defense, and completely lacking in his willingness to set an example of how to play hard. Leadership can come in many forms, and Harden, like Anthony, only fulfills the "best scorer on the team" role that some leaders fill. But neither guy is gifted at inspiring teammates, on the court or off of it, which leaders are also expected to do.
Instead, Harden is now known for his moodiness, likely the result of the challenges a new superstar faces nightly on the floor, as well as the weight stars feel when their teams lose. Those issues have plagued Howard for years, and together he and Harden have not figured out how to join forces and become a duo that can overcome them. Not yet, at least.
Harden must take responsibility
Where Harden and Anthony differ is an important distinction. Where Anthony always has been the non-inspiring ball stopper, Harden was once someone totally different. As Harden matures in his starring role -- perhaps after some playoff disappointments -- there is every reason to believe he can learn how to merge the old Harden with the new one.
If he left Oklahoma City to be "the man," get paid like "the man," and garner the attention "the man" gets, he must be ready to assume the responsibilities that come with that title in the NBA. As it stands today, though, he isn't even close.
He has a brighter future than Anthony precisely because we know he has it in him to fit pieces together better, to move the ball better, and to play much better defense. When Harden is locked in, he can be hard to score on and someone who can make plays on the ball with steals and deflections.
We have seen James and Wade mature into men who know how to step up or step back, depending on the situation, in order to help the Heat win 11 of their 12 playoff series since coming together in South Beach. They were able to survive some of those tight series when all seemed lost. That can be attributed to chemistry as much as talent.
However, Houston currently does not have that kind of chemistry. That doesn't mean they won't ever develop it. It could even manifest itself this season at some point. It won't be Howard that makes that happen -- it must be Harden. He's the guy who must make more passes when teammates have better scoring opportunities, especially Howard. He's the player who needs to prove to his teammates he can be counted on to defend as well as score in crunch time.
Harden must step up and be the star who takes the blame sometimes after a loss, rather than let Howard or a lesser player take the criticism. To be a leader, Harden must be a scorer, a screener, a passer and a defender. Indeed, he has the talent to do all that and be the best player on, arguably, the best team in the league.
We saw LeBron accomplish this in recent years, and we are seeing Durant doing it now. Harden needs to aspire to be this kind of player, because only then does Houston have a chance to stand up to next to San Antonio, Oklahoma City or Miami in a seven-game series.
