Ultra Small Ball -- Rethinking Rebounds

By Taylor Pate on February 20, 2020
Follow @taylorlpate

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The Rockets have embraced the Micro USB (Ultra Small Ball) era. With the only remaining centers on the roster being 37-year-old Tyson Chandler (8.4 minutes per game in 26 appearances) and Prodigal Son, Isaiah Hartenstein (recently sent to the G League), the Rockets have taken head coach Mike D’Antoni’s vision and created a reality.

The idea behind this upheaval is that any player on the floor for the Rockets is responsible for being able to guard 1 through 5. The Rockets will implement the switching defense that was so successful with pieces like Luc Mbah a Moute and Trevor Ariza in previous years. With the recent additions of Robert Covington, DeMarre Carroll, and Jeff Green, the Rockets hope to maintain a level of defensive flexibility that translates into offensive freedom.

After being a top-12 rebounding team, largely due to Clint Capela, the Rockets are being out-rebounded by double-digits per game since the trade deadline. How does the team plan to tackle the Rudy Gobert's and Anthony Davis’ of the world? Well, by crashing the boards. With everyone.

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— Taylor Pate (@taylorlpate) February 20, 2020

On this play, the Rockets are playing a hybrid defensive set, involving Box and One and their switching scheme. As Russell Westbrook cuts off Anthony Davis on the way to the goal, Rajon Rondo passes off to LeBron James at the top of the key. Robert Covington maintains his position at the free throw line, eventually leading to a pass to Rajon Rondo in the corner. After a quick closeout, PJ Tucker and the rest of the Rockets are all in the paint and boxing out.

By keeping a ball-hawk on shooters/ball handlers and leaving non-shooters open, the Rockets are enticing teams to have their less-than-stellar shooters put up shots while they lay in wait for rebound opportunities. Obviously this strategy isn't unique to the NBA, but it's even more important for a team with no center to have as many bodies as possible to grab a rebound.

Rockets opponents are also being baited into thinking that they have a mismatch down low. In the next clip, Alex Caruso badly misses Anthony Davis on a roll, but Davis winds up with a mismatch and the ball nonetheless. Eric Gordon plays some sound initial defense and Austin Rivers collapses to help. But again, the Lakers have four players on the perimeter and the Rockets have five players in the paint. A contested Anthony Davis turnaround, even with smaller guys guarding him, is a win for the Rockets defense.

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— Taylor Pate (@taylorlpate) February 20, 2020

Of course, the downside to playing this style is that a defensive lapse is far more devastating for the Rockets. On this play, Thabo Sefolosha and Danuel House Jr. have a miscommunication and both follow the roll man, Daniel Theis. This leads to the WIDEST of wide-open threes. Luckily for the Rockets, Tatum misses this shot. Unfortunately, Ben McLemore tries to contest the shot and the long rebound comes right back to Tatum, so McLemore’s man, Marcus Smart, is left for an open three. McLemore’s close-out on Tatum prevented him from being in position at the free throw line to grab a long rebound (see PJ Tucker in the last clip), which all started with Sefolosha missing the switch.

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— Taylor Pate (@taylorlpate) February 20, 2020

Again, a small error by Covington coupled with Austin Rivers sliding down late leaves the Rockets out of position and James Harden is unable to get in front of Theis. Had Rivers been in position (pause the clip at 4 seconds) when the pass was made to Jaylen Brown on the opposite wing, you would have House boxing out Tatum, which leaves you with Rivers and Harden on either side of Theis. Alternatively, if Covington switches on to Brown sooner, the open three is never there.

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— Taylor Pate (@taylorlpate) February 20, 2020

Sometimes, the bigger squirrel just gets the nut. Grant Williams gets in and takes advantage of the smaller Rivers. Aside from Ben McLemore not crashing the boards, this is otherwise pretty good defense. With a unit sporting Westbrook, Rivers, and McLemore, this kind of rebound is just going to happen sometimes.  

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— Taylor Pate (@taylorlpate) February 20, 2020

At this point, the Micro USB lineup doesn’t have enough time on the court to pull enough data worth analyzing, but finding trends over the next few weeks should provide some clue as to whether or not the Rockets can compete for a title with their revolutionary changes. If the Rockets can remain competitive on the glass, they should find success both for the rest of the regular season and in the playoffs.

Rockets 106, Lakers 111 - Oh Great, We Get to Have This Conversation

By Forrest Walker on February 22, 2019
Follow @DUNOTS

The Houston Rockets can lose games perfectly well on their own and really don't need any help. Unfortunately for everyone but Los Angeles Lakers fans, we now all have to deal with a tedious discussion (to put it very nicely) about Scott Foster, the NBA's most reviled referee.This was a bizarre game that ended in a bizarre, disappointing and deeply frustrating fashion and only served to further stoke the flames of debate regarding the Rockets. In short, just a another Thursday for Houston.

Rockets 105, Lakers 99 - All That Matters

By Forrest Walker on December 18, 2017
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The Houston Rockets have won their 65th game of the season. Their opposing number was a surprisingly plucky Los Angeles Lakers team enjoying (technically) their last home game of the season before playing the Los Angeles Clippers tomorrow. None of that matters for the Rockets. The only takeaway from that game was a staggering piece of bad news. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute dislocated his right shoulder in a freak accident during a dunk. In the middle of plenty of enjoyable storylines and elements, this one grim tiding hangs above everything.

Rockets 148, Lakers 142 - It's Over

By Forrest Walker on December 31, 2017
Follow @DUNOTS

Ready to Contribute Eventually

After so long, the nightmare is finally over. The Houston Rockets finally broke their five-game losing streak, crowning the Los Angeles Lakers as the holders of the longest current losing streak with six games. Despite a litany of setbacks, despite bad play, injuries, misses and last-second shocks, the Rockets survived a double-overtime game and went on to get win number 26. As we leave 2017 and whatever novella of miseries may have befallen each of us, so do the Rockets leave their own personal hell and exorcise the losing skid that the Lakers started by defeating the Lakers. May all our final moments of the year include a small victory at the last, as well.

Rockets 116, Lakers 122 - Inevitability

By Forrest Walker on December 20, 2017
Follow @DUNOTS

Many things in this life are inevitable. Death and taxes are commonly cited, but many other things are certain to happen, as well. Cars break down, children get sick, pets get old. The Houston Rockets ran into another inevitability tonight. Their league-best 14-game win streak came to an end. This loss was woven together with something the Rockets had hoped might actually be avoidable, but has shown itself to be anything but. The Rockets have suffered some injuries. It was always going to happen, but it's never a good time

Rockets 118, Lakers 95 - Cruise Control

The Houston Rockets are on cruise control. The Los Angeles Lakers may have put the screws to the Golden State Warriors the other day and forced them into overtime, but had no such luck against the Rockets. The Lakers started out hot, as every team seems to against the Rockets, but were toast by the end of the third quarter. The biggest question left at the end of this game is, "why didn't the starters leave the game sooner," and that uneventful state is the best case scenario for the Rockets.

Rockets 139, Lakers 100 - Lou Williams Meh-venge Game

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Coming off one of this biggest wins of the season on Sunday, the Rockets took care of business Wednesday by handling the Los Angeles Lakers in a game that saw ex-Laker Lou Williams find a major groove. It wasn't exactly a revenge game, given how bad the Lakers are, but Lou made sure to show out against his former team.

The Rockets quickly set the tone in this game, scoring at will. James Harden, in particular, got whatever he wanted on the floor. The MVP finalist scored 12 points and dished out eight assists in the opening period. His focus was on finding his teammates (and padding his assist numbers) early on, especially with the goal of getting Clint Capela heavily involved. At the end of first, Capela was well on his way to a double-double with early contributions of nine points and four rebounds, and the Rockets held a 37-26 lead.

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— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) March 16, 2017

The second quarter belonged to Lou Williams, who faced the team that traded him for the first time since February’s trade deadline. Lou scored 17 points in the period (19 for the half) on perfect shooting from the field, including four from beyond the arc.

Similarly, Julius Randle had himself a great first half offensively for the Lakers. He was the only Laker that was causing the Rockets any real problems on the floor, scoring 22 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Randle also caused the Rockets physical problems as he caught three different players – Clint Capela, Ryan Anderson, and Montrezl Harrell – with errant elbows to the face. Capela was subbed out with a headache, Anderson made a trip to the locker room to stop the bleeding, and Harrell was down on the ground while the Rockets played defense a man down. This slowed Houston’s momentum considerably, but the Rockets were able to pick themselves up and maintain a 66-52 lead at halftime.

The Rockets energy – and defense – was nonexistent for the majority of the third period, which allowed the Lakers to cut the lead down to single-digits multiple times. James Harden’s assist hunting carried over from the second period and, unfortunately, so did the turnovers (he had nine by quarter’s end). After a timeout with about five minutes left, the Rockets went on a 7-0 run and righted the ship a little bit. Harden would have his 17^th triple-double before the quarter ended, and, following another 7-0 run, the Rockets held a commanding 93-75 lead.

Lou Williams was relatively quiet in the third, but immediately made his presence felt with back-to-back threes to start the final period. Despite the fourth quarter largely being garbage time for the Rockets, Patrick Beverley did his best to make it interesting by drawing offensive fouls and hitting teammates for rim-rattling dunks. Houston coasted, which allowed Harden to rest for the entire period.

Julius Randle and Harden’s assist hunting were the only problems the Rockets faced in this game. Houston played down to the Lakers a little bit, and need to tighten the screws defensively going forward, but beating a team by 39 is a pretty good way to win. Statistically, the Rockets had awesome contributions from Lou Williams (30 points, seven assists), James Harden (18 points, 13 assists, 12 rebounds), and Trevor Ariza (20 points), but this was a total team win – and a convincing one at that.

The Rockets look to win its third straight on Friday in New Orleans.

Game Ball

This is a segment of the game recaps that will give the proverbial game ball to a player that proved to be most valuable to the Rockets on a given night. This award won’t necessarily go to the player that puts up the best numbers, but to the player that made the greatest impact on the team – tangible or intangible.

Wednesday’s game ball goes to Lou Williams.

Another Harden triple-double, another game where someone else is actually more deserving of the game ball. That’s just how good this team is. Since making an incredible impact in his Rockets debut, Lou has been kind of ineffective from the field and hasn’t really caught a groove like he did post-trade deadline. On Wednesday, Lou caught fire and hit his first seven attempts from the field, and was instrumental in giving the Rockets a huge lead in the second period.

Houston will need both Lou and Eric Gordon to catch fire at the same time to have significant playoff success, and this was just the kind of game to get that rhythm going.

Game Preview: Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers

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After a huge come back victory over the the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, the Houston Rockets get ready for their 68th game against the Lakers.  The Rockets have now won six of their nine games since the All-Star break, building some positive momentum at 46-21 on the season. The Rockets are led in scoring, assists and rebounds by potential MVP James Harden at 29.1 points, 11.2 assists, and 7.9 rebounds per game. The Rockets are ranked 2nd in offensive rating, 15th in defensive rating, and 3rd in overall net rating.

The Lakers seem to be in full blown tank mode, hoping to lose as many game as possible in order to secure a high draft pick. After losing all but one of their nine games since the break, the Lakers have the leagues second worst record, 20-47. The Lakers are led in scoring and assists by D'Angelo Russell at 15.1 point and 4.8 assists, and in rebounding by Julius Randle, who pulls in 8.6 rebounds per game. The Lakers currently rank 25th in offensive rating, 30th in defensive rating, and just 29th in net rating.

Starting Lineups

The Rockets will likely continue to start James Harden at point guard, Patrick Beverley at shooting guard, Trevor Ariza at small forward, Sam Dekker at power forward, and Clint Capela at center to start the game, with competing Sixth Man of the Year candidates Eric Gordon and Lou Williams being the first guys off the bench.

The Lakers, though fully healthy, have decided to sit Mozgov for the rest of the season in order to give their young players more time to develop. If they stick with their recent starting lineup, we can expect to see the Lakers start with Jordan Clarkson at point guard, David Nwaba at shooting guard, Brandon Ingram at small forward, Julius Randle at center, and Ivaca Zubac at center. No, I didn't make two of those names up.

Three Things to Watch

• Third and Final Match Up – After blowing the first game of the season to this Lakers team, the Rockets demolished the Lakers in their next meeting by nearly 40 points, behind the usual three point barrage. Watch to see if the Rockets are able to repeat their dominant performance in the third and final game between the two teams.


• Five Straight – Thanks to a Trailblazers loss and the win over the Cavs, the Rockets have clinched their fifth straight playoff appearance. Watch to see if the Rockets take their foot off the pedal some down the stretch, as they are almost a lock for the third seed in the West, four games above fourth, and six-and-a-half below second.


• Brewer Back – After being traded to the Lakers at this year's trade deadline, veteran wing Corey Brewer returns to Toyota center for the first time. Watch to see how the crowd reacts to the former transition dynamo upon his return, and how he looks on his new team.

Prediction and Tip-Off

If the Rockets don't win this game, I'll eat my shoe. I am very confident in the Rockets ability to beat down this Lakers team just waiting for the season to end, even if the shots aren't falling

Tip-off will be at 8:00 P.M. Central Time in Houston on Wednesday, March 15th. The game will be televised on ROOTSPORTS with the radio broadcast on Sports Talk 790-AM.

Report: Lou Williams Traded to Rockets

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Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of The Vertical have reported that the Rockets have acquired Lou Williams from the Los Angeles Lakers in return for Corey Brewer and a first round pick in this year's draft.

https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/834201053692325889

Once again, Daryl Morey pulls off a big trade for the Rockets. His maneuvers have launched the Rockets to an incredible turnaround this season. The Rockets now have arguably the two frontrunners for Sixth Man of the Year on the same team. Williams and Eric Gordon have scored the most points off the bench this year, respectively.

https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/834208456525672449

This trade looks to be a steal for the Rockets. Since they are going to finish with one of the best records in the league, the first-round draft pick is going to be a low pick. Because of that, it is not a big deal that they had to give up that draft pick to offload Brewer's contract.

It was becoming clear that Brewer was not going to be with the Rockets much longer. He has one of the worst +/- in the league and the Rockets always seemed to do worse when he was on the floor. With his three-point shooting being a huge liability this season, the fit for him on the team just wasn’t there.

Williams is currently averaging 18.6 PPG this season while shooting 38.5% from three. Offensively, he is almost a perfect with the Rockets. While with the Lakers, Williams did a lot of his work in isolation and having to create his own shots. With the Rockets, he’ll have a lot more open shots and will allow for Harden to get more rest on the bench.

This is a trade that will give the Rockets even more perimeter shooting. The bench has become stronger and will be able to provide more rest for the starters. It is clear that the Rockets are all in on a deep playoff run this season with championship aspirations.

Rockets 134, Lakers 95 - Rockets get swift revenge on the Lake Show

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Back on October 26^th, the Houston Rockets opened the 2016-2017 season in Los Angeles with a surprising 120-114 loss to the Kobe-less Lakers. They got swift vengeance on Wednesday with a massive blowout, nearly winning by 40 points – by far the largest margin of victory for the Rockets this season.

The Rockets were quick to take advantage of a young Lakers team that was without its most promising player (D’Angelo Russell, who has now missed ten straight games with a knee injury), and took and double digit lead early. Without their best ball handler, the Lakers were sloppy and committed nine turnovers that led to 15 points for Houston. The Rockets also took advantage of one of the league’s worst defensive teams, hitting on 65% of their shot attempts and closing the first quarter with an 11-2 run.

Houston took a brief ride on the struggle bus in the second quarter, committing five turnovers and allowing the Lakers to cut an 18-point lead all the way down to seven. The Rockets only shot 34% for the quarter (only converting on one of eight attempts from beyond the arc) and only assisted on three made baskets.

Luckily, the Rockets have a superstar in James Harden and a sixth man who has been on fire as of late in Eric Gordon. Gordon’s hot streak continued on Wednesday, as he converted on his first four three-pointers and scored 17 in the first half. Harden very quietly put up 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists before half. After Lou Williams hit a buzzer beater from three-quarters court, the Rockets went into halftime up 67-55.

The third quarter got off to a slow start, but the Rockets shifted into a higher gear and put this game away in the third. Houston started raining threes (they hit seven in the quarter) and forced six more turnovers. Gordon hit a couple of threes in the last minute of the third to give him eight for the game (a new career high), and the rout was on as the Rockets finished the period up 106-77.

Taking care of business and putting teams away early is important for the Rockets because it allows for younger guys like Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell to get more game experience. It also allows the starters and veterans to get more rest. Given the injury histories of Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson, as well as the fact that James Harden averages the 5^th most minutes per game in the NBA (36.7), it’s important to get these guys rest. A little bit of rest now can mean a whole lot of energy saved for the end of the season and a significant Playoff run.

The Rockets have now won four in a row (the longest winning streak of the season so far) and nine of their last eleven. They’ll have a tough test on Friday as they welcome Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder to Houston for a star-studded showdown.

Game Ball

This is a segment of the game recaps that will give the proverbial game ball to a player that proved to be most valuable to the Rockets on a given night. This award won’t necessarily go to the player that puts up the best numbers, but to the player that made the greatest impact on the team – tangible or intangible.

Sunday’s game ball goes to Eric Gordon.

It bodes well for the Rockets that James Harden posted 25 points, eight assists, and six rebounds, and won’t be getting the game ball.

Gordon’s hot streak is a major reason why the Rockets have been winning at such a high clip. He scored 26 points on 69.2% shooting from the field – including draining eight of his twelve three-point attempts.

In the last six games, he has averaged just shy of 23 points on an incredible 58% shooting from beyond the three-point arc. He is tailor-made for Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system and for being the offensive spark for the second unit, as well as another shot creator that alleviate some of the crunch time pressure off of Harden.

It’s time to start campaigning for Eric Gordon to win the 'Sixth Man of the Year' Award. He’s building quite a compelling case.

Game Preview: Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers

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After a wild win over the Boston Celtics, the Rockets sit at 14-7, looking to get revenge on the Los Angeles Lakers. The Rockets are led in both scoring and assists by James Harden (28.7 points and 11.6 assists per game), and in rebounding by Clint Capela, who pulls in 8.4 rebounds a game. The Rockets now rank third in offensive rating, 26th in defensive rating, and 7th in net rating.

The Lakers surprised many to start the season, going 7-5 in their first twelve games, but have since started to regress to where everyone thought they would be, going 3-8 in their last 11. The Lakers, who are now 10-13, are led in scoring by Lou Williams (18.4 points per game), in assists by D'Angelo Russell (4.8 assists per game), and in rebounds by Julius Randle (8.8 assists per game). The Lakers rank 15th in offensive rating, 28th in defensive rating, and 26th in net rating.

Starting Lineups

After a brief scare, with Eric Gordon twisting his ankle at the end of the game against Boston, the Rockets appear to still be healthy. The Rockets are likely to continue to start with James Harden at point guard, Patrick Beverley at shooting guard, Trevor Ariza at small forward, Ryan Anderson at power forward, and Clint Capela at center, with Eric Gordon getting starter’s minutes.

The Lakers have been hit with the injury bug early this season, with starters D'Angelo Russell (knee) and Nick Young (calf) expected to miss Wednesday's game. In their last game, the Lakers went with a strange starting lineup of Brandon Ingram, Metta World Peace, Luol Deng, Julius Randle, and Timofey Mozgov, outside of Mozgov at center and Randle at power forward, I have no idea who is playing what in that lineup. The Lakers didn't play this strange lineup too much however, with Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson playing 38 and 34 minutes in the last game, respectively.

Three Things to Watch

• All the points – This game features a top three offense, and two of the bottom 5 defenses in the NBA, so much like the first game, it could be a shootout. Watch to see if the Rockets are able to take advantage of the Lakers' poor defense, while not giving it right back on the other end.
  


• Revenge. – After filling fans full of excitement, the Rockets tripped coming out of the gates, dropping their first game to these very Lakers. Watch to see if the Rockets are able to get their revenge and finish the night with a win.


• Rockets on a streak – The Rockets are now 8-2 over their last ten games, and are on pace to win about 54 games. Watch to see if the Rockets can keep their great play going and continue to win at a pace that few thought they could going into the season.

Prediction and Tip-Off

I don't think we will see a repeat of the first game of the year. The Rockets are playing great basketball and the Lakers are beat up and on a bit of a backslide. I predict a big Rockets win to move up to 15-7 on the season.

Tip-off will be at 7:00 P.M. Central Time at in Houston on Wednesday, December 7th. The game will be televised on ROOT Sports, with the radio broadcast on Sports Talk 790-AM.

Rockets 114, Lakers 120 - Failure to Launch

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The Houston Rockets launched their 50^th season in disappointing fashion as they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 120-114. It’s not exactly the start the Rockets envisioned, considering the Lakers are rebuilding and the Rockets hope to win home-court advantage in the Playoffs.

James Harden kicked off the game with an immediate assist to Ryan Anderson, who nailed a deep three-pointer. The ‘Beard’ was off to races after that, cruising to 12 points and a spectacular 9 assists in the first quarter (with only 1 turnover in those 12 minutes of action). He finished the game with 30 points, career-high 17 assists, and 8 rebounds; he also finished with 7 turnovers, but that’s to be expected with his usage rate in this high-octane offense. He’s truly living up to the ‘points guard’ moniker Head Coach Mike D’Antoni gave him in the preseason.

The Rockets’ offense was fluid and had ball movement that hadn’t been seen in years, especially not since Daryl Morey pulled off the trade to bring Harden to Houston. D’Antoni’s ‘7 Seconds or Less’ offense was in full effect, with Harden initiating the action early and shooters like Anderson, Eric Gordon, and Trevor Ariza letting the shots fly. Scoring was clearly not a problem for Houston they had 71 points by halftime, 96 by the end of the third quarter, and closing with 114.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, the defensive worries are very real. The Lakers had open outside shots all game long and managed to get plenty of easy shots at the rim, scoring 120 for the ball game. Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell impressed as they took over the Lakers offense to the tune of 25 and 20 points, respectively. Houston was outrebounded (especially in the second half) and only hit 24.1% of their attempts beyond the arc, while the Lakers hit 34.3%.

A major bright spot for the Rockets this year is Clint Capela. The 22-year-old has been named the team’s starting Center for in Dwight Howard’s absence, and has athleticism that is perfect for a pick-and-roll offense that James Harden has mastered. The duo executed the pick-and-roll to perfection on several occasions, with Capela finishing off alley-oops or Harden taking it to the rim himself.

However, the youngster needs to get acclimated to being a starting Center in the NBA, and the toll increased minutes and physicality takes on a human body. It was evident that Capela needs to get in better shape (and potentially back to 100% health), as the Rockets trotted out Nene, who is 34 years old and in his 15^th season, in crunch time.

Nene, along with Ryan Anderson, is a new addition to the Rockets and isn’t exactly known for his defense. Both of these newcomers were exploited defensively and weren’t effective enough offensively to counter-act their weaknesses. Both Nene and Eric Gordon, another newcomer, were a team-high -14 on the floor in terms of plus/minus.

Another glaring weakness for the Rockets in this game was in the form of backup point guard Tyler Ennis. He finished with 4 turnovers, 3 personal fouls, and a plus/minus of -9 in 12 minutes of play. Now, following up on James Harden’s brilliant performance as a point guard is surely not an easy thing to do, but this is where Patrick Beverley’s absence is sorely felt.

Just like last season, the Rockets really struggled when Harden was on the bench. Unfortunately, Harden picked up his 5^th foul with about 7 minutes left in the ball game and wasn’t able to be as aggressive as he could’ve and should’ve been.

It’s early and the Rockets have a lot of kinks to work out, but even with those kinks they should be able to take care of the Lakers. This one is a bummer.

Houston looks to get its first win of the season on Friday as the Rockets head to Dallas to take on the Mavericks for the first game in a home-and-home.

Game Ball 

This is a segment of the game recaps that will give the proverbial game ball to a player that proved to be most valuable to the Rockets on a given night. This award won’t necessarily go to the player that puts up the best numbers, but to the player that made the greatest impact on the team – tangible or intangible.

The first ever Red Nation Hoops Game Ball goes to James Harden.

Was there really any other option? Despite a discouraging loss, Harden flourished in D’Antoni’s offensive system, beating his career high in assists (previously 16) and scoring at the same clip he always has. His move to point guard is a revelation as he got his teammates involved and put up MVP-like numbers. However, the Rockets are going to have to win a lot of games for Harden to even be considered. So far, they’re not off to a good start.

Harden will get the game ball often this season (and he may actually make a case for it every single game), but we at Red Nation Hoops will be conscious to give recognition where it’s deserved.