New Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni hasn't shied away from the spotlight this offseason and has been frank about how he plans to coach his team with this roster.
According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, D'Antoni plans to make James Harden his point guard on the floor.
D'Antoni said Harden is basically the point guard when on the floor. If must have a title said call him the 'points guard.'
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) September 26, 2016
This revelation changes absolutely nothing, given that Harden sports one of the highest usage rates in all of basketball.
His 32.5 usage rate is more than many point guards in the league, including John Wall, Kyle Lowry, Chris Paul and Stephen Curry.
While Harden will likely remain slotted at shooting guard, he will get the majority of the touches and the offense will be run through him – perhaps more than ever with the departure of Dwight Howard and the lack of inside presence that entails.
Why James Harden at point works under D'Antoni
Basically, playing under D'Antoni in this very situation will play as his paradise. It means more room to drive to the paint, more free-throw attempts and even more touches on the offensive end.
When looking at the potential starting lineup, the point guard position will be pretty much a smaller defender while Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson will be spot-up shooters to bail Harden out of bad situations. Clint Capela is a good rebounder that will sky for lobs on the break and defend the rim in hopes of making up for Harden's suspect defense.
D'Antoni knows where Harden's bread is buttered, and that's on offense. The pieces in place can net the Rockets some wins when they're hot shooting from the outside, but James Harden will earn his paycheck according to his ability to adjust. If he limits his number of threes taken and successfully gives the Rockets another dimension with his ball handling, things will likely be much improved from last season.
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