Subscribe
Follow Us
James Harden is coming off of a historic 2018-19 campaign in which he averaged 36.1 points per game to blow the league away in the competition for the scoring title, but in the end, it all felt empty.
The Houston Rockets were once again eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs, losing in six games in the second round in spite of Kevin Durant leaving during the second half of Game 5 and being unavailable for Game 6.
It became increasingly obvious that the Rockets simply did not have enough to get over the hump, so Daryl Morey decided to make a major tweak this summer, swapping Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook.
But while Houston's success will largely come down to what the role players can give the team, Harden remains the centerpiece of the Rockets, and he still has some things to work on even after such a tremendous individual season.
So, here are three early goals for Harden heading into next year:
3. Be More Consistent Defensively
I know this is basically fighting a losing battle at this point, because expecting Harden to play consistent defense 11 years into his career is probably silly, but there is some logic behind it.
The last few years, Harden was the only Rockets player capable of regularly getting his own shot, which meant he had to conserve some energy by resting a bit defensively throughout the game.
Well, now, with Westbrook in tow, Houston has another guy who can take over for stretches offensively, meaning Harden no longer has to play balls-to-the-wall nearly every offensive possession.
This will allow Harden to have more energy to play better defense, if he chooses to do so. He did average two steals per game this past season, so he is actually decent in the passing lanes. Maybe a rested Harden will permit him to be even better?
2. Take Less Shots
Look: I get the idea behind Harden having to do basically everything for the Rockets offensively this past season, but when one player on your team is taking 24.5 shots per game, something is wrong.
For reference, people thought Harden was shooting a bit too much in 2017-18, when he took 20.1 shots per game. He then increased that number by nearly four-and-a-half attempts a night in 2018-19.
Article Continues Below
It might win Houston some regular-season games, but in the playoffs, that style is not conducive to success, as we just saw.
Again, with Westbrook now in the fold, there really is no excuse for Harden to continue attempting over 20 shots a night. It's not like Eric Gordon is a scrub, either.
For the betterment of the team, Harden should try and cut that number down to around 18-19 field-goal attempts.
1. Learn to Play Off the Ball
This is something Harden really struggles with, and it's because it's something he's never really done.
He hasn't done it in the NBA, he didn't do it at Arizona State and he almost certainly didn't do it in high school.
Harden is one of the most ball-dominant players this league has ever seen, and he does possess the unique ability to score like a shooting guard while also passing like a point guard, which is great.
But with Westbrook aboard, Harden is going to have to learn to play off the ball. That means actually moving around, making backdoor cuts, setting screens, etc. It doesn't just entail standing in one spot, which is what Harden has generally done thus far in his career when in that situation.
If this Harden-Westbrook duo is going to work, Harden is likely going to have to spend a lot of time off the ball, so becoming at least adequate without the rock in his hands should be the primary goal of his heading into next season.
