Mike D'Antoni‘s official conversion of James Harden as the Houston Rockets “points guard” could very well be the start of a conversation of his place among the league's elite at the position.
Prior to Friday night's game between the Rockets and the L.A. Clippers, both coaches chimed in their thoughts about each other's floor generals.
“They see the floor extremely well and orchestrate all kinds of things,” D'Antoni told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “They probably have in their head better plays than we can diagram so you give them a long rope to play the game and you trust them totally. He is one of the rare, few guys that by himself influences every game. Like (LeBron) James does, Chris Paul does.”
The key distinction would be that Harden sets up his assists due to his ability to score. His 27.7 points per game are far more than Paul has averaged at any point in his career. Paul hasn't averaged more than 20 points per game since his career-high 22.8 during his 2008-09 campaign with the New Orleans Hornets. Though Clippers coach Doc Rivers described Harden and Paul as “very similar.”
“Harden's a more aggressive scorer,” Rivers said. “In some ways, that puts a little more pressure on you. Harden's a great passer, but he is a great passer because of his scoring as well. Chris has the best vision I've ever seen at his position. Harden is pretty good at it as well. They are very similar. They are trying to control the team.”
Unfortunately the two stars weren't able to collide on the floor Friday night, as Paul sat out with a sore left hamstring while Harden exploded for his seventh triple-double of the season, tallying 30 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and five steals in a brilliant 10-of-15 shooting from the floor during the Rockets' 140-116 blowout of the Clippers.
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