As a team, the Houston Rockets haven't won anything of any lasting significance, but James Harden still feels the target on their back. Houston has been one of the better teams in the NBA the last few years and Harden believes that teams are bringing their A-game whenever they square off against the Rockets.
Harden told Martin Rogers of USA Today:
“The success we have been having, obviously we haven’t won a championship yet, but the way we have been playing we have done pretty well.
“So whenever we are at home and teams come to our home court, or we are on the road, they get up for us so we have got to be ready for that. They play harder, they play a lot more confident. We just got to figure it out.”
Harden is the reigning MVP and this could add another element to the mix for him. Not only do teams want to take down the Rockets, but everyone who matches up against Harden wants to get the better of the MVP.
Some will hammer Harden for these comments, but that's undeserved. Of course, the Golden State Warriors are the team we know has the biggest target on its back, but that doesn't mean the Rockets don't have a target.
Teams have a tendency to “get up” for big games and the Rockets are one of the elite teams in the league. They are still in search of a championship to validate the success they've had in recent years, but that doesn't mean teams think any less of them.
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