It’s a treat when you get to go to an NBA arena and watch the amazing skills of these players first hand. It’s even better when you get to see a player like Rockets’ guard James Harden drop 54 points like he did on the Orlando Magic on Friday.
Harden is only surpassed in the modern era by Steph Curry in “Wow” moments and with Curry probably out for the season with a broken hand, the path that Harden is taking probably gets even more attention.
He was amazing this past week in scoring 50-plus points and making 10 triples in back-to-back games. Harden had 55 on Wednesday in a 116-110 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He then came back with 54 as the Rockets routed the Magic, 130-107, in Orlando on Friday night.
Harden doesn’t make a lot out of his numbers. He covets and values the Larry O’Brien Trophy at season’s end. When he was asked about the 54 in Orlando, his answer was matter of fact.
“Just so we win, Man,” he said.
Those back-to-back 50s are fleeting.
Consider that Harden has achieved that feat twice this season. Dating back to 2007-08, Phoenix guard Devin Booker is the only player to do this and then Harden does it twice in the Rockets’ first 26 games. In fact, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain are the only players in NBA history to have multiple streaks of 50-plus points.
Maybe even more incredible was his game on Nov. 30 when he accomplished the fourth 60-point game of his career in a 158-111 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Unbelievably, Harden scored those 60 in three quarters as he didn’t even play in the fourth.
In talking the game with him, it’s amazing the humility that he has as he continues to be the catalyst of the team even though Russell Westbrook came over from Oklahoma City.
Harden is the primary ball handler, and he calls the plays and sets up his teammates. He’s a scorer’s scorer in that he works the opposing defense like a surgeon. He explained that there is a reason why he could put the half century beside of his name on back-to-back nights.
“We finally got regular defensive coverage because in many other games, there have been box-and-ones, double teams, and things like that,” Harden explained. “It has been good to get regular coverage and somebody that’s one-on-one.”
Harden works without as much as a sweat and he is averaging an amazing 39.3 points per game to blow away the other scorers in the NBA.
Having him work as the primary point guard gives Houston a major advantage because of his intelligence and ability to diagnose what the defense is going to do.
Obviously a shooter, who can literally make 3s consistently from the logos on NBA courts, wants to go for the triples. But, when defenders come up on him, he gets to the basket and adjusts his layups accordingly depending on the defender and how he is played.
Harden doesn’t make a big deal out of getting into the paint and being a scorer. He just reads and reacts to what he is seeing.
“I’m just trying to be a playmaker,” he noted.
The M.O. on offense is very simple as Harden orchestrates Coach Mike D’Antoni’s system in calling the sets and most of the plays on the floor.
“Offensively for the majority of a game we have to make sure we are moving the ball and getting the shots we want,” Harden said.
Obviously, the 17-9 record is a precursor to another playoff trip and run for the Rockets. Harden knows that it’s a process when there is transition and other players fit in. That is the case with Westbrook, who was the man for the last several years in OKC as he averaged a triple-double in each of his last three seasons.
Now, Westbrook is riding shot gun beside of Harden and the 42 triple-doubles of three years ago are just memories.
“We’ve got to take baby steps because we are still fairly new to each other,” Harden said. “We have to do the beginning stages first before we worry about what happens in June.”
For the Rockets, Harden has had them on the cusp of the NBA Finals twice. Now, with Westbrook beside of him and Clint Capela delivering in the middle, this season could finally be his time to make it to the NBA Finals and pick up, “The Larry.”
