As James Harden’s streak of scoring 30 or more points per game stretched into its third month, head coaches of rival NBA teams kept scratching their heads about how best to guard the 29-year-old MVP candidate. It’s a riddle they might not have to solve.
The Houston Rockets have risen to fifth place in the Western Conference from 14th during the streak. But the promise of consistent success remains doubtful. Much as “The Beard’s” mastery of the step-back three-pointer and his uncanny ability to slither his way to the rim stupefy defenses, this isn’t a style of basketball that wins championships.
To understand why, it’s worth digging deeper into the comparisons Harden’s hot streak has earned him. Namely, to Wilt Chamberlain.
Despite being the most dominant scorer and rebounder in NBA history, Chamberlain is rarely in conversation the greatest of all time.
That’s because there’s a difference between players that carry their teams and players that act as one-man teams. Wilt was the latter.
Championships still matter, and Wilt the Stilt only had two, despite holding league records for field goal percentage, rebounds, and points per game in a season.
Let that sink in. A man who averaged 50.4 points per game, even if it was back in 1961-2, is never in the conversation for greatest basketball player ever.
He could have fit his rings on his pinkie fingers, unlike Bill Russell and Michael Jordan. To win even those rings he had to adjust his style of play considerably.
In 1967, during his championship season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Wilt’s assist totals rose from 5.2 assists per game to nearly 8 and his scoring fell from 33.5 to 24.1 points per game. His teammates benefited. Hal Greer averaged 22 points per game while Chet Walker and Billy Cunningham poured in 19 points per game.
It’s hard to beat a team that can score like that.
To put things simply, Wilt started playing like he had contributors on his team, not just guys in short shorts who were really good at dumping the ball off to him in the post.
Maybe Harden doesn’t have shooters like Wilt on his team, especially with Chris Paul fighting injuries and Clint Capela out of commission. But even when they were on the court, the Rockets weren’t sharing the ball enough to look like a championship-caliber team.
In a recent five-game streak ending with Harden’s dominant performance in Madison Square Garden, every basket he scored was unassisted. That’s 261 unassisted points. This season, nearly 90 percent of Harden’s field goals have been unassisted.
This type of play leaves three players standing around watching Harden play the two-man game with whomever the Rockets have plugged in at center — Capela, Nene Hilario, or the recently acquired Kenneth Faried.
No cutting, no passing, just dribbling.
It’s boring.
Like last season, the Rockets are one of the worst passing teams in the league.
Contrast that with the Golden State Warriors who, having won three rings in four years, are on pace to be the first team to average 30 assists per game two seasons in a row. With the addition of yet another offensive juggernaut in DeMarcus Cousins, the Dubs’ scoring can come from anywhere at any time.
The Rockets are 28th in assists, despite the fact that their point guard averages 8 per game.
The only teams worse than the Rockets at passing? The Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks, who Harden sizzled for 61 points, one shy of the MSG scoring record held by another selfishly productive scorer, Carmelo Anthony, who, though five years older than James, is out of a job for not changing his game.
For Anthony, the shots stopped falling, and his legacy has tarnished considerably.
The question on the mind of even the most casual NBA fan is what happens when Harden’s shots stop falling?
Look at last year’s Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. Paul was out. Harden tried to shoulder the load and missed 11 of his 13 three-point attempts as the Golden State Warriors whipped the ball around the floor and shot nearly 10 percent better than the Rockets.
Harden was tired and played out, having carried his team to the threshold of the franchise’s first finals appearance since 1995.
Harden’s numbers may be flashy, but once the Rockets get back to full strength, coach Mike D’Antoni needs to find a way get the ball in Harden’s hands less and spur scoring outbursts by other players.
This scoring streak makes for good headlines now, but if Harden and the Rockets don’t find another way to win, they won’t be playing in June when the games really matter.
Mark Naida is editorial page fellow at the Detroit News.
