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Houston Rockets – James Harden & Dwight Howard With a Dream Start to the Season
Last season the Houston Rockets felt like a great team in the making before failing to do well in the playoffs. This season it’s clear – it’s all about James Harden and Dwight Howard, who are off to an excellent start after the first couple of games.
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Los Angeles Lakers – Jeremy Lin Doesn’t Get Revenge, Kobe Bryant Not Any Better
A bad first half from the Los Angeles Lakers meant Kobe Bryant didn’t make the impact he wanted against Dwight Howard, and the same goes for Jeremy Lin facing James Harden and the Houston Rockets, with the visitors walking away with a comfortable and dominant 108-90 victory.
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Heat Over Rockets – Only the Stars Show Up
The NBA preseason is often a time for lesser known players and guys fighting for a place in the league to shine, but it was mostly about the stars of the Houston Rockets and the Miami Heat, James Harden & Dwight Howard on one side, Dwyane Wade & Chris Bosh on the other, as the two teams clashed in Miami.
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Houston Rockets – James Harden Doesn’t Need Dwight Howard in the Preseason
Sometimes it feels as if James Harden would be even better if there was no one he actually needed to share the ball with. Without Dwight Howard, he led the Houston Rockets to a 113-93 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the preseason, having no problem standing out and separating himself from the rest of performers on the court.
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Houston Rockets – James Harden Doesn’t Change One Bit
The focal point of the preseason opener for both the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets was Chandler Parsons playing quite well against his former team, but the best player on the floor was James Harden, who doesn’t seem like a changed player for good and bad despite a summer of improved responsibility with the national team.
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Team USA – Easy From Start to Finish
Be it their final win over Serbia (129-92) or the entire tournament in general, the United States never really had any trouble winning every game and eventually the gold medal, getting quite the impressive shooting performance from Kyrie Irving and James Harden, this time not waiting for the second half to get serious.
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Team USA – One More for the Gold Medal
Just like all the other opponents Team USA has gone through in the 2014 Basketball World Cup, Lithuania managed to pose a problem for a very short time. They might have had size to match and were chippier and dirtier than other teams, but the end result was the same: 96-68, with the backcourt doing most of the job, led by Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Klay Thompson.
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Team USA – Going According to Plan
A 5-0 start in the group stage, no injuries to be worried about. The rest? It’s all fixable. Beating Ukraine 95-71 put the USA through to the round of 16 in the Basketball World Cup, not letting another slow start worry them as James Harden led the team in what seemed to be the first time in this tournament that the perimeter players were more dominant than those in the paint.
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Team USA – Derrick Rose Doesn’t Play, No Problems Without Him
Despite the pleas of the fans, Derrick Rose remained on the bench while his teammates led Team USA to a 105-62 win over the Dominican Republic, sitting out due to soreness in his knees. It didn’t bother Kyrie Irving and James Harden to handle the challenge with ease, while Klay Thompson, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond and Rudy Gay made a strong case for their inclusion in the final roster that goes to the basketball World Cup.
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Houston Rockets – Jeremy Lin as an Example of Why James Harden Isn’t Close to the Best
It’s good to have confidence, but James Harden saying about himself that he’s the best player in the NBA is closer to comedy material, when you consider he’s probably the main reason the Houston Rockets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, and being “so good” is part of why Jeremy Lin was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.