Houston Rockets Daily Rocket Science: Harden Sets the Standard

As long as he’s on the roster, the Rockets will be what James Harden makes them.

The Houston Rockets, be it a good or bad thing, are more dependent on one player than any other team. For most other franchises, the responsibility and weight of winning is spread out more evenly among its players and coaches than it is with the Rockets. If James Harden plays well, it seems that the team follows. If he struggles all night, nothing comes together in H-town.

The Beard’s teammates have made claims about his changed attitude and outlook for this next year. Patrick Beverley claimed that he’ll win MVP and Corey Brewer is sure that he’ll pick things up on the defensive end. One of both of those statements could be a stretch, but one thing is sure: James Harden sets the standard in Houston.

Houston Rockets news and notes from around the web

The season hasn’t started yet, but The Beard is already stepping into his role nicely. According to Jamie Cooper of Dime Magazine, Harden is in the process of putting together a players-only minicamp in Miami for the team to come together and get some practice in before the NBA allows teams to officially begin workouts.

"This will mark the second offseason in a row Harden has rallied the troops for such a camp. A contingent of Rockets teammates also reportedly convened for another unofficial gathering during the Las Vegas Summer League. It’s unclear exactly which players will participate, although Brewer, along with the recently-acquired Eric Gordon, will both attend."

After the hiring of Mike D’Antoni as head coach, Harden claimed on record that he has a bit of Steve Nash in him. Playing the exact same game as Nash would not be possible or productive for Harden. However, it may be a good starting point. To that end, Scott Rafferty of Sporting News wrote on how he may be on to something with his comparison.

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To summarize the Rockets’ situation going into the 2016-2017 campaign, Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders wrote that the Rockets will go only as far as Harden takes them. The team added more shooters this summer, but Harden is still the obvious centerpiece.

"“People are definitely overlooking us and we kind of have the underdog mindset, which is fine for us because we’re going to work that much harder, come together even tighter and we’re all going to be on the same page,” Harden said. “We’ll let the chips fall where they may, but starting with this summer and into training camp, we’re going to be all-in. We’re going to have the same goal, and that’s to win. We’ll do whatever it takes.”"

Stay tuned to Space City Scoop for more news and predictions for this upcoming season. There is some good about James Harden being the determining factor in Houston. I’d sooner trust The Beard to play consistently well than I would any other player in the league.

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