Why hasn’t James Harden led the Rockets to a title?

Corey Brewer shares thoughts on Harden

Harden’s uncanny ability has caused the bar to raise higher and higher every year, as many were quick to point out his lack of effort on the defensive end during his early years with the Rockets, yet won’t point out how he’s quietly become one of the best post defenders in the league dating back to the 2018-19 season.

Although Harden’s transformation from an elite offensive force to one of the best two-way players in the league has gone overlooked, it’s drawn the attention of former Houston Rockets forward Corey Brewer, who was on SportsTalk 790’s The A-Team on Monday.

“James needed to be better and he got better. This year he played defense. It wasn’t the criticism of how he doesn’t play defense. This year he played defense, he was really good defensively. But you have to put guys around him that are going to help him win basketball games.”

Brewer added more to the latter point of the importance of surrounding Harden with the necessary pieces.

“I think if you give him the right surrounding cast, I believe 100 percent that he can win a championship. But you have to put guys around him, because he has a heavy load on him.”

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