The Rotation: All your records belong to Stephen Curry

The NBA regular season is a freight train that waits for no one. With multiple games nearly every single night, it can be difficult to keep up. As a solution, we humbly offer The Rotation — a daily recap series sharing three big stories from the previous night, one focused on a player, one focused on a single play, one focused on the big picture.

James Harden is everything

By Chris Manning (@cwmwrites)

It’s only been a few weeks since the NBA season started, and yet, it feels as if we know how the Houston Rockets’ function. They are essentially a live action mannequin challenge for most of the game on defense while they try to outscore their opponents at breakneck speed. And quite predictably, James Harden is at the middle of it.

A look at Harden’s stats show that he’s putting up absurd numbers — he came into last night’s game averaging over 30 points and over 10 assists per game. No one has done that over the course of a season since Tiny Archibald in 1972-73, and only Archibald and Oscar Robertson (who somehow did it five times) have actually pulled it off ever. Currently, Harden has also scored at least 30 points and while dishing out 12 assists in the past three games (the first player to do so since Dwyane Wade in 2006-07) and has posted at least 30 points and 10 assists in four straight games. The last player to do that? Just some guy named Michael Jordan way back in 1989.

Read More: James Harden is set for a season for the ages

The result of Harden taking on so much is that as he goes the Rockets go; we saw this in full effect last night during Houston’s eventual 114-106 road win against the Washington Wizards. Harden wasn’t the best version of himself — 32 points on 9-19 shooting with 15 assists and eight turnovers in 40 minutes somehow seems pedestrian for Harden — but he stayed at the center of things and kept pushing even when his shots weren’t falling.

Ultimately, that was enough for Houston. Harden scored 11 points in the third, made all of his free throws late en route to an 11-11 performance from the line and did what Washington’s John Wall and Bradley Beal couldn’t — close out a close game by scoring or assisting on most every possession late in the game.

Take this play for instance. With under three minutes to play, and with Wall guarding him, Harden gets inside and scores in a crowded lane to push the Rockets’ lead up to eight. This dribble, this move and this finish are just absurd. How many players in the league have the ball handling, the body control and the touch to pull this off?

Earlier, he got to the line by pushing off a rebound and still carrying the offense when he wasn’t at his best. This isn’t to say he was perfect — the possession after he scored on Wall, he wasted away the shot clock and bricked a long 3 before Washington made the game uncomfortable late. Eight turnovers, especially when the Rockets’ margin for error is slim with how bad their defense is, is far too many from Harden.

But Harden was there and performed largely when it matters. Against the Wizards, and maybe for the season, that gives the Rockets a chance to win games they otherwise might lose. What more can you ask for from a star player, especially one playing such a specific style and for a coach who has a very particular vision already in place?

Splish, Splash, Steph Curry Back

By Brandon Jefferson (@pengriffey_jr)

Steph Curry had a fitting nightcap for a slow NBA Monday. Not only did the two-time MVP make up for not making a single 3-pointer in the Golden State Warriors blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, but he set the new record for most 3s made in a single game (13).

Curry shot an absurd 76.5 percent from deep, draining 13 of his 17 3-point attempts on the night (the Warriors as a team shot 16-for-35 on 3-pointers). It seemed like Curry’s night would end with 10 makes, but a run by the New Orleans Pelicans made the game close again and Steve Kerr brought Curry back to serve as the team’s closer. Here’s the record breaking triple in all it’s glory below.

However, that wasn’t even the most memorable one of the night. Watch as he breaks the press and trap then launches a deep heave before his body has stopped moving forward from momentum.

Things haven’t been super smooth for the Golden State Warriors through their first seven games, but they are 5-2. Performances like these are why the Warriors are the prohibitive favorites to win the NBA championship, even with their uneven start.

Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant are capable of getting just as hot. We’ve seen Durant do something like this already when he knocked down six 3s in his first meeting against his former team. Thompson is still struggling to get his shot to fall (he finished last night 2-for-7 from deep), but sooner than later he’ll be posting double-digit makes in his 3-point column.

We haven’t seen the Warriors at their best and we’ve already seen two breathtaking performances from their two best players. It’s a scary thought what this could mean if the Warriors were ever to get all three shooters clicking during the same game.

We’ve got hiiiiiiigh hopes, we’ve got hiiiiiiiigh hopes

By Ian Levy (@HickoryHigh)

Basketball optimism was at a premium in Indianapolis just a few weeks ago. The Indiana Pacers added Thad Young, an athletic small ball 4 who thrived in an up-tempo game (and offered no spacing), Jeff Teague, a former all-star point guard (who was at his best with the ball in his hands and was a dramatic defensive downgrade from George Hill), and Al Jefferson, another former all-star who could carry the second-unit with his offensive acumen (and drown their defense with this lack of acumen at that end).

So far, everything has fallen on the side of worst case scenario. The downgrades from Hill to Teague, and Ian Mahinmi to Al Jefferson (with Myles Turner stepping into the starting lineup) have been dramatic. Last night the Pacers gave up 75 first half points to the Charlotte Hornets. Through their first seven games they are 3-4, 28th in defensive efficiency, 16th in offensive efficiency, and 23rd in point differential. Not good, Bob.

Related Story: Atlanta Hawks revamped their defense and it's just as scary

While the defensive slide was somewhat predictable, the speed with which it has taken hold has been shocking. They are giving up the fourth-most field goal attempts at the rim per game of anyone in the league, and the fourth-most 3-point attempts per game — the Hornets had 58 shots at the rim and 3-point attempts last night.

Obviously, there is plenty of room for improvement but when pretty much all of a team’s potential flaws manifest at the beginning of the season, it can certainly squash a summer’s worth of optimism. The Pacers might be good at some point, but they certainly aren’t right now.