NBA Playoffs: 5 reasons Rockets can upset Warriors
By John Buhler
2. James Harden
Just a year ago, Rockets’ All-Star shooting guard James Harden put together the best season of his professional career. He was All-NBA and finished second in MVP voting behind only Golden State’s Curry, as Harden carried the Rockets to the No. 2 seed and a surprise trip to the Western Conference Finals.
While Harden had an interesting offseason this summer to say the very least, even in a down year he’s still a top-15 player in the league, likely making the third-team All-NBA. Curry may be the best player on the court everywhere he goes this season, but if Houston does pull off the miraculous upset, it will be because Harden has himself a spectacular first round series.
Harden played in all 82 games for the 2015-16 Rockets, averaging 29.0 points per game in 38.1 minutes per contest. He is still lethal from three, knocking down .359 percent of his long-range attempts. Let’s not forget that he lives at the free throw line, averaging 10.2 shots at the charity stripe this season, making .860 of his free throws.
If he can limit the absurd amount turnovers and commit to playing great on-ball defense, then the Rockets have their best answer for what the Splash Brothers can do on the court to obliterate their opposition nightly.
It’s been a down year for Harden, but if he can channel what made him elite in 2014-15 in this first round series, then Houston could have a fighting chance to pull off the biggest upset since Dikembe Mutombo’s Denver Nuggets knocked off Gary Payton’s Seattle SuperSonics in their first round series in the mid-90s.
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