NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason needs for the Houston Rockets

4. Get James Harden some (consistent) help

James Harden needs help not because he’s a bad player but because the rest of the Rockets aren’t great. Harden over-compensated for the lack of talent on the Rockets roster.

Like Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, Harden doesn’t have the supporting cast like the other big time teams of the league. If the Rockets are going to emerge as a serious title contender, they need to get him somebody else who can score.

On average, Harden shot the ball 19 times per game which is almost as much as Lou Williams and Eric Gordon, the players who took the second and third-most shots per game for them, combined. This worked out pretty well in the short term but in the grand scheme of things it won’t in the long term.

Look at their most recent game against San Antonio, the game where they lost and were eliminated from the playoffs. Harden scored only 10 points and they were blown out by nearly 40 points. Sure Trevor Ariza and Clint Capela had efficient performances but in reality nobody besides Harden can be counted on to create their own offense. Everything runs through Harden and when he gets tripped up or has an off night, everything comes apart.

LeBron has Kyrie and Kevin Love, Curry has Durant, who does Harden have? Nobody. He needs someone who can step up on a routine basis to lessen the burden that rests on his shoulders.

Obviously it will be hard to find those types of players but finding someone to play along side James Harden shouldn’t be that hard, should it?