Fansided

30 best personal rivalries in the NBA today

By John Buhler

OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 18: Kevin Durant No. 35 of the Golden State Warriors and Russell Westbrook No. 0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder point in different directions after the ball went out of bounds at ORACLE Arena on January 18, 2017 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 18: Kevin Durant No. 35 of the Golden State Warriors and Russell Westbrook No. 0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder point in different directions after the ball went out of bounds at ORACLE Arena on January 18, 2017 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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James Harden is an aloof superstar that loves certain clubs and has a bushy Gandalf beard. Dwight Howard is about the rawest 31-year-old long-time basketball player you’ll ever meet. He is forever young, like perpetually 18 years old, not posting up, eating candy and telling bad jokes.

So no, that guard/center duo wasn’t going to bring a third championship to Houston for the Rockets. Together, they didn’t get past the Western Conference Finals. They kind of got Kevin McHale fired in like the first three weeks of the 2015-16 NBA season. J.B. Bickerstaff babysat them the rest of the season, gave up and took data for David Fizdale in Memphis until a couple of weeks ago.

Howard would go to his hometown Atlanta Hawks for a year. He dunked a lot in Atlanta. The Hawks didn’t win a playoff series. While he was practicing threes or doing AMAs online, he got jettisoned to the Charlotte Hornets. Harden played really last year until he played some rancid basketball against the Spurs in the second round. It was bad, but Harden and Howard together was worse.

Not sure that these two hate each other, because they don’t. But don’t think for a second that Harden will want to bring back Howard to the Space City. He’s got Chris Paul there to assist now and score in Seven Seconds or Less. It takes at least 15 seconds for Howard to post up. And therein lies the problem for why those two could work!

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