After a mediocre 3-3 start, which included an opening day loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Houston Rockets have run off seven consecutive wins. At 10-3, the Rockets sit just a game off the pace in the Western Conference set by the Los Angeles Lakers.
A fourth-seed last season after 53 regular season wins, the Rockets added Russell Westbrook to the mix in hopes of pushing the team over the top. How has the duo of Westbrook and Harden fared so far? The results have been extremely positive through the first 13 games of the season. Although Westbrook’s numbers are slightly down from last season, he’s still managed to average 21 points, eight rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.
While it seemed Harden couldn’t carry more of a scoring load than last season, he’s topped that so far. His numbers are so gaudy, in fact, that the league hasn’t seen this kind of offensive production since Wilt Chamberlain averaged over 44 points per game back in 1962-1963.
Harden is averaging 39.5 points per game despite hitting a mediocre 33 percent from beyond the arc. However, he continues to get to the line at an extraordinary rate, hitting 88 percent of his nearly 15 attempts per game. Add in eight assists and nearly six rebounds and he is the early MVP favorite.
The question is whether or not Harden and the Rockets can maintain their pace and come out of the Western Conference come season’s end. The task is monumental if the load is carried by only players. All top teams have an excellent supporting cast for the superstars. Center Clint Capela is tough inside, averaging 13.4 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. Danuel House is adding nearly 12 points per night, but no other player besides the injured Eric Gordon scores in double-digits.
The season still has nearly 85 percent to play out, so it’s too early to put the Rockets in the Western Conference finals. However, the early signs are excellent that that Harden-Westbrook duo will be a force to be reckoned with, causing major issues for the conference. Anything short of a deep playoff run will be a disappointment.