4. How Big Will The James Harden Effect Be?
When they added Harden to its other offseason acquisitions, (Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik) Houston transformed overnight into a young, quick, exciting to watch team. Harden proved beyond a doubt this season that he is a bona-fide star, probably the (heavily bearded) face of the franchise for the foreseeable future. Their lack of consistent defence looms as a problem, but their ability to score quickly paired with Hardens crunch time smarts will always give them half a chance. Even if this isnt a long playoff run, the Rockets are a work in progress. Theyre fun to watch and the future is bright. The Rockets have a tough draw. After getting leap-frogged by the Lakers for the seventh seed at the last minute, they now face the number one seeded Thunder, coincidentally the team that traded Harden away. For the Thunder, even more pressure is going to rest on the shoulders of Durant and Westbrook, especially late in games. Harden was a great release valve for the Thunder, capable of coming out and taking over games for stretches. His valuable ball handling and passing abilities created more looks for his teammates, taking some of the pressure off the Westbrook/Durant combo. Not to mention how hard it must have been to watch thieir own home-grown talent blossom into a star elsewhere. Hardens replacement Kevin Martin is a good player, but hes a different player, and Oklahoma City have struggled at times to work him into the offence. Really though, the Thunder, and in particular Durant and Westbrook, are so good that it probably isnt going to matter until they play Miami. Hardens struggles in the finals last year were huge in the context of the series, and its hard to see Martin breaking out against the Miami defence. The Thunder are still the clear favourite to win the West, and it probably wont be until later we find out how much they miss James Harden. The Harden trade has had a massive impact on both franchises. The Thunder have had to figure out how to play without the third member of their big three, one of the smartest, most efficient players in the game. The Rockets had to incorporate a new star player into their rotation a week before the season started, and adapt pretty much on the fly. For the most part, both teams did those things remarkably well during the regular season, and now they have to go out and prove themselves all over again, against one another. While this series will be great to watch, its hard to see any result other than Oklahoma City progressing.