National Basketball Association

Houston Rockets: Yes, James Harden Is Now An Elite 'Point Guard'

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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In the new system installed by his new coach, is James Harden now an elite point guard in the NBA?

Earlier this summer Mike D’Antoni announced that James Harden will play more of the point guard role in his offense with the Houston Rockets. A lot of people thought Harden would do well, but well is an understatement.

The Houston Rockets aren’t sitting at 6-0 or 5-1 and aren’t on pace for a 60-win season either, but that has nothing to do with how dominant Harden has been this season.

In six games this season, against pretty solid competition, Harden is averaging 32 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds per game – a line that would have him finish this season as one of the best in history.

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Harden as been dominant in every facet of basketball so far this season.

Not only has he averaged a double-double so far this season, but he has done it in style. He opened up the season with 17 assists against the Lakers and is coming off of three straight double-doubles.

His scoring hasn’t taken even a slight dip either scoring above 25 in every game so far this season. As far as efficiency goes, he is shooting a career-high 50 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three.

His turnovers are a little high, yes, for all you box score checkers, but he is literally holding the ball for at least 10 seconds every time he touches it and is the most used player in the NBA currently behind Westbrook.

Now, all you “Harden doesn’t play defense” people put this in perspective. I know its only six games, but Harden is once again having an average defensive season with those numbers which are better than the great Magic Johnson’s best season.

My point is that there isn’t much of a difference between Harden and Magic’s defense. The reason their “poor” defense shouldn’t be constantly brought up is because how dominant they are on offense.

They make up for it either way, even though they aren’t that bad.

As far as Harden winning the MVP, at this rate, it is very possible. The problem is that his team needs to be good enough for him to earn the award in the voter’s eyes.

If the Houston Rockets don’t make the playoffs, all the blame will go on Harden. Unfair, but that is the way it works. So yes, Harden is an elite point guard if you want to call him that.

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