James Harden has been averaging a stunning 28 points per game for the 21-19 Houston Rockets so far this season, but the problem is that he didn’t start the year like this and ended up getting former head coach Kevin McHale fired.
Since that unfortunate incident, Harden has turned around his play and is also averaging 6.8 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 1.55 steals per game to go along with almost leading the league in scoring. However, he must bring down his average of 4.7 turnovers per game if Houston is going to become one of the elite teams in the Western Conference.
What are the other bright spots for the Rockets? Well, Dwight Howard flipped the script on his season after trade rumors were running rampant about him to begin the year, and Trevor Ariza has shocked many by leading his team in steals (1.79) per game. Howard is averaging 14.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 1.61 blocks per game, but he has had some health concerns. This has caused him to only start 33 times, and it will be intriguing to see if his injuries linger into the playoffs.
And then there are the players holding Houston back. Ty Lawson comes to mind in particular, and they would love to trade him before the February deadline. He has only started 11 games this year. The issue is that his trade value now is basically zero, so the Rockets might be stuck with him for this season. GM Daryl Morey seems to have made a tactical error by adding Lawson to this team.
The Rockets would make the postseason if it started today, although no one would give them good odds to win the whole thing. Their grade for the season’s first half could be a lot worse, but the positive outlook on it is that they aren’t failing. They are pretty close, though.
Final First Half Grade: C-
