If you look at what Houston Rockets did in the summer, and how they lost so many players, you would think they would regress this season. The Rockets gambled on a super team, going for Chris Bosh and expecting to resign Chandler Parsons afterwards. They traded half their bench from last year to make room for a max deal, but they swung and missed. The Rockets lost Parsons, Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, but they got Jason Terry, Trevor Ariza and finally brought in Kostas Papanikolaou from Europe. Ariza has been excellent, strengthening the defense of the Rockets, and the Jet still has some juice in him. Papanikolaou stretches the floor and is a dependable 3-pt shooter. However, the biggest improvements have been made by Dwight Howard and James Harden.
The health of Dwight Howard
The main thing about Dwight is that he is finally healthy. Three years after his back problems, injury and surgery, he is finally back to the shape and form of 2009 Dwight. He is the same behemoth in the middle, he has his quickness back, and both his lateral and vertical movement in the post and on defense has improved. He is more mature, which can be seen by the way he communicates with his coach and admits his mistakes. The starting five of the Rockets now boasts three defensive players in Howard, Ariza and Patrick Beverley, but Dwight is the main man. He calls rotations, he is vocal and he leads.
On offense, Howard has his form and touch back. While he will never be the offensive juggernaut many projected him to be (like Shaq back in the days), Dwight can carry a team offensively for stretches. The team has also made improvements from his first year, feeding him the ball more and in situations where he feels comfortable. The first year in Houston was more of an adjustment period, since he and the team had to adjust to a style that balances the strength of everyone. Pre-Dwight Rockets run all the time and shoot 3s. Now, they’ve managed to implement him in the offense as well. Through the first six games, he is averaging 19.7ppg and 11.5rpg while shooting 62.5% from the floor. He knows when to assert himself, like in the Spurs game when he took advantage of a weak frontline and scored 32 points.
The evolution of James Harden
There was no denying that Harden is an extraordinary offensive talent. He is efficient, he gets to the line, and he doesn’t take bad shots. However, he was not paying attention to defense. This year, he promised to put an effort. Through the first six games, and during his time with team USA, it was evident Harden is not the same defensive player. He still takes a possession or two off, but there has been a huge improvement in that department. And with Ariza here to guide him, he might improve even more during the course of the season. He claimed to be one of the best players before the start of the season, stating that he and Dwight are good enough to carry a team. Until now, they are proving it right. The Beard averages 26 points to go with 7.2 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 41% from the field and 38.9% from the 3-pt line.
Thank you for reading. Ron Leyba is the lead editor of Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues, and a LastWordOnSports NBA Analyst. For more of his articles, follow his updates at Google+ or follow him on Twitter – @ronniedare. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and “liking” our Facebook page.
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