James Harden is one of the most dangerous players in the NBA with the ball in his hands, but the key to him and the Rockets taking the next step may be taking the ball out of his hands a bit more. According to ESPN, Harden plans to talk with Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey about getting some ballhandling help for the MVP runner-up.
Harden said he has plans to speak with general manager Daryl Morey about either getting a point guard in free agency or using the ones currently on the roster to help with the ballhandling.
‘Yeah, definitely, that’s one of the conversations that me and Daryl are going to have, and the coaches, is one of the pieces we need to have,’ Harden said.
With Patrick Beverley out for the playoffs, the Rockets really had no other reliable ballhandler besides Harden in the postseason. Too often, the Rockets would stagnate, settling for isolations or a simple pick-and-roll that didn’t involve much movement from those not directly involved with the play. Kevin McHale said that playing off the ball wouldn’t just take pressure off Harden, but also make him a better player.
‘I do think that off the ball for him would help him, which means we got to get more movement, more body movement, more ball movement. He’s got to get off the ball, got to play off the catch a little bit quicker, got to play off our actions a little bit quicker.’
The Rockets will likely have to look outside the team for the ballhandling and playmaking help.
Beverley is a very good defender and an ideal complement to Harden, but he’s much better at creating for himself than he is at creating for others. If players like Arron Afflalo, Monta Ellis or Jameer Nelson opt out of their contracts, they could potentially fill that void for Houston, depending on how much the Rockets are willing to pay.
(ESPN)