The Houston Rockets had the best record in the NBA during the 2017-18 season and, if not for an ill-timed injury to Chris Paul and remarkably poor three-point shooting in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the team could have claimed the Larry O’Brien Trophy. However, the Rockets don’t seem to be garnering the level of respect that you may associate with a team that with track record of recent success and part of the calculus is what appears to be an interesting, and potentially challenging, addition in Carmelo Anthony.
With that said, James Harden isn’t worried at all about integrating Anthony into Houston’s system and he said as much during an interview with The Players’ Tribune on Thursday. Before addressing the infusion of Anthony, Harden pointed out that things worked out pretty well when some questioned the fit of Chris Paul with the Rockets prior to last season.
“We all see how it worked out,” Harden indicated. “When you got two high-IQ guys who are unselfish and know the game of basketball, it’s easy.”
From there, he turned his attention to Anthony, saying he expects an “easy” transition.
“Coming off an MVP season, now you got to add Carmelo Anthony, it’s going to be easy,” Harden said. “The transition is easy. When you got that many talented, high-IQ guys around who love to communicate and love to figure things out, the job is easy.”
In some ways, Harden’s assertion that “the job gets hard when you don’t communicate” makes sense and he does have the obvious parallel to draw from with Paul entering the fold just a year ago. Still, Anthony isn’t the same level of player in 2018 that Paul is and, simply put, there are even bigger fit questions than the ones posited when Paul arrived.
Not only does Houston have a massive challenge in replacing the departed Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute from a two-way standpoint, Anthony’s present-day weaknesses were on full display at times last season in Oklahoma City. There is something to be said for gravity on the offensive end and, in short, teams still treat Anthony as if he was a top-flight offensive option, which helps to provide fluidity all over the floor. Anthony struggled in a supporting role, though, and his defensive issues were magnified in a big way, adding fuel to the fire that he may not be able to stay on the floor in crunch time for the Rockets.
Offensively, Harden might be right that Anthony’s addition could be seamless, particularly if the future Hall of Fame forward “buys in” and accepts a secondary role. The other end of the floor is the bigger question, however, and that is something that Harden (or anyone else) can’t properly address until the bright lights arrive in October.
