When you’re already a proven NBA superstar, improvement usually comes in subtle ways. For Houston Rockets star James Harden, his ascent into the MVP conversation (it’s essentially a two-man race at this point between he and Stephen Curry, unless Anthony Davis’ New Orleans Pelicans make the playoffs) has come from a slight improvement across and board and an understanding that league MVPs are, and always will be, two-way players.
The Rockets have had to rely on Harden this year more than ever while Dwight Howard was out with injury. Harden’s usage rate is up four percentage points, to 31.8, from last year and head coach Kevin McHale could not believe that his team was using Harden so much on offense.
“It’d be hard for him to become more of a focal point in an offense than he was last year,” McHale said. “I’m shocked I’m using him more, I didn’t even think that was possible.”
Yet Harden is doing more for his team this year than even last year, when Houston was the fourth seed in the West before a disappointing first-round playoff loss to Portland. Check out the ways in which he’s gotten better this season from last:
| Harden Improvement | Points | Assists | Rebounds | Steals | Blocks | FT % | Usage | O Rating | D Rating | Net Rating | PER | WS/48 |
| 2013-2014 | 25.4 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 86.6 | 27.8 | 120 | 107 | 13 | 23.5 | 0.221 |
| 2014-2015 | 26.8 | 6.7 | 5.8 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 89.6 | 31.8 | 117 | 100 | 17 | 26.3 | 0.268 |
Harden’s shooting percentages are down but he’s averaging more points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks in fewer minutes per game. And one reason Houston is third in the league in points allowed per 100 possession and fourth in overall scoring defense is Harden’s newfound attention to that side of the ball, which we’ll get to a bit soon. Harden’s slight uptick in a variety of categories underscores McHale’s point about how much he does for this team.
“We put a lot on his plate,” McHale told SheridanHoops. “He playmakes for us, he makes shots, he’s gotta guard. We ask him to do a lot of things, he brings the ball up the court at times. Our record is not what our record is without James. He’s been fantastic.”
(MORE: Chris Sheridan’s Latest MVP Rankings)
Harden says that he’s growing every year into his role of a primary player on a contending team and that his confidence is growing as time progresses, and it shows.
“Trying to go out there, make sure my teammates are involved and making sure I’m getting my shots and make sure we’re playing the right way,” Harden said about what he has to do on the floor. “I have a lot of confidence in myself, my teammates have confidence in me.”
“His focus is to be the best basketball player he could possibly be,” said point guard and backcourt mate Patrick Beverley. “I think that he works extremely hard on it, before practice and after practice, and you could see it paying off.”
Harden’s excellence in so many statistical categories, which you’ll see below, further cements and emphasizes his legitimate MVP candidacy:
| Harden League Leader | Number | League Rank |
| Win Shares | 7.4 | 1 |
| Points Per Game | 26.8 | 1 |
| Total Points | 963 | 1 |
| Made Free Throws | 283 | 1 |
| Free Throw Attempts | 316 | 1 |
| Defensive Win Shares | 2.3 | 2 |
| Total Minutes | 1315 | 3 |
| Offensive Win Shares | 5 | 3 |
| Win Shares Per 48 Min | 0.268 | 3 |
Harden gets to the line and scores more than any player in the league and has been the league’s most valuable player thus far this season in terms of win shares. His aggressiveness and ability to slither and maneuver his way into the paint and get to the line is what differentiates him from the rest of the league’s elite players.
“His ball-handling is amazing,” said forward Corey Brewer. “And he’s able to get in close spaces and create fouls in spaces you don’t think other people can get through. He gets through and he ends up finishing.”
Harden’s biggest jump this year has been on defense, which has always been a point of criticism against him. Harden is actually in the top 20 in defensive rating this season and his defensive win shares are second in the league behind Golden State’s Draymond Green.
“Last year he would just rest more on the defensive end, now he’s working with all of us,” starting forward Donatas Motiejunas told SheridanHoops. “His defense improved significantly from last year to this year. He really took a big step forward.”
Beverley and Howard are two of the best defenders at their respective positions and Beverley mentioned that putting strong defensive players around Harden has really help him improve in that area.
“Since I’ve gotten here this year, I felt like he’s made a huge leap and a lot better effort,” Brewer said. “He tries to play defense and he’s actually doing a good job.”
And when Harden is showing effort on defense and continuing to be an absolute maestro on offense, he makes the players around him better as they learn their role and complement his unique skill-set.
“His ability to make plays and make other people around him better is phenomenal,” Beverley said. “We want to just keep riding his coattails, him and Dwight and we’ll see how far they can get us.”
But the major difference in Harden’s game this year has been his defense, and Brewer summed everything for this Rockets team up in just one sentence.
“I think he knows that he needs to play defense for us to make a deep run in the playoffs this year,” Brewer said.
Shlomo Sprung is a national columnist for SheridanHoops who focuses on analytics, profiles and features. He is also the web editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, The Sporting News, Business Insider and other publications. You should follow him on Twitter.
“and an understanding that league MVPs are, and always will be, two-way players” I guess Steve Nash didnt get the memo….