As one of the 20 winningest head coaches in NBA history, Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni has seen his share of great players.
Superstar guard James Harden, who has finished first or second in the NBA’s MVP voting in four of the last five completed seasons, is likely at or near the very top of that list.
In comments to Cayleigh Griffin in an Instagram Live session with AT&T SportsNet Southwest, D’Antoni addressed Harden’s historic scoring exploits over the past two seasons. He said:
The period he went through… from November to early January [this season] was some of the best I’ve ever seen. He had some games in there where it was just ridiculous what he was doing — how many 3s and all the stepbacks, and the 3-point shots going in plus getting fouled. And getting to the basket every time he wanted to.
And then the year before, it was how many 50+ point games he had. 60 in the Garden. He has put on a run that, offensively, no one has done better, that’s for sure. He’s a great player, and he’s had a remarkable run.
25 points at the half.. and he’s just getting started 👀
On his second 50+ point performance and second straight game with 10 made threes… Coach D’Antoni reflects on just how impressive James Harden is on a nightly basis
Full convo on AT&T SportsNet Instagram! -CG pic.twitter.com/N5opdHPISi
— AT&T SportsNet SW (@ATTSportsNetSW) April 20, 2020
Over a 28-game stretch from Nov. 4, 2019 to Jan. 3, 2020, Harden led the Rockets with an astonishing scoring average of 39.0 points per game on 48.2% shooting, including 42.2% on 3-pointers. (He also averaged 7.5 assists, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game.)
Last season, as D’Antoni alluded to, Harden had the second-longest streak in NBA history with 32 consecutive games scoring 30 or more points. For 2018-19 as a whole, his 36.1 points per game scoring average was the most by any NBA player in more than 30 years.
But Harden finally cooled off some once the calendar turned to 2020. In Houston’s final 27 games before the NBA’s current hiatus for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the 30-year-old lefty averaged 29.3 points per game on 39.4% shooting (30.2% on 3-pointers).
If there’s a silver lining to be had for the Rockets amid the league’s unexpected stoppage, it could be the opportunity to let Harden rest and potentially recapture the historic form that he had for most of the 2018-19 season and approximately the first half of the 2019-20 campaign.
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