First round: 2018-19 James Harden vs. 2012-13 James Harden

No. 5 seed: 2018-19 James Harden: 36.1 points (44.2% FG, 36.8% 3-pointers), 7.5 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 steals per game

Fresh off the winningest season in franchise history and coming up just one game short of the NBA Finals, the 2018-19 Rockets entered the season with championship expectations. They then got off to a rocky 11-14 start and lost co-star Chris Paul to a Grade 2 hamstring pull, leaving some to wonder if they’d even make the playoffs at all.

Harden wasn’t interested in that talk. His 36.1 points per game scoring average was a personal career-best and the most by any NBA player in over 30 years. Harden registered a historic streak of 32 straight games scoring 30 or more points, which took place largely during Paul’s absence. That remains the second-longest such streak in NBA history, and 2018-19 is remembered as Harden’s peak scoring season — at least so far.

Harden’s 36.8% clip on 3-pointers was especially impressive, considering his NBA-record volume of 12.9 attempts per game from behind the arc. (That, of course, reflects Houston’s increasingly 3-point heavy attack endorsed by head coach Mike D’Antoni and GM Daryl Morey.)

Houston finished the season 42-15 over its final 57 regular-season games, helping lift them from the West’s No. 14 seed at their lowest point to the No. 4 seed (and almost the No. 2). They lost in six games in the second round of the playoffs to eventual West champion Golden State, and Harden finished second in MVP voting to Giannis Antetokounmpo.

No. 12 seed: 2012-13 James Harden: 25.9 points (43.8% FG, 36.8% 3-pointers), 5.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 steals per game

Since the Rockets had traded for Harden only days before the 2012-13 season opener, the question was whether his extremely efficient production as a sixth man and the No. 3 option in Oklahoma City was scalable to a role as the clear superstar in Houston. No other player on the 2012-13 Rockets ever made an NBA All-Star team.

With a combined 82 points on 64% shooting in his first two games, the Rockets quickly got their answer. With barely a practice under his belt, Harden made it clear that it was his team. The Rockets finished 45-37 that season and earned a playoff spot for the first time in four years, and the team’s future outlook was as bright as it had been in a very long time.

Harden averaged over 10 free throws per game for the first time in 2012-13, which showed he was durable enough to put up numbers while still taking a pounding due to the workload. As of today, Harden has exceeded 10 free throws per game in seven of his eight years in Houston.

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First round: ’15 Harden vs. ’05 McGrady / ’93 Olajuwon vs. ’01 Francis / ’18 Harden vs. ’89 Olajuwon / ’82 Malone vs. ’74 Tomjanovich / ’19 Harden vs. ’13 Harden / ’17 Harden vs. ’14 Harden / ’94 Olajuwon vs. ’16 Harden / ’79 Malone vs. ’81 Malone