Efficiency of James Harden Will Decide Mavericks vs. Rockets

The Dallas Mavericks are riding high after their 135-131 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, and for good reason.

The win essentially ensured they would avoid the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs, Monta Ellis looked great in his return from a calf injury, seven players scored in double digits, and Chandler Parsons continued his strong play with a huge fourth quarter. Oh, and they did a great job contesting everything Russell Westbrook looked to accomplish in his 44 minutes on the floor.

But with the Houston Rockets coming to town tonight there’s no time to rest on their laurels. Dallas will shift from one MVP-candidate to another, this time looking to slow down James Harden, who is coming off of a career-night against the Sacramento Kings.

The Beard scored a career-high 51 points in Houston’s 115-111 victory, hitting 16 of his 25 shot attempts and an astounding 8 of 9 shots from three-point range. And as if that alone wasn’t enough, he even added 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Harden is averaging 32.5 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.7 rebounds in his last 10 games, certainly MVP-type numbers. But Dallas’ strategy for dealing with Harden will be the same as their plan of attack against Westbrook. Contest everything as best they can, keep him out of the paint and off the free throw line as much as possible, and hope his jump shot isn’t falling. It’s not as crazy as it sounds, especially when they can throw guys like Rajon Rondo and Al-Farouq Aminu at him.

Despite the gaudy numbers he’s posted in his last 10 games, Harden shot only 43% from the field. And if you take out his performance against the Kings that number drops to 40%.

Admittedly, the campaign Harden has put together this season has been nothing short of spectacular. Houston has dealt with injuries to some very key guys all year long but despite all that Harden has carried them in a historically tough Western Conference. But that’s the problem. Even with Dwight Howard back in the lineup (he had the night off against the Kings) Houston relies almost solely on Harden to make plays offensively.

In Houston’s 53 wins this year Harden has averaged 30 points on nearly 46% shooting from the field overall and 42% from three-point range. In their 21 losses he’s averaged 22.1 points on 41% shooting from the field and 27% from distance. As James Harden goes, so do the Rockets.

I mean, he had 51 points on 64% shooting and the Rockets escaped with a four-point win at home against a 26-48 team!

Houston’s second best player has been Trevor Ariza, who is shooting below 40% from the field on the year and checks in with a 12.52 PER. This speaks to the brilliance of Harden, but it can’t be very encouraging for Rockets fans as we near the playoffs.

Limit Harden’s efficiency and you beat Houston. It’s not “Rocket Science”.

Next: By the Numbers: Mavs Beat Thunder in a Shootout

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