He is a good enough shooter. I’ll bet they push it in transition with Westbrook and have harden run the half court offense. That way you get the best of both worlds. They could really go either way, but I think the rockets priority is keeping harden happy. Therefore, I think he gets ball handling responsibilities. Harden and Westbrook can thrive in the same back court together. D’Antoni is going to have one of those two players playing in every meaningful minute of rockets basketball this year. Who handles the ball might even come down to how they match up. If Harden can exploit his match up, I bet he plays off the ball. If Westbrook can exploit his match up then he plays off the ball.
I said the same things when CP3 went to the rockets. They proved me wrong. I’ll bet Westbrook does the same with the doubters. D’Antoni will get them playing well together on offense.
This is a risk, but they aren't idiots, they know they have to work out how to play together. That's what makes it so interesting, we don't know if they can make it work but it's very possible that they will
Didn't he 'quit' on them when he said he was definitely leaving asap?
We will just have to wait and see. What would Harden and Westbrook succeeding together look like? A title? Certain stats? A deep playoff run? Do you consider the team up of CP3 and harden a success?
What is your bar for success from this duo? @bksballer89 says they need to make the finals. I think the west is tough. I set the bar at a second round exit. If they make it that far, they have done what I expected hem to do. Any further, and it’s a success. Any less and it’s a failure. Nobody knows what to expect from the Clippers, Lakers, Warriors, Nuggets, and Jazz.
I think that’s well within their wheelhouse. We are only talking about the dynamic duo, but rest of the roster still has some very good players as well. Capela, Gordon, Trucker, and Faried are all very good players and with the exception of Gordon, none will really take the ball out of Westbrook or Hardens hands. And Eric Gordon knows his role on that team.
