Houston Rockets superstar James Harden has continued to put up impressive statistics despite his team's failures.
While this fact will usually mean that he is the bright spot in an otherwise talent-challenged team, there is more than meets the eye on this squad.
Houston's team is stacked with talent, built aggressively by Daryl Morey through trades and generally good drafting. Thus, it was surprising how a team that ably challenged the Golden State Warriors last season is now barely making the .500 mark.
"The Beard" has been criticized for the team's failures and there were some members of the media who declared that Harden should not have been an All-Star even if his individual numbers are high. The reason is that he has not really helped the team win and Harden is also blamed for the team's biggest issues, as Ken Berger of CBS stated.
"Multiple league sources told CBS Sports that Harden pushed management to dump McHale, and has since angled for the Rockets to trade Howard," Berger wrote. "Rockets GM Daryl Morey delivered on the first demand, but was unable to find a suitable deal for Howard at the trade deadline this month."
Harden has been shown to be the divisive element of the team, but he is also their only hope to make the playoffs. After it was clearly obvious to everyone that Howard was indeed being shopped around, it would be very difficult to believe that his play would not be affected.
There are games when Harden plays at an MVP level, and they would look like a legitimate playoff team, as NBC described.
"Harden fueled it all, with 34 of his 46 points coming in the second half. There were others - Trevor Ariza played good defense on Lillard (6-of-20 shooting), and both Jason Terry and Corey Brewer stepped up for the much-maligned Rockets bench," NBC's Kurt Helin wrote. "This win, combined with a Utah loss to San Antonio, has the Rockets back as the eight seed in the West. For now."
It's significant because Portland, along with the Utah Jazz are the two other teams vying for the last two playoff spots with Houston. Also, the Blazers was the team that sent the Rockets reeling in the first round in 2014.
The Rockets have chosen to live or die with James Harden. MVP-level Harden can win them games, but any other version of The Beard will spells their doom. There is no middle ground, and if Harden's polarizing presence scares off the free agents GM Daryl Morey thought he would attract, the Rockets will never be good enough to win a title.