With Chris Paul sidelined, the Houston Rockets have gone back to a familiar playbook — all James Harden all the time.
It’s worked. The Rockets are 8-3, they are playing up-tempo again after a slow start, and last week at that pace Harden dominated — he dropped 31 on the Knicks in a win, 29 points and 11 assists on the Hawks, and then exploded against an elite Utah defense for 56 points on just 25 shots, plus 13 assists.
That earned him the PBT Extra Player of the Week honors (just edging out Kristaps Porzingis).
This season, Harden has taken on a little more of the offense than he did a year ago and is even more efficient in the process (mostly because he’s shooting better than 40 percent from three). He’s been brilliant. But it will get interesting in the coming weeks when CP3 returns.
