Harden vows to improve
OAKLAND, Calif. — With the Rockets’ collapse complete, guard James Harden pledged to do something he could not last season. He said he would return a better player than he was the season before.
Last season, he came back trying to make up for a lost offseason time following a sprained ankle. Former Rockets coach Kevin McHale made several references to Harden trying to play his way into shape, though Harden did not acknowledge he was out of shape to start training camp as he did after Wednesday’s 114-81 season-ending loss to the Warriors.
“It messed me up, it messed me up,” Harden said. “Just to start the season off, I couldn’t work out like I wanted to and so I went into training camp with a bummed ankle, had to get healthy and had to kind of get in shape. It was just all of the above.
“It kind of messed me up. It kind of set me back a little bit so, take care of my body and have a really good summer.”
With Harden struggling with his shot, the Rockets lost the season’s first three games, each by 20 points. This offseason, he hopes to play with the U.S. Olympic team, having had success the season following a summer playing in the 2014 World Cup.
“Just a tough year,” Harden said. “I think every player, every great player goes through it. It’s an opportunity to get better. I’ll come back as a better basketball player. It was a frustrating year. A lot of ups. A lot of downs. I have to be better next year.”
Harden ended his season scoring 35 points with six rebounds, six assists and seven turnovers in Game 5. He averaged 26.6 points on 41 percent shooting and 7.6 assists in the series.
“Lot of distractions, lot of things didn’t go our way,” Harden said, without specifying the distractions beyond players not getting the playing time they wanted. “We’ve got to get better individually. Upgrade our roster. We just have to get better, got to improve, work on things you’re not really good at or struggled with and come back really confident for next year. We got to live in the gym.” discuss his future and the potential of leaving the Rockets after just three seasons, saying he was focused on the task at hand.
With the season complete, he was still not ready to address the decisions he faces.
Howard can opt in to a fourth season of his contract or choose to become a free agent, a long-expected move. As a free agent, Howard could move on to his fourth team or try again with the Rockets, but he did not indicate anything about his intentions after Wednesday’s loss.
Asked how the end of the Rockets’ season would impact his decisions, Howard paused and said, “I don’t want to talk about that today.”
Asked if he will discuss it with his teammates, Howard remained silent.
Howard struggled through much of the season, averaging fewer points than in any of his 12 seasons since his rookie year. He had eight points on 3-of-13 shooting on Wednesday but did grab 21 rebounds.
While Howard would not discuss his plans, guard James Harden indicated he would like to play with Howard again.
“Ultimately, he makes the decision. But obviously, we love big fella here,” Harden said. “He has to go back with his family and figure it out.”