Stats glory not Harden’s goal
Although James Harden leads the NBA in assists and points per game, averaging a career-high 31.8 points and 10.1 assists to be on pace to be the first player to lead the league in both categories since Nate Archibald in the 1972-73 season, he said didn’t know it. Nor did he care.
“I just want to win,” Harden said. “I didn’t even know (about leading both categories). I just want a chip. That’s it. Whatever it takes, whether it’s scoring, whether it’s passing the ball, doing whatever, I’m willing to do it. I just want to win. Stats are just stats. They’re always going to be there. I just want to win.”
Archibald not only did not win the championship, the Kansas City-Omaha Kings did not make the playoffs that season or the next when Archibald was hurt and another point guard, Mike D’Antoni, went out with a broken hand.
D’Antoni was not with the Kings when Archibald led the league in both categories and said there is a good chance Chris Paul’s return and role could keep Harden from doing it this season.
“It could and he’s fine with it,” D’Antoni said. “As long as the end product is we’re winning, we’ll all be fine. When you’re losing and you’re sacrificing minutes, it gets a little dicier. But I think this is the only way we can go deep in the playoffs, with this type of formula.
“They have to buy in and they have.”
A trip down memory lane
The Rockets held their practice Friday on the Suns’ practice court in Talking Stick Resort Arena, a venue that made Mike D’Antoni more nostalgic than the games played on the main court.
Though D’Antoni had
been back in that arena many times as coach of the Knicks, Lakers and Rockets, Thursday was his first time looking around the practice facility where he spent so much time in his five seasons as Suns coach.
“These were good times,” he said. “Yesterday, I did a piece for the 50 years of the Phoenix Suns, and they were bringing up stuff I kind of forgot, really heady stuff. That was my first success as an NBA coach, and we had great guys, like this (Rockets) group.
“The relationships, the wins and losses, ups and downs. Watching Shawn (Marion )or Steve (Nash) or Amar’e (Stoudemire) perform was just ridiculous. I haven’t been down here (on the practice court) since then. I was kind of looking around.”
High school honors Black
Rockets center Tarik Black returned to his hometown to play the Memphis Grizzlies, but he also was to be honored Friday night when Ridgeway High School retired his No. 10.
“I feel great about it,” Black said. “It’s an accolade. It just shows me how far I’ve come. With everybody there, my family, guys I played with in high school, it’s nostalgic as well.
“It’s amazing, especially to be the first jersey retired in my high school. Yeah, it’s such an honor. I’m truly blessed.”
Black created the Tarik Black Foundation to benefit inner-city youth in his hometown and hosted a camp at Ridgeway last summer.
“It holds true meaning,” Black said. “It just shows how far I’ve come, a little kid from Memphis, Tennessee, who made it to this platform. I just plan on continue growing.”