SMITH ON HARDEN’S LEGACY.
W here was James Harden? • At the end of Game 5 and the entirety of an unforgettable — in the worst possible way — Game 6. On the day the Rockets cleaned out their lockers and walked out of Toyota Center for the final time in 2016-17.
Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson, etc., stood up and answered final questions Friday during standard exit interviews. Pat Beverley’s absence was understood — his grandfather died last week.
But the only sight of Harden emerged Thursday night, when a video appeared on TMZ showing Harden reportedly partying at a rap concert to misguided “MVP” chants.
In reality, Harden was given some distance, the Rockets said. Mike D’Antoni was still “shell-shocked” from 114-75 San Antonio, which left Toyota Center filled with “Go Spurs Go” chants and the Rockets trying to explain the unexplainable a day later.
Harden? Devastated.
A strange disappearance
“The guy that’s hardest on James is James,” said Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who continually took up for the franchise’s only star. “Coach and I saw him briefly after (Game 6). And we wanted to give him some space, and we’re going to meet with him longer, shortly. You can imagine giving all the blood, sweat and tears he puts in. We’re all disappointed. But he’s No. 1.”
On the day the undisputed face of the Rockets’ franchise was a national story — and the subject of a mysterious Game 6 MIA search — there were no answers.
“It was just an unexplainable thing that was frustrating,” Morey said. “You can’t wish it away.” It’s not going away any time soon. The Rockets are built around Harden. The foundation began in October 2012, when Oklahoma City abruptly broke up its Big Three and traded Harden to the Rockets. The construction peaked last offseason, when Dwight Howard departed, D’Antoni signed on and an entire offense was placed in Harden’s hands.
He’ll be 28 in August, entering his ninth pro year. He has been past the second round once with the Rockets. And despite spending two of the last three seasons as the NBA’s second-best, regular-season player — or No. 1, depending on your world view — there’s no evidence the Rockets can win a championship with Harden as their one-man centerpiece. Or come close.
That’s not post-Game 6 depression talking. That’s Harden wearing down the last three postseasons, shrinking in the ultimate spotlight, and appearing distant and aloof when he should be the man embracing all the weight.
LeBron James has done it so many times we take him for granted. Stephen Curry did and has Kevin Durant and the superpower Warriors to back him. Russell Westbrook — as crazy and obsessed as he can be on the floor — never would have gone out like Harden did in Game 6.
National TV, local talk radio and the social media world were united Friday morning, which is hard to do. Harden quit, everyone said. Gave up. Didn’t care. Just wanted it to all be over with, again.
Ten months after a smiling, proud Harden unexpectedly walked on stage to announce he was the Rockets’ leader and the owner of a four-year, $118 million contract extension, the same microphones only belonged to the GM and coach the day after Game 6.
“To me, it’s a joke to get on him,” Morey said.
Noted D’Antoni: “One game can’t erase nine months of work. It just can’t.” It did. Harden resisted rest this season. D’Antoni said the Rockets will rethink that. He also mentioned trying to save Harden’s legs for the postseason, getting him off the ball more — a key theme two years ago that never worked; remember the failed Ty Lawson experiment? — and having the Rockets’ superstar understand his limitations.
Morey was open to the idea of adding a major face to pair with Harden, echoing the triumphant pursuit of Howard in 2013. The Rockets reached the Western Conference finals two years later. That’s the furthest they’ve been with Harden.
“I feel so sorry for him because he’s had an unbelievable — I mean, he’s had a historic year,” D’Antoni said. “And you can’t just say one game and all of a sudden social media goes crazy. But he will get better and we will talk about it and I can help him.”
Wearing down in the postseason
That help must come in the playoffs. This was by far the best regular season of Harden’s career, and it will be hard to top. But 55 wins were washed away by the end of Game 5 and all of Game 6, and Harden’s postseason slide has become impossible to ignore.
He’s a career 42.3 percent shooter in the playoffs who has hit 33.5 percent of his 3-pointers. This season, he made 27.8 percent of his attempts beyond the arc, which was a career worst.
For decades, the NBA’s greatest stars have made their names in the playoffs. That’s why they’re remembered and revered. That’s why franchises are built around them.
Harden’s legacy in Houston is complicated. The Rockets have built themselves around him.
But until he recreates his postseason name, he’ll be viewed as a loser when it really counts.