The Rockets Era: The Offensive Hub Under D’Antoni
Joining the Houston Rockets in 2012 was the watershed of James Harden's career. There he was unleashed from a quality sixth man into the league's most dangerous on-ball hub, opening a golden offensive age for Houston.
Early on under Kevin McHale, Harden was already the franchise star; the real leap came with Mike D'Antoni in 2016. D'Antoni moved Harden to point guard in a "one-star, four-shooters" system: Harden ran the pick-and-roll, with Gordon, Ariza and Tucker spotting up and Capela rolling. Houston's pace and three-point volume soared, and in 2017-18 the Rockets hit a franchise-best 65 wins.
In D'Antoni's system, Harden's usage led the league yet his efficiency stayed high. He was both the top scorer and top playmaker — 8 to 11 assists a game, taking "shooting guard as point guard" to the extreme. Chris Paul's 2017 arrival formed a "double hub" backcourt that made Houston the Warriors' biggest Western threat.
The era's height and heartbreak was the 2018 West finals Game 7. That Rockets team won 65 and Harden took MVP; up 3-2 on Golden State, they lost Paul to a hamstring and went 0-for-27 on threes, and were reversed. Regardless of the ending, that Harden was the most entertaining and destructive core in Houston's history. The Rockets' offensive art peaked with the Beard.
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