47
NBA
PREVIEW
SPORT S ILLUS TR ATED
They cut their
teeth together at
Thunder U and
always dreamed of
playing together
again. After a
summer blockbuster,
RUSSELL WESTBROOK
and JAMES HARDEN
got their wish. Now
the two megastars
will learn how much
they’ve changed in the
seven years since they
were last teammates
in Oklahoma City—
and how their evolved
games will (or won’t)
NIONmesh in Houston
for the extra step that turns a floater into a layup or a foul.
There are clips to demonstrate the spacing that makes
such a thing possible, with driving lanes wide enough to fit
a Volvo. Highlight reels show shooters running to stand in
the corners and big men politely getting out of the way. Any
effort to understand how James Harden managed the most
prolific scoring campaign in the past 32 years or how Houston
managed one of the best offensive seasons on record starts
with that negative space.
The platonic ideal came in a January win over the Knicks
(chart, page 31) in which Houston took 42 shots at the rim,
44 three-pointers and just four shots in between. (Incidentally,
Harden—working without Chris Paul and Clint Capela—
scored 61 points.) Every year, the average NBA team inches
closer toward Houston’s shot profile. And in turn, the Rockets
push the envelope a bit further. Gunning shows the team that
even with the basketball world gaining on them, stylistically
speaking, Houston was able to trim down its diet of midrange
shots to just 4.2 per game—fewest in the league.
As if on cue, Russell Westbrook, the Rockets’ newly im-
ported superstar, chimes in. “Those 4.2?” he notes slyly to
the room. “Those are mine.”
