Houston Rockets
Will the Russell Westbrook, James Harden backcourt work?
On paper, or on NBA 2K, the backcourt of Russell Westbrook and James Harden would be quite amazing. However, in 2019, I’m not sure it’s the best fit for the Houston Rockets. In a league that is quickly changing and one that has fully embraced the 3-point line, it’s quite essential for every backcourt player to be able to be a threat from everywhere on the floor – including the 3-point line.
At this point in his career, Westbrook just isn’t that. Westbrook has always been a below-average deep shooter but is coming off a season in which he 29 percent from deep on nearly six attempts per game.
The second part of the problem lies in the fact that James Harden has played on-ball so much over the last couple seasons with the Rockets. Just as Westbrook has in OKC. While Harden could play off-ball, because of his ability to be a threat from anywhere on the floor, including from 3-point range, the same can’t be said about Westbrook unfortunately. Which leads me to believe that this pairing could do more harm than good for the Rockets this season.
The Rockets took a big risk in trading for Westbrook, but they better pray it works. Because, if not, the results could be bad. Really bad.