James Harden has been the best offensive player in the NBA over the last two seasons although it hasn't exactly resulted in any championships for the Houston Rockets. Every time Harden and the Rockets get to the playoffs, they run into a hungry Golden State Warriors team and are unable to put them away. Harden has received a ton of criticism for his playoff performances and despite efforts to fix his shooting woes, nothing has worked. The former MVP has also been criticized for being a ball hog who takes time away from other players. This is why some people think Chris Paul wanted out of Houston this offseason.
In an interview with Sean Deveney of Heavy, an anonymous Western Conference scout echoed those sentiments, saying some guys just aren't comfortable when it comes to playing with a guy like Harden.
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“Harden is a tough guy to play with,” the scout said. “It wears on players if they think they should be getting the ball more and there isn’t a single player in the league who doesn’t think he should be getting the ball more. Maybe it will all work out and when you have Westbrook and Harden both saying they’re willing to sacrifice, maybe they will. But they’re both hardheaded guys and we know Harden’s history with other players there.”
This season, Harden will get to play with his good buddy Russell Westbrook who is also a ball-dominant player. Some feel like these two will butt heads all year but considering their chemistry, there is a good chance they'll be able to work together as opposed to in spite of each other.
Needless to say, an interesting season is upon us.