Ranking Dwight Howard-James Harden Among NBA's Best 1-2 Combos

NBA teams are allowed 15 players on their rosters, but over the course of a competitive regular season that then extends into the abidingly grueling playoffs, one or two players per team rise above the rest and lead their team on.

Even in defeat, a team is defined by the best it has to offer. Rotation players aren't judged negatively for failing to show up—it's the roster's top-tier talent that's perpetually blamed for failing to make said rotation player's life easier. 

The most successful teams usually have two players who're not just elite on their own, but able to work well with each other to create a whole more powerful than their individual skill sets.  

Heading into 2014, here's how James Harden and Dwight Howard stack up against the league's top six duos, superstar mergers that could potentially result in a championship. 

6. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph

There’s no finer combination of beefy big men in the world right now. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph are both studs in the frontcourt, but what makes them so great is their ability to operate simultaneously in ways that hardly ever discombobulate the Memphis Grizzlies offense.

Gasol is one of the best passing seven-footers in league history (one of just seven to average at least 4.0 per game in a season of at least 80 games, per Basketball-Reference.com).

Last season he attempted more shots between 16-23 feet from the basket than at the rim, remarkable for someone his size. That makes him the perfect partner for Randolph, a bully in the post and perhaps best in the league at marking off territory in the paint. He too can shoot, but as someone capable of taking over games at the basket, it’s often the lesser option.

Combined, every team in the league has trouble dealing with them as a pair, and to supplement the headache they give with the ball, when they shared the court last season, Memphis gave up just 95.5 points per 100 possessions, which would've been best in the league.

5. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin

It only feels right that the best point guard in the world will play through his prime with the opportunity to tinker with its most thrilling (and polarizing) forward. 

Next season will be Chris Paul and Blake Griffin's third together. So far they've won just one playoff series and only six playoff games. When talking about players possessing their combined level of aesthetic brilliance, that track record isn't good enough.

Now that they're surrounded by more three-point shooters and have one of the league's most respected coaches directing traffic at the helm, Griffin and Paul's coalescence should be more successful when the games matter most, particularly on the defensive end. 

4. James Harden and Dwight Howard

These two have yet to play a minute of NBA basketball together, which obviously makes it very difficult to rank them higher than some other deserving candidates. But the symbiotic potential James Harden and Dwight Howard have on the court is undeniable.

Let’s start with the pick-and-roll. Harden is one of the five best scorers in the league out of its most common set. Conversely, once he sets a screen, Howard is one of basketball’s most dominant finishers. What makes Harden special, especially in this relationship, is his ability to hit the rolling man (i.e. Howard).

The pocket pass is one of the most difficult acts in basketball, centered around timing, instinct and repetition. The passer must needle the ball through two, sometimes three sets of arms and legs, into the hands of a moving target.

At 23 years old, Harden is already the Beethoven of pocket passing, and with Howard as a partner, he now has the world’s finest piano to work with.

Howard also compliments Harden's defense, where one is arguably the best at his position and the other is arguably the worst. Harden used so much energy on offense last year that his defense fell off the table. Howard’s presence as a safety net will be helpful, but his work on the other end, with the ball, lightening Harden’s load, should make things much easier for everyone.

3. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan

No duo knows works with more fluidity, or at least makes telepathy feel like a real thing, than Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Teammates for 12 years, these two know everything basketball-related there is to know about the other, and it really shows in the presence of an outlet pass or pick-and-pop jumper.

Last season the San Antonio Spurs outscored opponents by 13.2 points per 100 possessions when Parker and Duncan shared the court, with an offense that would’ve ranked fourth in the league and a defense that would’ve ranked first, according to NBA.com/Stats.

No duo is more dependable and traditional than this one. Even though Parker is 31 years old and Duncan is an unfathomable 37, after watching them tear through the league up until Game 7 of the NBA Finals last year, it’s tough to imagine either going away anytime soon.

2. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook

If it weren’t for the duo sitting comfortably at No. 1 on this list, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would be feasting at that very table.

The way these two relentlessly attack defenses, both from the outside and at the rim—getting to the free-throw line at will—is unstoppable. Each might be the preeminent scorer at his respective position (in the case of Durant, the word “might” isn’t necessary), and both carry so much individual responsibility within Oklahoma City's simplistic offense.  

Defenses try slowing them down with double-teams and varying coverages. Yet, Westbrook and Durant are too talented off the dribble and aggressive enough with their decision-making that halting what they want to do is extremely difficult from possession to possession, let alone quarter to quarter and game to game.

According to NBA.com/Stats, when these two shared the court last season, the Thunder scored 112.2 points per 100 possessions, astounding given the fact they totaled over 2,600 minutes together. What's really scary here is both Durant and Westbrook have yet to reach their primes. 

1. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade

The best duo in basketball, by a somewhat significant margin, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have led the Miami Heat to three straight appearances in the NBA Finals, emerging through the rubble with two titles and the most successful usage of small ball in basketball history.

James is clearly the better player, but the way these two have maximized their strengths on both ends of the court has been terrifying for the rest of the league. Both are elite on the defensive end, able to fill in holes normally plugged by seven-footers with timely rim protection and beautiful back-line rotations.

Their play on that end compliments everything else perfectly, with turnovers leading to fast breaks, leading to dunks, leading to demoralization for the opponent.

No two players have played more beautifully beside one another, covering more ground and complimenting the other’s style, since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The only thing standing in their way are Wade’s ailing knees, but as long as those are intact, this duo will sit a few inches above everyone else.