Dwight Howard, James Harden Working to Improve Chemistry at Practice
The Houston Rockets have been one of the NBA's biggest disappointments this year, sitting seventh in the Western Conference with a 15-14 record. In order to help turn the season around, the Rockets' biggest stars, James Harden and Dwight Howard, are spending extra time together in order to forge a stronger relationship with one another.
"It's been great. The thing we are trying to build on the most is chemistry between me and James," Howard said, per Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. "We have played together for two years, but the best way to build chemistry is to have those individual workouts together. That’s what we have done the last couple of weeks and we have gotten better at reading each other and the more we do it, the better we will become."
Harden's play in 2015-16 is particularly perplexing. He's averaging 28.8 points a night, but his shooting percentage has fallen from 44 percent in 2014-15 to 41.3 percent, while his 32.6 three-point percentage is the lowest of his career. Critics have also heavily criticized his lack of effort at times on the defensive end.
Howard, meanwhile, is taking just 8.3 shots a game, his lowest output since his rookie season, and Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding wrote the onus is on him to make things work in Houston:
"Howard has been proactive in trying to show he is not causing trouble. Truth be told, he is not, and never has been, a bad person. Where his connections with teammates come unspooled is from his inability to compete as hard as others for victories and championships.
The same thing is happening now with Harden that happened for Bryant (and famously good-guy teammates Steve Nash and Pau Gasol) with the Lakers.
However much Harden hasn't warmed up to Howard's personality is a far secondary issue to however much Howard hasn't earned Harden's respect.
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Earlier in the week, Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops reported the All-Star big man is "unhappy in Houston playing second fiddle to alpha dog James Harden."
Howard has played down the situation, but you can't help but think back to when he said the same thing in Orlando, only for then-Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy to publicly contradict him.
The 30-year-old has one more year left on his current deal, which he can opt out of in the summer. It's entirely possible the Rockets could lose Howard in the offseason, and ESPN's Kevin Pelton made the case Houston should trade him now.
No matter what Howard's future is with the Rockets, they won't be a title contender this year unless Howard and Harden become a more cohesive unit on the court.
