Rockets' James Harden Says Double-Teams Mean 'I'm Pretty Good'

Houston Rockets star James Harden believes that defenses giving him extra attention is an indication he's doing a lot of things right.

Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Harden spoke about the double-teams that clubs like the Denver Nuggets have employed against him this season.

"Me and Coach [Mike] D'Antoni talk about it all the time," he said. 'That means that I'm doing something right, [that] I'm pretty good."

Harden was specifically asked about the double-team strategy the Nuggets employed. Head coach Michael Malone often had multiple defenders around the 2018 MVP as soon as he made it to half court in the first meeting in November.

The strategy worked well that night, with Harden's 27 points his second-fewest in a game to that point in the season. He also committed eight turnovers in the 105-95 loss.

Harden and the Rockets adjusted to Denver's defensive strategy in the rematch Tuesday, as the seven-time All-Star dropped 35 points and six assists in Houston's 130-104 win. He had help from Russell Westbrook, who finished with 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting after making just 36.4 percent of his attempts in the first game.

"We were just more prepared," Harden said. "We've seen that so many times now, so guys know what to do."

The victory moved Houston 0.5 games behind the Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers for second in the Western Conference playoff standings.