It wasn’t exactly the start to the new season the Houston Rockets were hoping for, as their opening night contest ended in defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, 117-111.
It was, however, a relatively solid start for Houston’s new dynamic duo of James Harden and Russell Westbrook, who both stuffed the stat sheet in their first game together as the Rockets’ new backourt tandem.
Following the contest, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni spoke about his team’s performance, and was also asked if he believes the championship window for Houston remains open at this point.
“It’s open,” Rockets coach Mark D’Antoni said, speaking for his team, via The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “James is just 30 and he’s in the height of his power. He’s getting better every year. … His whole focus is winning a championship and that’s what he’s going after. Just the little time I’ve been with Russ, same thing. Can it last longer than two years, three? I don’t know, I don’t think anybody knows. But there’s no reason James isn’t like this for another two, three years.”
That’s a pretty fair statement from D’Antoni there, and it’s not hard to get behind the notion of Harden dominating the league for another two or three more years. He will, however, need to do much better than he did on Thursday, especially when it comes to his efficiency on the floor.
James Harden did log 19 points, a three-pointer, seven rebounds, 14 assists, a steal, and a block in 36 minutes of play, but not only did he commit seven turnovers, but more importantly, he was simply atrocious from the field. The former MVP went just 2-of-13 overall (including 1-of-8 from distance) in what was obviously an off night for him.
This is certainly not going to be the trend all season long, and we fully expect Harden to be more efficient on most nights.
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