|
WASHINGTON -- Ego. Dwight Howard has one, and he has decided to put it on hold for the greater good: James Harden and an NBA championship. Harden, who is second in the NBA in scoring, has emerged as one of the leaders for the MVP award this season as he has finally burst onto the national scene. He will be showcased again when the Houston Rockets visit the Washington Wizards on Sunday (ABC, 12:30 p.m. ET). After missing a total of 37 games due to numerous leg injuries, Howard returned this week. The Rockets need to get their star center back into the flow of the offense with the playoffs starting in mid-April. Prior to his return, Howard spoke with Harden about what would change once he got back. Nothing. He wanted Harden to keep grinding away. Howard, an Olympic gold medalist, eight-time All-Star, and three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, will become a complementary player under his minutes restriction. Ego? What ego? "It's not easy," Howard said. "It's also a thing called humility and being humbled. I have no problem with doing whatever it takes to help this team win, that's why I'm here. I've won every individual award from that standpoint and right now it's all about how far we can go in the playoffs. Our goal is the championship." With Howard out, Harden excelled to tremendous heights to the point that fans now wear his long beard and marvel at his step-back jumpers and drives to the basket. When Harden is really on, he spins his hands like he's cooking. It's a wonderful story for Harden, who morphed into an NBA superstar on the national stage. Yet something is amiss. Howard and Harden have never won a championship. Howard reached the NBA Finals in his fifth season with Orlando, and his Magic team was knocked out in five games by the Los Angeles Lakers. Harden, while playing for Oklahoma City, lost in the 2012 Finals to the Miami Heat. Together, Howard and Harden haven't even won a playoff series. So why should Howard force the Rockets to get him involved in the offense when things have been going so well without him? He's a superstar with an ego. It's just not the time to let that ego get in the way of the big picture. "Me coming in right now is to basically get my feet wet," Howard said. "I haven't played all season, the offense will come for me; that's not something I'm worried about. Watching this team play and the thing that stood out was the defense, just me being a presence on the defensive end. The offense will come, I told James just continue to fight, continue to play like he's been playing [and] don't worry about me. I'm going to do what I have to do to put the ball in the basket. I'm going to make sure those guys hear my voice on the defensive end." Without Howard, the Rockets' frontcourt was beaten up on a nearly nightly basis by taller teams. Coach Kevin McHale employed all sorts of lineups, but it just didn't work because he didn't have the personnel. So the Rockets stayed true to Harden, who leads the NBA in minutes played (2,615), free throws attempted (717) and made (621) and field goals attempted (1,286) and is third in drives to the basket (755). Howard's return involved some unpredictability, until he settled everything down, thanks to his chat with Harden. "It gives me a lot of confidence to not change my game, not change the way I've been playing and go out there and just basically do what I've been doing," Harden said. "I'm an unselfish player to the point where I get my teammates the ball. I love passing the basketball. As big as he is and as great of a player that he is, he'll find a rhythm and we'll definitely get him involved in the game." To go far in the postseason, the Rockets need Howard. Everybody knows this. Howard decided to provide leadership by speaking up and making everyone comfortable. "No question that was big for them to have that dialogue," guard Jason Terry said. "And for him coming back from injury, there is no pressure on him. 'James, keep doing what you're doing, I'm here to assist,' and that's big."
|
