Fear the Beard

By Max Berger

Two weeks ago, on October 26, I said the following regarding the Houston Rockets: “…it’s the Jeremy Lin and Kevin Martin show until Martin is possibly packaged in a trade for another All Star during the season.”

Then, on October 27, the Rockets acquired 2012 Sixth Man of the Year James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder for the aforementioned Martin, rookie Jeremy Lamb, two 2013 first-round draft picks (from Dallas and Toronto) and a 2013 second-round draft pick (from Charlotte).

Now, it’s the Jeremy Lin and James Harden show, and this show is already getting rave reviews.

Through the first four games of the season, Harden is averaging 30.2 points per game, which is tops in the NBA, as well as 5.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. Also, the other new addition to Houston’s backcourt, point guard Jeremy Lin, is feeding well off of Harden, averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 assists per game to start the season, forming one of the league’s most dynamic duos in the backcourt.

The Rockets may be only 2-2 and will not be able to win the Southwest division (the San Antonio Spurs are 4-1, which should surprise no one), but people are more excited about their prospects for the future with Harden in the red and white.

The Thunder traded Harden because they could not afford to sign him to a max contract, as current Oklahoma City stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook already have max contracts, and Thunder forward Serge Ibaka recently signed an expensive contract extension too.

As a result, because Oklahoma City knew they couldn’t resign Harden after he becomes a free agent next offseason, they decided to trade him and get some value for him while they could, which they did. Kevin Martin is a prolific scorer, Jeremy Lamb is a promising young talent, and the draft picks could pay off in the future.

However, in my opinion, James Harden is a top-20 player in the NBA and will lead the league in scoring this year, and the Thunder traded away their chances of winning a title this year.

Oklahoma City will still contend, but Harden is a special talent, and he provides Houston with a lot to look forward to.

He signed the max deal with the Rockets, for five years $80 million, so he will be around for a while. Hopefully, Houston can coax another big time player to join Harden, Lin, and center Omer Asik for a chance to overtake the aging Southwestern Division powers and contend in the West.

For now, enjoy the ride, and to the rest of the league, Fear the Beard!