The Houston Rockets seem to be doing just fine without James Harden. Although they went 1-3 when they first traded him away, they have since bounced back with four straight victories.
When point guard John Wall was asked about the Rockets’ recent surge, he had this to say: “The team wasn’t where we wanted to be and we had people that didn’t want to be here. So it’s kind of hard to play through that. Once the trade happened, we got the team that we wanted and guys that wanted to be here.”
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand who he’s talking about. Before the trade, Harden had made it clear that he didn’t want to be playing in Houston anymore. Wall made the point that unless everyone is completely on board, there’s no room for growth.
Even though Harden had been scoring up to his usual standard before the trade, the Rockets were losing a lot, and only managed to scrape together a 3-6 record. But clearly they’re in a better place now.
Another big reason for optimism in Houston has been the arrival of Victor Oladipo. A former All-Star, Oladipo suffered an injury and only recently returned to his usual form. For the Houston Rockets, he seems to have returned right on time.
