2015 NBA scores: James Harden has the Rockets right back where they need to be

Houston had a horrendous start but that’s all behind them now.

by Tim Cato

Nov 8, 2015, 2:00 PM UTC

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

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NBA schedule & results: Rockets top Clippers in LA

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The small sample theater of each NBA season's first week or two is a roller coaster of way-too-early analysis. When a player like James Harden gets off to a terrible start, you can't help but speculate whether something's wrong, simply because there's no body of work to look back on. Usually, it's all overreactions.

Whatever that opening week malaise was -- you know, the one that had Harden shooting 22 percent as the Rockets had the worst start to the season in NBA history -- Harden has officially snapped out of it. On Saturday, Harden exploded for his second-straight 40-point game, this time rattling off 46 as Houston beat the Clippers 109-105.

Seeing the Internet speculate about Harden and whether something in his game had changed was just strange. This was an MVP candidate last year, after all, pushing for the title of best player in the NBA before Stephen Curry snatched it from him. And, as we probably could have predicted, all Harden needed was time. He's back to his old tricks now and with the Rockets are right there with him.

Harden’s living at the free throw line. He shot 13-of-14 from the line on Saturday and had 47 attempts in the last three games alone. His stir-the-pot three-pointers are dropping in, too, with Harden connecting on 9-of-20 of his shots behind the arc in these consecutive 40-point performances. In the first week, something was just off. But ask the Clippers after Saturday night’s show and they’ll tell you: he’s clearly back.

Although Los Angeles was missing Chris Paul and didn't get the benefit of what looked to be a late goaltend, Houston still impressed, showing why some think they're a dark horse NBA title pick headed into this season. Dwight Howard cleaned up on both ends, scoring 20 points and nabbing 20 rebounds. Marcus Thornton has been a complete steal for Houston, entering the starting lineup and scoring 50 points combined in his last three games. When the other two Rockets bigs -- Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones -- do come back, Houston adds valuable interior scoring that throws some needed diversity into the mix.

Those first three games really were awful, especially the blown 21-point second half lead against the Miami Heat. But it was just a really bad week, one that would have gone mostly unrecognized had it happened mid-season but had to be discussed on end due to the nature of the start of the season. All that matters now is that the Rockets definitely have their rhythm going now.

Isn’t that right, James?

3 things we learned

The Pelicans stay winless. New Orleans has been unlucky and faced tons of injuries (what's new) to begin the season, dropping to 0-5 after falling 107-98 to the Mavericks. It was the same story we've seen repeated all season: Anthony Davis was great but not great enough and the Pelicans stayed around until the fourth, where they ran out of energy.

The Pelicans are, of course, better than this. Once they're healthy, with Tyreke Evans returning and Jrue Holiday not sitting out back-to-backs, winnable games like this one will come easier. But once a near-playoff lock, New Orleans' ability to climb out of this hole -- as early as it is -- starts to be called into question. The Western Conference is as difficult as it has ever been and this start could hurt New Orleans when they're approaching the final month of the season.

Utah's defense is still absurdly good. In the second half of last season, the Jazz mustered one of the best defensive efforts we've even seen. Led by Rudy Gobert and helped by Enes Kanter's trade deadline departure, the only question was whether Utah could keep it going into next season.

The short answer: yup. Yes, it's only been six games, but after yet another smothering of an opposing team's offense on Saturday -- an 89-79 win against Memphis -- it's clear how good these Jazz are. They lead the league with a 90.3 points allowed per 100 possessions, two whole points better than the second-place Warriors.

Rajon Rondo drops a triple-double. Going up against the Warriors isn’t easy for anyone and Sacramento might have given them the toughest game so far this year, finally falling 103-94 when Golden State finally pulled away late. The game was close in large part thanks to Rondo, who notched the 23rd triple double of his career. Although he only shot 7-of-20, Rondo scored 14 points, nabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 15 assists to go with four steals. Even more importantly, it was his defense that limited Stephen Curry to just 24 points, his lowest total this season. Although Rondo’s last stop with the Dallas Mavericks was a disaster, he’s working out alright for the Kings thus far. Certainly, games like this show the skills that have made his career unique.