Melo Effect Part 3 - Harden & CP3

     The biggest thing that worries me about Melo’s departure is the higher dependence on Harden and Paul. Seeing Harden flame out in Game 6 against the Spurs two years ago really left a bad taste in my mouth, and marks the exact time and place that I started caring about how the minutes for the star players are handled. Since Melo left, both Harden and Paul have had to play an additional minute per game, and Harden, in particular, has taken almost two more shots a game, decreasing his FG% by 4%. These two guys should have fresh legs for the playoffs, and seeing Harden lead the league in usage rate once again by a wide margin (6%, to be exact) is not a good start towards making that happen. Their isolation-heavy offense certainly doesn’t help matters either, increasing the pressure on either one of them to blow past their man and create a shot for either themselves, or their teammates.

     The tough thing with Chris Paul is that he is 33 years old, and nobody really knows how much he has left in the tank. He is currently averaging only 15.6 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists per game, shooting only 41% from the field. If you compare those numbers to his numbers throughout his career, his points per game are at the lowest they have ever been, his turnovers are up higher than they’ve ever been, and he’s averaging his second-lowest amount of assists per game this year. This is also while playing two more minutes than last year, and the inevitable time that we can’t depend on him to do as much as he used to, may be starting right before our eyes.

     The Rockets have addressed this issue recently, though, signing Austin Rivers to be our fourth guard so that we can give CP some rest. Even if Rivers isn’t the greatest player, if he can hold it down while Paul is out, and we can still win consistently with him playing heavy minutes instead of Paul like we are now, then why not give Paul games off like the second night of a back-to-back? Resting Paul should lead to fresher legs in the playoffs, and less risk of a catastrophic injury. With Harden, I definitely think that his minutes need to be decreased in games that both him and Paul play in. I understand that he needs to play big minutes in games that Paul is out, but I think that the Rockets should look for ways to give him some rest down the stretch as well.