The Mike D’Antoni era in Houston has begun, with a notably fast-paced and high-scoring 131-94 win to start the preseason. The Rockets welcomed freshly inducted Hall of Famer Yao Ming and his Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball League into the Toyota Center.
D’Antoni now has his latest point guard prodigy — or in this case, “points guard” as dubbed by the franchise. James Harden spent the majority of his 28:37 of play with the ball in his hand, which is nothing new. But an initiative to create for others was widely apparent, as Harden racked up 10 assists compared to his 16 points.
It wasn’t a seamless debut, as Houston missed their first 10 shots, including four by Clint Capela from the free-throw line, before Harden fittingly sunk a three. Houston ended up shooting 52.1% on 94 shots.
Only 18 of Harden’s 82 games last season featured double-digits assists, a stat he’s looking to expand under D’Antoni.
