NBA Q&A: James Harden

Posted by Unknown on Saturday, April 27, 2013 with 2 comments
Courtesy of Darnell Mayberry
It seems like the Rockets have been on the road forever. How does it feel to be back home?Yeah, our last two regular season games were on the road and then our first two playoff games were road games. So it feels good to be back at home. I’m excited for our crowd tonight and I’m exited for our team.
What do you want to see differently in Game 3 that maybe you guys didn’t do on the road?I think Game 2 was our style of play. We moved the ball well, got open shots, open looks, and put ourselves in position to win late in that game. So just continue to play the same way we did in Game 2 and we’ll be all right.
Is Russell Westbrook’s injury a catch-22? You don’t have to deal with him, but now that means Kevin Durant has to do more.I mean, we don’t know. We do not know. Russell has never missed a game so I’m sure KD doesn’t know how to play without him. I’m not sure if KD’s going to go out there and try to score more points or be more of a facilitator. We’re not sure. So our game plan is the same, just to do what we’ve been doing for the first two games.
Knowing his history of durability, how shocked were you that Russell Westbrook actually is missing time?It’s definitely a big surprise. He hasn’t missed an NBA game; even college and high school he rarely got injured. So just to see him out is painful. That’s one of my good friends. Hopefully he can get back soon and everything heals in his body.
How difficult of a balance is that that KD will probably have tonight that you have most nights between really looking for your shot more but not looking too much and keeping other people involved and still step up more to fill voids?It’s tough. It’s a difficult task, knowing when to score, knowing when you’ve got it going and knowing when you have to make your teammates better; you have to make plays for your teammates. He’s one of the best players in this league. I’m sure it’s going to come natural and easy to him. Our focus is five guys on the defensive end helping each other out and doing whatever it takes to get a win.