James Harden excited about having Dwight Howard in Houston

MANILA, Philippines—They haven’t played a single game together, but Houston’s James Harden knows that he and his new teammate Dwight Howard have a thing in common.

“This year, he’s hungry, he’s focused on the ring and I am too,” Harden said of Howard, their team’s biggest acquisition in the off-season.

“I’m excited to have Dwight Howard. He’s a great talent, he’s the best big man in the NBA.”

Harden is in the Philippines for the NBA 3X Philippines, and he faced the media, along with New Orleans’ Pelicans’ Eric Gordon, at the Sofitel Hotel in Manila.

Harden towed the Rockets to the playoffs for the first time since the 2008-2009 NBA season, averaging 26.3 points a game, but ultimately fell short against Oklahoma City, his former team, in six games.

And Howard’s arrival, Harden is hoping, could take them further than that first round exit.

“We did something special last year. With the addition of Dwight and other pieces were looking definitely to go further than that. Obviously our main goal is to win a championship,” Harden said.

But it’s not just the Rockets who are beefing up to give defending champion Miami a run for its money, and Harden knows that.

“It’s not gonna be easy. We’re gonna take a lot of steps. But were definitely headed in the right direction.”

From Sixth Man to Main Man

Harden, who turned from sixth man to main man as quick as his flight from OKC to Houston, admits that it wasn’t at all an easy transition.

“The transition was definitely fast. I didn’t get a lot of time to prepare. Everything was on the fly,” said the former sixth man of the year on the change in roles.

“Every single game, I have to go into it using my basketball instincts and talents,” he said. “I just watch film and figure out the moves I can use throughout the entire season.”

But it didn’t seem like Harden had trouble being the Rockets’ go-to-guy, averaging 25.9 points, 5.8 assists, and 1.8 steals a game in his first season there—actually, a career best.

That kind performance every night, though, needed a lot of time in the game, in the video room. Basically, a lot of hard work.

“My work ethic, being in the gym every single game. I have to make an impact and not just scoring, also by making plays and doing it on the defensive end. Every single night is like ‘What is James going do now?’ I have to mentally prepare for that.”

“There are so many things I have to improve on. My entire game, there are so much I can still learn,” he added.