James Harden won't change as Dwight Howard returns

Sam Amick | USA TODAY Sports

With big man Dwight Howard expected to play for the first time in more than two months Wednesday night, a bit of bad news for Houston Rockets rivals: James Harden is still going to play like James Harden.

While having the three-time defensive player of the year back in the fold will certainly be a boost for the Rockets, their opponents would have been wise to wonder if his presence might have changed their offensive dynamics enough to slow the MVP-caliber roll that Harden has been on. Howard, who hasn't played since Jan. 23 because of right knee trouble, has always liked his share of post touches. As such, the prospect of Harden having to force-feed him intermittently rather than carving up opposing defenses the way he has been all season long was seen by many as a potentially tricky one.

Yet because of a meeting in Denver earlier this month that involved Harden, Howard, and veteran guard Jason Terry, such hopeful optimism from the many teams trying to stop them appears to be unfounded. Howard, who has played in just 32 games this season while Houston (47-23) has been one of the best teams in the West throughout, has given Harden the green light like never before.

"He said, 'I'll be returning soon, but I don't want you to change your game," Harden told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. "He said, 'I don't want you to do anything different. Just go out there and do what you do, and do it at a high level every single night.' He said, 'I'll adjust to you,' and that right there gave me confidence to just play, and play my game and not worry about anything else. Once you hear that from your other leader, then you know you can just go out there and play the way that I've been playing.

"I definitely needed to hear that, and he told it to me. So right there that gave me all the confidence in the world, not to try to force it to get him into a rhythm or try to do anything forceful. I can just play my game. Him telling me that just gave me the green light to just go out there and just be the James Harden that I've been being all season."

Harden, who is averaging 27.2 points, seven assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, knew they needed to discuss how this would work when Howard came back. So with Terry taking part and his championship credentials speaking volumes as always, they spoke openly and honestly about the best plan of attack — the one with Harden as the tip of the spear.

"I knew he was going to come back soon, so we had to have a meeting about what was going on — what he needed from me, what I needed from him," Harden continued. "JET (Terry) is one of the leaders also. He has won championships (2011 with the Dallas Mavericks). He has that experience. I always listen to him, and get feedback from him. That was probably one of the best meetings that I've had, just knowing that my big guy has confidence in me. We'll go out there and try to compete as a team together."

Howard's return comes at a most convenient time, as forward Terrence Jones has missed the past two games with a collapsed lung and is out indefinitely. And for all the justified praise the Rockets have received for playing so well without him, the reality is that they were still a better team when he played this season (22-10, .688 winning percentage) than when he didn't (25-13, .658 winning percentage).

The most surprising part, at least on the surface, is that their defense has been so dominant without Howard (they're fourth in point allowed per 100 possessions at 103.5 after finishing just 12th last season). Still, Harden — true to their agreed-upon form — will be the one driving this welcome-back wagon.

"I'm excited to have him back," Harden said of Howard, who is averaging 16.3 points, 11 rebounds and 1.4 blocks this season. "He's definitely a key part of our team and where we want to go. I think while he was out, we were just trying to stay above water and try to just maintain, try to give other guys an opportunity to play. And we've done that, so just to get him back would be great for us for these last 12 games so we can get some chemistry and some camaraderie going into the postseason."