Sam Amick

USA TODAY Sports

HOUSTON – Before the click-bait carousel starts spinning, just know this: Dwight Howard is squarely focused on this task at hand with the Houston Rockets.

With his team that reached the Western Conference Finals in 2014-15 still fighting to secure a playoff spot and every aspect of their squad being dissected at every turn, their always-compelling center had a candid chat with USA TODAY Sports about the changing NBA and how big men like him are a dying breed. And while it’s clear that he will strongly consider situations outside of Houston this summer in free agency where he might play a bigger part in the offense, Howard made this much clear in terms of the here and now: he still believes the Rockets can win it all, so long as he can click with All-Star guard James Harden.

Yes, you read that right. Dwight Howard believes the Rockets, who are currently 35-35 and seventh in the West, can be NBA champions this season.

Dwight Howard believes he can be dominant again

“Regardless of how our season is going so far, regardless of the fact that we haven't played up to our expectations, I really believe that we have a championship caliber team,” Howard said. “Nobody else has to believe it, and that's fine. The whole world can be against us. But if those 15 guys in the locker room believe that we can win, then we will win. There's no doubt about it. We had a great season last year, and the reason why we were able to come in the playoffs and do what we did is because we believed.”

Despite all the obvious challenges relating to how Harden plays the game and how Howard prefers it to be played, and the personality differences that are obvious to anyone who pays attention, the two have done great things before. The question from now until season’s end, of course, is whether or not they can do it again.

“People feel ... like we hate each other,” Howard said. “I have no hate in my blood for this man, you know? For what? He came from nothing. We both came from nothing. And we're doing something that we love. We grew up playing this game for fun, and we had big dreams of making it to the NBA. So I would never hate this man because I know what it took for me to get here, and he made it. So I want him to succeed. I want us to succeed. I just - before coming here - I watched endless hours of YouTube videos on James Harden, before he had the beard. I watched all that stuff, because I'm like, 'Dang, this boy, he's got so much talent.'

“I know where he's at, because I've been there, as far as everybody looking at you and they expect so much from you. And you're one of the best players in the league. All that stuff, I've been there ,you know what I'm saying?”

NBA All-Star Game going to L.A. in 2018

The trick now, he made clear, is to join forces in the kind of way that has been tough to come by this season.

“We both have to figure out how we're going to make this thing work,” Howard said. “It's on us. We've got the rest of the season, and the playoffs, and we can do it. It's a mindset. It's a mentality. And the whole team will fall in line when me and him are on that same page and the team sees that we're strong together.”

“If we just come together like we're supposed to - and it takes time, you know. It takes time. If we can just come together like we're supposed to and like we want to, then I'm telling you, we can win a championship.”