“I think he’s having more fun,” teammate Trevor Ariza said. “Last year wasn’t a fun year for anybody. This year, he feels like more of a leader, and he’s having more fun. We all are. I think that’s the biggest key to our success, and his.”

The Rockets were frequently unsentimental about players. Guys came and went out of Houston as Morey amassed talent that could be flipped for better players. But the plans are to keep the core together for a while, even as the search for another superstar to play with Harden will continue undisturbed next summer, as it has since his arrival. Houston’s already given Harden a $118 million extension through 2020 and he would be in line for the new veteran designated player exception in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2019, the year before his current deal expires.

Said Anderson: “the chemistry is there. We really enjoy being around each other, coming into practice every day is like, fun. It’s a light atmosphere, obviously, with Coach D’Antoni just giving us freedom and really giving us confidence to just go out and play our games. We’re built together as a group, certain pieces were put together, especially around James. It’s just, let’s go out and play and see what our group does. The chemistry is there. It feels good.”

In Phoenix, D’Antoni and assistant Alvin Gentry were known for getting on guys who wouldn’t shoot when they were open. That’s also the case in Houston -- “especially with me,” Anderson said.

“They get on me quite a bit, like, ‘what are you doing, Ryan?’ Most of the time it’s ‘why did you take that shot?’ On this team it’s, ‘why didn’t you take that shot? Or ‘why did you pass that up?’ They want us to be aggressive.

“In this system, an open shot, an open three, especially, is the best shot for this group. If you pass up a wide open three, if you move it to the next shot, it might not be as high percentage a shot or it might be more contested. So that’s kind of the system. And we have so many shooters, so many guys who can take advantage of that.”

The Rockets had been obsessed with Anderson over the years and had gotten close to acquiring him from the Orlando Magic and kept trying to do so after he went to New Orleans in a sign-and-trade deal in 2012.

“We just felt like he was the best spacing big man in the league,” Morey said. “If you want to win the title, it helps to have the best of ‘x,’ whatever it is.”

Houston wasn’t the only team that coveted him, of course, as Atlanta and Washington were among many hot on his trail over the summer. And the Rockets didn’t offer him the most money, even though they offered him a lot -- $80 million over four years. But when the Rockets met with Anderson, they were able to show him exactly what kinds of shots he’d get playing with Harden, and that he shot almost 50 percent on 3-pointers when he was open -- and that with the Pelicans, he got the fewest open shots of any stretch four in the league.