James Harden thought about all those shooting guards he chased around the floor, darting around picket fences of screens maddeningly set in his path. The idea of putting someone else through that sounded inviting. Make someone chase him around the big men for a change. Put up a few shots that someone sets up for him instead of having to do all the work himself.

"I would like to," Harden said of getting to run a Richard Hamilton or Ray Allen dash through an offense. But then another thought occurred to him.

He had his best NBA season with the ball in his hands. And as grueling as carrying the Rockets' offense had been, adding 36 minutes of wind sprints a night might not be the way to go.

"A couple times a game," Harden said before requesting more than he would want to get. "Not too much. Catch-and-shoot, playing off the ball a little more would be good for me. It takes a lot of pressure off me trying to make every single play."

This is not just a tweak to take advantage of Ty Lawson's playmaking. The Rockets, who opened training camp Tuesday at Toyota Center, have been talking about adding more catch-and-shoot opportunities to Harden's game and their offense since last season ended. Coach Kevin McHale sent Harden into the offseason to work at adding those shots to his repertoire. Lawson was acquired two months later.

"Ty's going to make plays for others," McHale said. "It can't come just from Ty. If you look back on that (Western Conference finals) series and you looked at the Finals, how many times did (Warriors forward) Draymond Green get in the paint and make a pass out? All of our guys have to make plays for each other. I think Ty instinctively does a good job of that. That doesn't mean everyone doesn't have to."

Harden took just 22.1 percent of his shots without a dribble last season. Only 26 players put up catch-and-shoot shots less regularly, including some of the league's top point guards: John Wall, Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker and Chris Paul.

Harden, however, made just 44.2 percent of his shots without a dribble. That's not a bad percentage, especially with a large part of those shots being 3s. But the Rockets want to get him more great looks off others' penetration and as a trailer on the break.

Desirable shot

"Think about it," McHale said. "I'm always excited when James gets a load-up 3. He comes down the slot. They throw it out to him. No dribble. Catch-and-shoot 3. I love that shot for James. We just don't get enough of them - not because of James, but not enough guys creating that for him through different areas.

"We have to run more this year. More pace. Allow James to fill in and play behind."

McHale does not plan to have Harden darting around the court without the ball. He wants to add more things that Harden can do well. The goal is not to keep him from doing what he does best.

"We aren't changing the way we are playing. We just have to get better at it," McHale said. "It's more guys moving around him, more him reading it."

That fits in McHale's larger goal of getting better ball movement in general. The Rockets' offensive rating slipped to 12th last season, with turnovers their biggest issue. Though 60 percent of the Rockets' field goals were assisted, 10th most in the NBA, only the 76ers, Kings and Jazz had a worse assist/turnover ratio. The Rockets hope to improve that by making multiple simple passes to good shots, rather than so often having to break down the defense with high-risk one-on-one play.

No one's exempt

"We want to play like that as a team," McHale said. "We have to get everybody more catch-and-shoot 3s. We want to get Trevor (Ariza) more catch-and-shoot 3s, Jet Terry more of those. I want to get Ty Lawson some.

"Everybody just has to make plays for one another. We have to go in there, get in the paint, fan out. The shooter has to get himself ready to either drift to the corner, shake. It's all the stuff we work on. We just have to do a better job getting everybody (involved), hoping that James is the beneficiary two or three times a game."

That sounded about right to Harden. He might still be found in the middle of the floor, with the ball and the success of the Rockets' offense in his hands. But he seemed to like the idea of others setting up some of his shots for a change.

"I can run the lane as a natural two guard, get out in transition, just do a lot of things off the ball," Harden said. "I'm sure coaches have game plans to add a lot of things to our offense."