James Harden says there's always room for him to grow

Richard Dean | Special for USA TODAY Sports

HOUSTON - James Harden is coming off an MVP runner-up season in which he helped the Houston Rockets reach the Western Conference finals. He also signed a multiyear, $200 million endorsement contract with Adidas this summer.

That would seem hard to beat. But Harden says there are ways to continue to improve his game, and that includes a little help from point guard Ty Lawson, whom the Rockets acquired in the offseason from the Denver Nuggets.

“I can always grow,” Harden says. “Last year, I turned the ball over way too much. I have to figure out how to limit those turnovers, how can I limit those bad shots, make sure I get my teammates the ball.

“Creating even more opportunities for my teammates. Those are things I’m trying to work on and try to figure out every day to better my game.”

Turnovers aside, Harden had a spectacular 2014-15 season, becoming an All-Star for the third consecutive year. The 6-5 guard averaged 27.4 points, 7.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Adept at driving to the basket and getting to the foul line, Harden scored 45 points in a game against the Indiana Pacers last season, taking only 18 shots from the field and making seven of 12 three-pointers.

“James, I can’t say enough about the type of year he had last year, the plays he was able to bring to our team,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale says. “The best thing about James is he’s a very diligent worker. When he goes to the gym, he grinds out a couple hours. He doesn’t just stop by the gym. He’s just a grinder, and that serves him well.”

The Rockets finished as the second-best team in the Western Conference behind the Golden State Warriors, and Harden finished second to the Warriors’ Stephen Curry in MVP voting.

Entering his seventh season in the NBA and fourth in Houston, Harden, 26, began his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he won the Sixth Man of the Year Award in support of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Since his trade to Houston in October 2012, Harden and center Dwight Howard have been the faces of the franchise.

Last season was incredible for Harden, who has transitioned himself into a superstar on the basketball court. He has created a brand with his overgrown beard and the stirring-the-pot motion he sometimes makes by twirling his index finger after hitting a big shot.

Never a lockdown defender, Harden improved his defensive play during Houston’s 56-26 season. But offense — penetrating and scoring off screens — is Harden’s forte. He is difficult to guard, especially with his mastering the Eurostep move and keeping defenders off-balance with his step-back jumper.

Last season against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Harden had defender Ricky Rubio falling on the floor with a crossover before making a left-handed jumper. Harden also turned the New York Knicks’ Pablo Prigioni around before connecting on a jumper.

There’s a lot of flash in Harden, who was second to Westbrook in points created through scoring or passing, but also a great deal of substance.

“It comes with the package,” says Harden, who scored a career-high 51 points against the Sacramento Kings in April. “It’s the way of life now. It’s fun to be here in Houston. It’s fun to come to work with these guys and get better. That’s what motivates me.”

Howard has seen the progression of Harden, who surely has embraced the leadership role.

“I’m happy to see him grow as a player,” Howard says. “From his OKC days, now he has a thick, full beard. He’s really ‘The Beard’ now, enjoying life, and he’s playing great basketball.

“I’m just excited and happy for him personally. This is not easy, and just to see his growth as a player and as a leader has been great.”

Harden began to show leadership skills after playing for USA Basketball.

There’s no question the Rockets rely heavily on Harden’s creativity. However, they would like to give him more help.

He has the ball in his hands a great deal, and with Lawson in the lineup, Harden can be freed up.

“He’s going to help our team out so much,” Harden says of Lawson. “He’s going to take the pressure off me in handling the ball so much. I can run the lane as a natural two-guard. Do a lot of things off the ball.

“It takes some of the pressure off me of having to make every play, dribble the basketball. I think that comes from me taking some bad shots and turning the basketball over. You get me off the ball a little bit and put Ty on the ball, you put Patrick (Beverley) off the ball. There’s so many different lineups and versatility that we can do to make sure our team is so efficient.”

McHale would like not to exhaust Harden. Harden was second in average minutes a game at 36.8. Fatigue and the responsibility of having to carry such an offensive load might have contributed to Harden committing 12 turnovers in a playoff game.

Lawson, who was third in the NBA in assists last season, also gives the Rockets another playmaker.

“Now, we got the addition of Ty,” Harden says. “He brings us quickness. He brings us the speed that we haven’t had here.”

Harden is an offensive force, and there isn’t anything major he needs to work on.

“It’s very hard to take where James is at and say we’re going to add these huge things,” McHale says. “You can add a lot of little things.

“For us, and I said this all last year, we put so much emphasis on the poor kid having the ball so much. With Ty, Pat’s back, we can get the ball out of his hands, let him play more off the catch, let him play a little bit more free without having so much ball responsibility. That will help him. He’ll be so much harder to guard like that.”

Harden is encouraged about the 2015-16 season because the Rockets have brought back the team’s core and Howard, Beverley and Terrence Jones are healthy after missing significant time with injuries last season.

The Rockets appear ready for another run at overtaking the Western Conference and perhaps getting a shot at the NBA championship.

“We were really close given the fact that last year we had so many injuries,” Harden says. “We never really had an opportunity to get any chemistry, get our rhythm going. We wanted to get on an eight-, nine-, 10-game winning streak. We never had that happen.

“All those things are coming together. If we can just stay healthy, I’m pretty confident we have a legitimate shot to win it all.”