We’ve seen plenty of incredible things unfold over the course of this 2017 NBA campaign thus far, but one of the major storylines has been the elevated play of James Harden and his Houston Rockets. The Rockets have maintained a strong hold on that third seed in the Western Conference and have worked their way to an impressive 50-22 mark with ten games remaining in the regular season. The catalyst behind the team’s success has obviously been the historic play of James Harden who is considered the front-runner to earn the MVP award by many.
While it’s been a fruitful and enjoyable regular season, the Rockets know the major test will come towards the end of the postseason where they will likely have to go through the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors. With that in mind, the Rockets went out prior to the trade deadline and added a piece that took their already lethal offense to a new level: Lou Williams.
Before the deal went down, Williams was the leading scorer for a lowly Los Angeles Lakers squad and was one of the leading candidates to take home the sixth man of the year award. Knowing how effortless of a scorer Williams was and determined to take the Rockets on a deep playoff run, Harden was the one who first reached out to Williams and asked the veteran what he’d think about joining Houston. Following from Shams Charania of The Vertical:
“When James called, he asked me if I was interested in playing with them,” Williams told The Vertical. “I told him that I loved the Lakers, but James and them have a group that fit my personality, fit how I play. He said he was going to make it happen.”
Williams then laughed, sitting on the edge of a visiting court following a recent practice. “I’ve heard that before, so I didn’t really put stock into it,” Williams told The Vertical. “I guess James did put the word in, and the team made it happen.”
The decision on the Lakers end to ship away Lou Williams came shortly after Magic Johnson stepped in as President of Basketball Operations. Since the trade, Williams has added another dimension of scoring and playmaking to a bench that already boasted sharpshooting Eric Gordon.
Since coming over from Los Angeles, Williams has averaged 14.5 points per game, solid production for a bench player but not up to Lou’s usual standards. With a couple weeks left in the regular season, the Rockets still have a window remaining to get Williams fully incorporated into the offense before things start heating up in the playoffs.
