NBA Trade Rumors: Houston Rockets, James Harden Find Ty Lawson Difficult To Include In Gameplays

Aug 18, 2015 01:01 PM EDT

The Houston Rockets have been widely known to build their gameplays and strategies around the NBA team's most valuable star: James Harden. With this playing style in mind, the Houston Rockets have seen the departure of some of their notable players simply due to the NBA team's desire to create a team that could balance the skill set of James Harden. Hence, the addition of Ty Lawson to the Houston Rockets might be challenging for the NBA team in terms of striking a balance between maximizing the former Denver Nuggets' skills and the strategies revolving Harden.

Fans of the Houston Rockets will agree that Harden is one of the most notable shooting guards in the NBA at the moment. In the previous NBA season, the Houston Rockets star scored a 30.5 percent usage ratio in terms of handling the ball. His ball handling score landed him third place among the NBA stars, with LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant ahead of him.

With this manner of handling the games in mind, the Houston Rockets often opted for point guards who can handle the position with very minimal contact with the ball. Years of watching the Houston Rockets operate showed that the NBA team is serious in maximizing James Harden's skills - even going as far as pushing out Jeremy Lin, who is now with the Charlotte Hornets, out of the team because of the Chinese player's inability to perform excellently despite the limited contact with the ball.

At the moment, the Houston Rockets have Patrick Beverly playing alongside James Harden. As seen in the previous games featuring both NBA stars, the Houston Rockets managed to both take care of the issues plaguing their defense as well as benefit from an accurate shooter who does not need to handle the ball all the time. Hence, Lawson's addition to the NBA team might require some adjustments in this gameplay.

With Lawson's ball usage ratio at 22.1 percent in the past NBA season and the Houston Rockets' desire to utilize his skills alongside Harden, both stars might need to modify the manner by which they function in the hard wood. Taking into consideration the size and stance of Lawson, Harden and the Houston Rockets might have to adjust the duties of the point guard to fit a more classic style. With the NBA season's starting dates drawing nearer, it remains to be seen how the Houston Rockets intend to make full use of the skills of both Harden and Lawson - that is, if the former Denver Nuggets star will be able to play this NBA season.

Meanwhile, James Harden has nothing but good words for the newly minted Houston Rockets point guard. He said, via ESPN, "He's [Lawson] more focused than ever. He has a great opportunity with a really good team to showcase his talents and help us with that push that we need." James Harden went on to shared, "[He] gives us that quickness, that speed, playmaking ability, something that we were missing, especially deep in the playoffs. We're going to welcome him with open arms. We're happy to have him."