The Houston Rockets have plenty of drama, but Dwight Howard says a spat between him and James Harden isn’t part of it.
The Rockets began their season by firing coach Kevin McHale after 11 games, which rumors say Harden wanted. Those same rumors suggest Harden also wanted Howard to be traded and that Howard’s feelings are pretty much the same.
But Howard said that isn’t true, at least not on his end.
“People feel … like we hate each other,” Howard told USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick. “I have no hate in my blood for this man, you know? For what? He came from nothing. We both came from nothing. And we’re doing something that we love. We grew up playing this game for fun, and we had big dreams of making it to the NBA.
“So I would never hate this man because I know what it took for me to get here, and he made it. So I want him to succeed. I want us to succeed. Before coming here, I watched endless hours of YouTube videos on James Harden, before he had the beard. I watched all that stuff, because I’m like, ‘Dang, this boy, he’s got so much talent.’ ”
While Howard didn’t exactly say the two enjoyed playing together, the center still believes they have what it takes to make it through the playoffs despite the fact the Rockets are barely holding on to the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed at 35-36.
“We both have to figure out how we’re going to make this thing work,” Howard said. “It’s on us. We’ve got the rest of the season, and the playoffs, and we can do it. It’s a mindset. It’s a mentality. And the whole team will fall in line when me and him are on that same page and the team sees that we’re strong together.”
Thumbnail photo via Chris Humphreys/USA TODAY Sports Images
