Houston Rockets Report: James Harden and Chris Paul to play in Drew League
By Coty Davis
For the first time Houston Rockets fans, Chris Paul and James Harden will make an appearance as teammates.
The start of the 2017-18 NBA season is months away, but Houston Rockets fans will be able to get their first glimpse at the Houston Rockets new and improved back court.
According to ESPN‘s Marc J. Spears, James Harden and Chris Paul are expected to make their debut this Sunday for the Drew League’s LA Unified team in Los Angeles. The All-Star back court will face off against the Home Town Favorites which is headlined by the reigning Most Valuable Player, Russell Westbrook.
While Sunday’s Drew League game will mark the first organized game as teammates, Harden and Paul have already taken the time to get familiar with each other’s style of play.
Take a look here:
https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/890272684566867969
It may not be on the professional level, but get ready for the naysayers to critique every single possession in this summer league game.
Since Paul was acquired by the Rockets last month, many have asked the question how will two top-tier ball-dominant players will co-exist on the same court? However, according to ESPN‘s Tim MacMahon, Harden isn’t worried about their style of play clashing while on the court:
"“It’s added another talented Hall of Famer, soon to be, and when you got great talent and great IQ around you, it makes it easier for yourself and your teammates,” Harden said. “Obviously, we all know how smart he is. He sees things before they happen, and when you got a guy like that on your team it makes you step your game up even more.”"
Next: A fresh projection of the ‘Chris Paul’ effect to the team
Joining Harden and Paul on the LA Unified team are former Rockets Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell.
Paul was one of the biggest coups of the off season with him being acquired by the Houston Rockets in a multi-team trade involving seven players. We certainly knew how badly these two future Hall of Famers wanted to play alongside each other and now they’re doing it.
It will interesting to see how these two trailblazers will integrate their skills to help this team win games but at least we’ve got a taste of what things could be like now that they’re a part of this league.