Steve Nash sees James Harden improving under Mike D’Antoni

MANILA, Philippines – If anyone knows how much a player can get better under the tutelage of Mike D’Antoni, it’s Steve Nash.

After spending 6 years with the Dallas Mavericks from 1998-2004, Nash returned to the Phoenix Suns for the 2005 NBA season and became the league’s MVP playing in D’Antoni’s 7-seconds-or-less offense. 

Nash repeated as MVP again the following season and the duo helped make the Suns NBA title contenders during the mid 2000s. 

After making stops in New York and Los Angeles, D’Antoni is now the head coach of the Houston Rockets where he will try to duplicate the same success with another NBA star in James Harden.

“I think Coach D’Antoni and James Harden will be a great fit. I think he’ll space the floor, be clever in using James,” Nash said on Wednesday during a Fun88 press conference. 

Harden was the NBA MVP runner-up to Steph Curry in 2015, when the Rockets made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. But the following season, Houston stumbled to a 41-41 record and was eliminated in 5 games in the first round of the playoffs.

This past offseason, Houston made key acquisitions by agreeing to contracts with Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson.

“I do think though that the Rockets have been utilizing James in a way that was kind of molded out of the way we played in Phoenix,” Nash said.

“Spacing the floor, getting him in pick and rolls where he can get into the paint and make plays and put pressure in the defense.”

Nash, however, believes his former head coach will make tweaks and help Harden (29.0 PPG, 7.5 APG, 6.1 RPG) take his game to another level.

“So I don’t think a lot will change, but I think Mike will do a great job of refining his game and making him a better player, bringing the best out of him and hopefully turning them into a winning culture.” – Rappler.com