James Harden still the face — and beard — of Rockets

[...] after steamrolling LeBron James and surging past Russell Westbrook, the Warriors hit the road to confront another distinctive challenge:

The Rockets enter Friday night’s game at 33-12, only 1½ games behind San Antonio (33-9) for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference.

Houston remains within striking distance of the Warriors (36-6), who fell to the Rockets in double overtime Dec. 1 in Oakland.

[...] how did these reshaped Rockets soar from a first-round playoff nuisance — the Warriors dispatched them in five games last year — to a viable threat?

Does it start with D’Antoni’s arrival, or the acquisition of long-range shooters Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon?

D’Antoni shifted him from shooting guard to point guard, and now Harden leads the league in assists (11.6 per game) without sacrificing scoring (28.9 average, second behind Westbrook).

Harden is playing off-the-charts well, dueling Westbrook for the role of midseason MVP favorite.

If Harden maintains this pace, he would fall just short of the career-high 29 points he averaged last season, and he would smash his previous best assists average of 7.5.

The Rockets are perfectly happy living beyond the three-point arc.

Or consider Houston’s victory over New Orleans on Dec. 16, when the Rockets took a mind-blowing, NBA-record 61 three-point shots.

D’Antoni coached the Suns from 2002 to ’08, leaving for New York in part because of philosophical differences with Kerr, who had become Phoenix’s general manager in 2007.

D’Antoni, who later flamed out with the Knicks and Lakers, enjoyed wild success with the Suns, stringing together four seasons of 54 or more victories.

“I think the first time I really saw it was in Phoenix with Mike, and how much he embraced the three-point shot,” Kerr said.