NBA Rumors: James Harden, Chris Paul Had Tense Exchange After Game 6 Loss

Programming note: Watch the NBA Finals pregame edition of Warriors Outsiders on Thursday, May 30 at 4:00 p.m., streaming live on the MyTeams app.

Things just keep getting better and better for the Houston Rockets.

And by "better" we of course mean "worse."

The latest piece of information comes from Shams Charania of The Athletic:

(James) Harden and (Chris) Paul had tense moments with one another throughout Game 6, culminating in a verbal back-and-forth postgame that went into the locker room, sources with knowledge of the situation told The Athletic. Sources said the verbal exchange between Harden and Paul was regarding the ball distribution throughout Game 6.

The Game 6 referenced above is of course the Golden State Warriors' second-round NBA playoff series win in Houston 13 days ago that ended the Rockets' season.

Golden State was playing on the road without Kevin Durant and Steph Curry didn't score a single point in the first half, yet still found a way to win.

James Harden registered 35 points and five assists, and went 11-for-25 from the field.

Chris Paul had his best game of the series by far, racking up 27 points and six assists, while shooting 11-for-19 overall and 3-for-6 from deep.

Harden received 87 touches to Paul's 66.

Is there more to the story? Yes. As The Athletic reports:

There was something of a clash of styles brewing throughout the Rockets season, with members of the team - most notably Paul - having spirited discussions with Mike D'Antoni about the offense and pushing for more movement, league sources told The Athletic.

As we all know, Harden dominates the ball like no other and the Rockets ran the most isolation plays (20.4 percent) by far (the Thunder were second at 8.9 percent). The number even increased to 20.6 percent during the playoffs.

Additionally, Houston clocked in at No. 29 in passes per game (246.0) during the regular season. For comparison sake, the Warriors were No. 2 at 320.1.

The Rockets' season ended in disappointment yet again and it sounds like they are having somewhat of an identity crisis.

They also need to hire a new defensive coordinator.

But at least their Twitter account is no longer suspended...

Follow @DrewShiller on Twitter and Instagram

Copyright CSNBY - CSN BAY
Contact Us