Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni opens up about Russell Westbrook-James Harden pairing

Since the Houston Rockets made the acquisition of star point guard Russell Westbrook, there have been plenty of questions about how he would fit in alongside fellow star guard James Harden.

Head coach Mike D’Antoni has chimed in on the conversation stating during an interview on the Woj Pod with Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that he has no concerns about Westbrook and Harden being able to figure it out.

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If the superstars want to play together for the Rockets, then they will make it work.

To be able to win a title now, you have to get superstars together – and whether it’s two or three or how many else you can get. And then it becomes a chemistry. Because everybody’s ball-dominant. When you’re a superstar, you’ve been the main guy for sure. Now, you’ve got to make it work. And sometimes personalities, it doesn’t work. Sometimes, it works for a while. Sometimes, it’s hard to manage, sometimes. Again, if they’re not on the same page totally 100 percent, I think the organization has to look and see what’s best for the organization.

The root of these concerns has laid with the playing style of both Harden and Westbrook, who both operate primarily with the ball in their hands. This was a bit of the same dialogue surrounding both Harden and Chris Paul, but they were able to find cohesiveness on the court for the most part.

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However, Westbrook isn’t nearly the shooter from the outside that Paul has been throughout his career. It should be intriguing to see how D’Antoni tweaks the offensive system that emphasizes finding the open shot at either beyond the arc or at the rim.

Ultimately, this is something that will need to be worked out on the court over the next few months. The Rockets will help the two work to find a way to play off each other.