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D'Antoni: Harden 'the perfect superstar for how I'd like to coach'

Dan Hamilton / USA TODAY Sports

Mike D'Antoni has come to the same realization as everyone else watching the Houston Rockets this season.

"James Harden was the perfect superstar for how I would like to coach," D'Antoni told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck.

The former Coach of the Year - and the likely favorite for the award at the midway point this season - knew Harden was tailor-made for his run-and-gun, 3-point-heavy, pick-and-roll-filled system before the pair officially partnered together in Houston, and the results have proved D'Antoni clairvoyant.

Harden is averaging 28.7 points and a league-leading 11.7 assists to go along with 8.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals on a true shooting percentage of 61.1, leading the Rockets to a stunning 32-12 record.

"It's been really easy," D'Antoni told Beck, "because he wants to do what I have to offer."

D'Antoni has trumpeted Harden's ability to run Houston's offense since the preseason, even if he preferred to avoid labeling his superstar an official point guard.

"It's always been there," Harden told Beck of his ability to both score and facilitate. "Just somebody needed to push me more and be more aggressive."

D'Antoni was just that somebody, and if the Rockets can find a way to defend with consistency - though their 18th-ranked defense is a pleasant surprise, given their coach and franchise player's reputations - they might be on the cusp of legitimate contention.

"We're at the first step of probably 10 steps that we got to do to challenge the champions," D'Antoni told Beck. "But we see the path there."

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