Harden credits D'Antoni for restoring his passion for basketball

Leading the NBA in assists midway through a season wasn't anything James Harden ever expected to do, but he credits Mike D'Antoni for showing him the way. He also admitted that it's a feeling of new life under the first-year Houston Rockets coach after not necessarily giving the game his all last season.

"I wasn't giving the game the love I needed to be, the passion I needed to have," Harden told ESPN's Hannah Storm.

The comments came as the Rockets prepared to host former center Dwight Howard and the Atlanta Hawks Thursday. Harden and Howard were never known to be close.

The Rockets' hiring of D'Antoni last summer was expected to be a boon for Harden, but the idea of "The Beard" becoming the first NBA player to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season since Nate Archibald in 1973 seemed a little far-fetched.

It's not. Harden leads the league in dimes and is third in scoring going into the Hawks game.

D'Antoni was the prime candidate to harness Harden's ball-dominant style, and the veteran coach referred his star player to another former protege.

"I thought he was crazy," Harden said. "I mean I can make plays, but I've never been a point guard. (D'Antoni) just came to me and from there I just watched film. Watched film on (Steve) Nash, and how he made passes, what he saw on the court."

Winning helps. Houston is 36-16 as of Thursday. At the same point last season, they were hovering around .500.

Harden has long been criticized for his defense, but, in truth, much of that has been based on effort. When he's engaged, he's not a liability.

"Playing both sides of the floor," Harden said. "Just being more involved ... just becoming a better leader in a sense of learning how to communicate with my teammates."