Report: Harden's style has created tension in Houston

The Houston Rockets are in a state of turmoil, and All-NBA guard James Harden has found himself at the center of it.

The Rockets, a Western Conference finalist a year ago, fired head coach Kevin McHale on Wednesday following a 4-7 start to the season and a players-only meeting on Tuesday. But McHale may not have been the only target in that meeting, as according to USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt, Harden's style "has created tension."

Harden, of course, carried the Rockets to heights the franchise hasn't reached in two decades en route to a runner-up finish in MVP voting last season, but his play has come under fire during the team's disappointing start to the new campaign.

Related: Did Harden and the Rockets quit on Kevin McHale?

Harden's ball-dominant, foul-drawing, defensively indifferent play is nothing new, but the optics of that style are much different when he's shooting 37 percent from the field and 26 percent from 3-point range, compared to 44 percent and 37 percent over his first three years in Houston.

In addition, while Harden appeared to make a concerted effort to improve his defense last season, the three-time All-Star has regressed back to the defensive player whose effort became a social media punchline in years past.

Combine that defensive ineptitude with inefficient offense and a career-high 33.2 percent usage rate, and it's no wonder that the Rockets have actually performed three points better per 100 possessions with Harden on the bench so far this season.

Harden is too good for that kind of negative effect to hold up for an entire season, but if the reports are true, he may need to repair his image within the locker room as much as his performance on the court.