James Harden's praise comes in many ways

Rockets guard James Harden was asked on Friday how he felt to have "the head honchos of the association" call him "the deadliest torpedo in cagertown."

"I've never heard that," Harden said since no one else had either.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle put it differently.

"He's a superstar, a great player, one of the most difficult matchups we've had in the league the last seven years," Carlisle said. "With him now handling the ball virtually all the time, it makes it even harder. It's a team responsibility. We're going to have to throw a lot of different guys at him, make it as hard as possible."

With Harden bringing the ball up, teams could seek to put full court pressure on hm to try to wear him…