Rockets fans love their players. That’s probably true of most fans. I don’t know. I can only say with certainty that Rockets fans really, really love their players.
It’s endearing. Without being patronizing, it’s cute. It may also be a product of youth.
The Harden era brought a wave of supporters that, somehow, the Luis Scola-Kevin Martin era failed to. Inoculating James Harden against the relentless criticism he endured in Rockets' red solidified their love. They’ve been through the trenches now.
They’re here for the rebuild. Those of us who watched this team when it rostered players who’d been drafted in the 1970s should welcome them with open arms.