James Harden looks just fine as an alpha in his Rockets debut

Were you one of those people who said James Harden wasn't worth a max contract? Because if you were, you're kind of looking like an idiot right now.

James Harden had a career night in his Houston debut. (US Presswire)

Were you one of those people who said James Harden wasn't worth a max contract? Because if you were, you're kind of looking a little silly right now.

It's only one game out of 82, but The Bearded One looked every bit the part of a superstar worthy of a five-year, $80-million extension. He led Houston to a 105-96 win over Detroit, finishing with 37 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.

A lot of people felt Harden wouldn't excel without Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant and that he would struggle playing as the alpha dog on a team where defenses key on him. He had no problems in his debut.

Here's some perspective on Harden's night:

• With the Thunder, his career-high shot attempts were 17 (twice). He took 15 in the first half Wednesday. And 25 total.

• He played a career-high 44 minutes. He'd only played more than 40 minutes seven times.

• This was Harden's first career double-double.

• Which clearly means this was a career-high in assists. 

• Harden's career-high in points is 40. He's only scored more than 30 three times.

Every major question anyone could have about Harden was answered with authority in the opener. With the Rockets trailing headed to the fourth, he keyed a 33-15 final frame to lead them to the win. He was every bit the closer he needed to be, hitting 3s, finishing and-ones and finding open teammates for easy baskets.

His shot chart, via NBA.com, is a piece of art:

Harden was incredible, no doubt. But one thing people need to try to avoid doing is evaluating Oklahoma City's trade just based on how well Harden plays. Because it shouldn't really be all that surprising he played well. HE'S A REALLY GOOD PLAYER. The Thunder knew this, and knew it very well. He took over many games last season, flashing all the tools you saw Wednesday. He had 40 points on 17 shots against Phoenix last season. He scored 29, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to close out the Mavericks in Game 4 of the playoffs. He played terrifically all season long, which is what made his Finals no-show so shocking.

Harden is an outstanding player. The problem was, the financial figures didn't line up and against the Thunder's bottom line, they decided it was in their best long-term interest to deal him away for a good package. Harden made that choice look bad Wednesday, but again, nobody is less surprised by his outburst than Sam Presti.

It's pretty clear Harden was giving up quite a lot for the Thunder to fit in alongside Westbrook and Durant. He's always had this in him and he's been uncaged with the Rockets. It's his team and his perogative to take 25 shots. He doesn't have to worry about two superstar teammates beside him. It's on him to drive the bus and if he doesn't, the Rockets fail.

He's going to have to prepare himself for this kind of routine nightly, though. He has to bring it offensively game-to-game if the Rockets want to compete. That's the thing as a sixth man. Play an awesome game and you contribute towards a likely win. Play poorly and you've got backup. You've got Durant and Westbrook to pick you up. But when you're counting on Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons and Carlos Delfino, your margin for error slims down. Harden can't afford to drop clunkers out there. He doesn't need to go 37-12-6 every night, but he better be pretty good.

In the same way I'd tell you not to get too worked up over a poor performance from Harden on Wednesday, you also have to keep perspective about it. Again, one of 82. The season is long and as teams adjust and study Harden as a feature player, their defenses will become more built around slowing him down. The Pistons almost looked shellshocked by Harden's well-rounded game.

But not only did Harden begin to validate all the commotion around him the past few days and the mega-million dollar deal dished out, he also got to show off the stunning talent and polished set of tools he has.

The Thunder are going to miss him for a whole lot of reasons, but they weren't going to see many games like the one Harden unleashed Wednesday. The Beard has been set free, which is beautiful thing.