Does having someone like Lawson really help with harden on the roster?
Immensely.
It's extremely difficult to contend for a championship when one player shoulders all of the responsibility for creating offense. Not only is it an exhausting task, but it's too easy to scheme for in a seven-game series.
Houston had some talented players around Harden last season, but those other guys couldn't create their own shots. For example, Howard is at his best offensively when someone is feeding him in pick-and-roll, and Ariza is mostly a catch-and-shoot guy.
Lawson can shoulder some of that responsibility as a creator. Harden can stand on the wing and get a breather while Lawson runs pick-and-rolls with Howard. McHale can rest Harden for more minutes because he no longer has to worry about his offense completely falling apart with his sole shot creator on the bench.
The flip side is that the Lawson/Harden combo is vulnerable on the defensive end. If you're the Rockets, you hope that Howard and Capela are good enough cleaning up that backend so that the backcourt brings more to the table on offense than it takes off on defense.
Harden isn't their PG. He had to play it a lot in the playoffs last year because Patrick Beverly was hurt.
For all offensive intents and purposes, Harden was their PG. He wasn't classified as a PG because he defended wings, but he fulfilled the offensive duties traditionally associated with the PG position.
Patrick Beverley is a PG because he defends PGs, not because of anything he does offensively. He rarely runs the Rockets' offense. He is almost strictly a spot-up shooter. Harden's role didn't change at all when Beverley was out.
