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The Rockets scored 234 points over their past two games. James Harden alone had 74. 

This is the norm for him and the Rockets this season. He's averaging 31 points a game while still being amazingly efficient at the same time. He's still averaging 9.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds as well. It's just like his MVP-runner-up 2016-17 season. Everything feels the same.

However, everything isn't the same this time. While Harden is still dominant and scoring in bunches, he has all the help he could ever need next to him. Chris Paul is back from injury and what he's doing in the Houston system early on is just a taste of what he can do. 

Over the last two games, Paul has scored 10 points and shot 15.8 percent from the field. Why is this good or relevant? Because over those same two games, he's dished out 27 assists. 

That's the beauty of what Harden and Paul can be together this season. When the Rockets got Paul to ease the slack off of Harden, it wasn't to remove Harden from doing what he's good at. No, it was to give him a secondary creator who can purely run offense and dissect defenses with his passing. Paul will never have to score a basket as long as he's playing with Harden.

This isn't to say he can't. Paul did score 23 against the Nuggets and 17 against the Grizzlies. He's shooting 38 percent from 3-point range. Paul has always been able to score, but one of the larger knocks on him was his hesitancy to do this. Paul has an obsessiveness with running offense. He doesn't take over games. He runs the system. Houston's system just happens to be perfect for him.

Harden is incredible. He's taken everything he did last season and brought it right into this season like nothing has changed. He's still Houston's most important offensive player. When he leaves the floor, the Rockets' offensive rating drops to 97.7. When he's on the floor, it's 115.1. He is the maestro to the NBA's second-best offense and he's the reason Houston didn't lose a step without Paul, and why he was able to seamlessly re-join the team mid-season.

However, despite this, even the best players get tired at some point. Harden's disappearing act during the playoffs last season was concerning. The conclusion is that a full season, where he played very banged up toward the end of it, took it's toll on him. They just couldn't afford to lose him for too long. The hope is that's where Paul comes in.

What's interesting about their short time together early on, though, is that Paul is actually having a stronger impact when Harden is off the floor. When they share the floor together, the Rockets have a net rating of 2.1. When it is only Paul they have a net rating of 41.7. His assist percentage is higher, he has a higher usage, and while the scoring still isn't quite there, it feels a lot more like traditional Chris Paul.

The reasons for this could be a lot of things. Noise in small sample size. Harden is better without a secondary creator. Paul is better dominating the ball. An argument could be made that these two don't help each other, but it feels more like Paul acknowledging how good Harden has been. He's having yet another historic season. When that's the case a player like Paul knows to sit back and let him do that.

However, when Paul is on the floor by himself he's able to play the way he always has -- ball dominant and decisive. His assist percentage rises to 62 percent. He's playing faster and adjusting himself to the Rockets system, but it still looks and feels like him. He can still be the same Chris Paul he always was. He just saves it for when Harden is off the floor. 

Paul is averaging career bests in assist percentage and turnovers. He's arguably never had this many weapons before. With Harden taking the load off him this will give him more energy to use it during points of the season when it matters most. Whether that's times where Harden is sitting, or at the end of the season in the playoffs, Paul can decide when he wants to remind people why he was nicknamed the "Point God."

Until that's necessary, the Rockets can continue to rely on Harden to carry the load. This is a great player in his prime that needs to be appreciated for what he's doing. He somehow looks even better than he did last season and he's putting up Oscar Robertson-type numbers. 

Harden has been great and Paul is the perfect fit next to him. That's what it looks like right now and it will be fascinating to see how they respond to each and every test as the season goes on. For now, though, Paul can focus on running offense, because Harden can do it all.