HOUSTON — First LeBron James, now James Harden.
It’s gone from the absurd to the surreal as Mario Hezonja starts at point guard Friday vs. the red-hot Rockets and faces the glossy backcourt tag team of Harden and Chris Paul.
The 6-9 combo forward has been switched to man the offense and defend Harden because all four of the Knicks’ point guards on the 15-man roster scored 61 points in the last meeting at the Garden in January.
Hezonja, coming off his career-high 29 points in Wednesday’s loss against the Magic, got defensive when asked of this challenge since he’s not a natural point guard.
“How do you know?’’ the eccentric Croatian said. “Do you watch basketball?”
Hezonja said he last played point guard his rookie season in Orlando under former coach Scott Skiles and had played some of it in Europe. The worrisome part is how he handles Harden, who is averaging 36 points per game this season and always toasts the Knicks.
But you may not want to underestimate Hezonja in a big spot, judging by his last-second block on a driving James three weeks ago at the Garden — his career highlight.
“One of the best players in the world obviously,’’ Hezonja said of Harden. “But it’s not a different mindset for me than LeBron, (Ben) Simmons, Giannis (Antetokounmpo). It’s the NBA. Every day you can guard a superstar.”
Is Harden different than LeBron?
“They’re all unique but they’re at the same superstar level,’’ Hezonja said. “It’s pick your poison. I’ll try to do my best and see how it goes.”