It goes without saying that the Houston Rockets will go where star guard James Harden does. And such happened when the Rockets finally barged into the win column after a 110-105 win over former team and Western Conference division rival Oklahoma City Thunder.
Harden finally broke loose, unload a game-high 37 points after a woeful three games which saw him just make 9 percent of his three pointers and a woeful field goal percentage of just 22%.
Though the NBA season has just begun, Harden has not been spared from criticism but mostly because he is in a way tied up to the whole Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian issue. As everyone knows, Harden is closely linked to Khloe and many feel that such could cause a distraction.
Speculations of such were apparent and the NBA fans and critics had a field day taking a swipe at the bearded one. That was until he finally came out with guns loaded against a pretty tough Oklahoma City Thunder quintet.
Now aside from that, there is the much celebrated “I should have been MVP” pitch that Harden let out before the regular season began. In his eyes, he should have been the season MVP which as everyone knows went to Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
But if the first three games are any basis, many have been hard on him after those statements seeing Curry start off the season hot.
One glaring comparison is the fact that his total point output in the first three games practically equivalent to only that 53-game explosion that the reigning MVP put up against the New Orleans Pelicans.
With that first win however, thing could start to change for the Rockets star from here on. Harden is aware of his slump but goes on to say that even the greatest shooters in the league are not spared from off nights.
“It's a long season and I've gone five-, six-, 10-game streaks when I'm on fire. It will even itself out. Just staying confident and being humble about it," says Harden via ESPN.
Harden’s breakout game couldn’t have come at a better time considering the Rockets were being left behind in the Western Conference.
With the Rockets one of the favorites for the season, the win will certainly restore some order for the ballclub and hopefully douse water on all detractors who have questioned Harden’s sense of focus with off court stuff.
"As long as I can continue to work and continue to stay in that gym and focus and work on my game, there will be some streaks where I go terrible in the first three games and there will be some streaks where I just go lights-out. As long as I stay consistent with what I'm doing and be confident, I'll be all right," Harden adds.
Hopefully Harden’s outlook pans up. He gets to follow up his breakout game this coming Wednesday when the Rockets host the Orlando Magic.
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