NBA News: James Harden's Frustrations Continue To Pile Up Despite Impressive Stats
James Harden is one of the best, if not the best, shooting guards in the NBA right now. He has the stats to back it up and on top of that, he was recently named as one of the players for the All Star game.
However, several NBA news reports claimed that Harden remains frustrated with how the Houston Rockets (27-28) are playing.
In a statement acquired by ESPN, Harden said, "Yeah, because my first year was different. We weren't as talented and we still made playoffs, which was a big step for us."
"We have a lot of talent in this locker room, of course, coming off the Western Conference finals and being in the seventh spot right now. It's frustrating, but we still have opportunities."
James Harden is currently playing his fourth season with the Houston Rockets, and so far things have not been so good for him.
Last season, Harden was going against his former teammate, Russell Westbrook, in the race for the season MVP. Golden State Warriors ace Stephen Curry ended up with the award and went on to win the championship.
A handful of NBA news reports claim that Harden's frustrations began when he suffered an ankle injury. This forced him on the sidelines as well as hindered his ability to play 100 percent on the field.
According to Chron, Harden attributed his slow start of the season to the ankle injury.
In the postseason, Harden and the Warriors lost their bid to become the NBA champions against the eventual winner, the Golden State Warriors, in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.
The following season, Harden asked Houston general manager Daryl Morey for another offensive creator. The GM gladly obliged by acquiring Ty Lawson.
At that point, some NBA news claimed that the acquisition of Lawson means that it will ease the ball handling pressure off of Harden. However, this was not the case.
With Lawson in the rotation, Harden shot 22 percent on the field and 10.6 percent on the three-point range in Houston's first three games of the season.
The Rockets started their season win a 4-7 win-loss record. The organization eventually fired head coach Kevin McHale. Some NBA rumors claim that Harden may have played a major role in this decision.
The latest NBA news report revealed that the Rockets earned their third consecutive loss following the defeat to the Portland Trailblazers on Thursday, 103 - 116.