Ankle Injury Affecting James Harden's Play? Houston Rockets Frustrated?
James Harden may be second in scoring, behind only Stephen Curry, this season. But his play do not really translate to wins on the court and the Houston Rockets are reportedly frustrated.
The shooting guard is also not satisfied with his performance as the Houston Rockets are hovering around .500 after the All-Star break.
"I was affected by an ankle injury, so that threw me off my natural training late in the summer or whatnot," Harden told ESPN. "That's no excuse, just trying to find it, brother."
In previous summers, James Harden honed his game by playing for Team USA and also in the summer leagues. He went on to lead the league in minutes and free throws and finished second to Curry in scoring.
When Khloe Kardashian's boyfriend was asked about his chase for MVP this year, he replied, "We're not winning, so those numbers don't mean anything."
On Wednesday, Feb 11, Houston Rockets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, 116-103, which prompted Houston Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff to describe the team as "broken."
"We're broken," Bickerstaff told ESPN. "It's that simple. We're a broken team, and we all need to use this break to figure out how we're going to impact change. If we don't want to impact change, then we need to be made aware of that, too, and we'll go in a different direction.
Earlier, a frustrated Bickerstaff called out the players' wanting to get their numbers more than winning as as the Houston Rockets' "core problem."
The Dream Shake noted that the coach was talking about James Harden.
It said that mostly, james Harden is not making any effort out there.
"James Harden is fifth in the league in distance run on the court but, among the top 50 players, he's the third-slowest, ahead of only big men Marc Gasol and Blake Griffin," it said. "Average speed is calculated by measuring all the movements a player makes on the court, including walking or standing still. James Harden does a lot of standing still."
To his credit, James Harden knows the frustration of the Houston Rockets.
"My first year was different. We weren't as talented and we still made playoffs, which was a big step for us," he told ESPN.
"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."
