James Harden really took the challenges set out by Klay Thompson and Blake Griffin for doing acts during the real, live NBA games to try and spice things up. Last night, Harden went off for 61 points against the Knicks. It was a game where you just know Harden knew he was going to go for at least 50 because he was in the Garden. As impressive as Harden scoring 61 was, he did it on not getting assisted for any of those points. In fact, in the last 5 games Harden has scored 261 points and somehow, someway not one of those points was because a teammate threw him a pass. My brain hurts just thinking about how that is even close to being possible. Not one time Harden was on the wing or received the ball in the corner as it got swung around the perimeter. Not one time was there an outlet or fastbreak where Harden finished the play getting the ball passed to him.It really makes no sense. I really wish someone would do some calculations to see what the odds are scoring 261 points without one of them being assisted because I truly feel that the odds would something in the winning the powerball type odds.
Ultimately, I want Harden to keep this trend up. He knows he has to do everything himself and he knows what the stats are, so why not try and go the rest of the year without letting anyone pass him the ball? He knows in his heart of hearts that his team isn’t going to beat the Warriors or compete for a championship this year. So, he might as well do something extraordinary and keep scoring at will while he doesn’t accept any passes his way. Guys like Thompson, Griffin and now Harden are doing their damndest to keep the NBA interesting at a very non-interesting time and before the Warriors assemble to full Mega Zord mode and run through the league. Appreciate what you’re seeing folks, because you never know when this bizarre situation is going to end.
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