James Harden and PJ Tucker made their return to the Houston Rockets on Monday and played in Tuesday night’s preseason victory over the San Antonio Spurs. There was a lot of intrigue as to how Harden and newly acquired John Wall would play together. Before tip off, another story dominated the #NBATwitter world:
James Harden in action tonight. ? pic.twitter.com/IUoZuRgRRI
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 16, 2020
Harden’s Routine
Camera angles can be the absolute worst, can’t they? The jokes were flying on #NBATwitter. Rick Ross references, “Did Kendrick Perkins put on a wig?” etc. To be fair, let’s look at a day in the life of James these days:
Wake up, Eat Breakfast, Weights, Lunch, Shooting, Skill work, Dinner, Recovery work, Brown Liquor, Honey Buns*, Gentlemen’s Club, Late night snack, Sleep.
*Still unclear if if Honey Bun means actual food or a brick of hundred dollar bills
Okay, we get it. You see the picture above and can’t believe Harden was training as much as he was. The Eddie Lacy disease may have caught James Harden. It may be stored in those same Lou Will Magic City Chicken Wings and it seems clear that Harden isn’t being completely truthful on Wednesday when he says the following:
James Harden on what he was doing in Atlanta in Vegas during training camp:
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) December 16, 2020
“I was just training.”
For what?
“The start of the NBA season.”
Why in Atlanta and Vegas instead of Houston?
“My personal trainers.”
In all fairness, it isn’t like he said he was only training. The reports (videos on Instagram) that he was out and about late at night aren’t exclusive to the idea of Harden working hard during the day. After all, work-hard-play-hard is a lifestyle Harden has always embraced. Few have added to their game over the last six years like Harden. Fewer have had their jerseys retired at a strip club. The two are not inherently opposite.
A Deeper Look
The last note on Harden’s bloated pregame picture is that after careful study, it does appear to be a very unfortunate angle. As seen below, Harden’s fitness was a visual benefit just the day before:
James Harden back in the lab!
— Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) December 14, 2020
(via @HoustonRockets) pic.twitter.com/HbJ94iDTCM
Two pictures of James Harden 24 hours apart pic.twitter.com/uAhzJXocE0
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) December 16, 2020
Different clothes, different angles, and just 24 hours apart. What if, by some miracle of science, the aftermath of Harden’s adventures did catch up to him between the two? Well, seeing him in uniform implied he may be stronger, but still not the size of the defensive tackle warming up in his place:
James Harden and John Wall are on the court together for the first time in preseason ? pic.twitter.com/9FnfU1NVjL
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 16, 2020
Harden Breaks His Silence
The bigger story was Harden finding himself in a new system. In his first 21 minutes of preseason action, Harden scored 12 points and tallied four assists. On Wednesday, Harden finally spoke to the press:
James Harden on training in ATL and Vegas
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) December 16, 2020
H/T @TheHoopCentral pic.twitter.com/KnddvnA52J
The attire choice is no accident. The skin tight, black branded workout garb is a sign that Harden is fed up with being called over-fed. He’s tired of being called round. He’s exhausted from running through this every training camp. With so much to be critical of Harden last month, the internet going to body-shaming feels as predictable as it is cheap.
Harden’s Play
Moments in James Harden’s play last night should have been the story. There were times he came off of the backside hammer action and was perfectly, naturally in sync with John Wall. Then he looked like knew exactly where to find Danuel House, DeMarcus Cousins, and PJ Tucker around the perimeter. There were still times he appeared just as impossible to guard as he has for over half a decade now.
James Harden is BACK. ?? pic.twitter.com/WdFmac91ZF
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) December 16, 2020
James Harden seems plenty engaged to me. #Rockets pic.twitter.com/ADj3NZkD6d
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) December 16, 2020
James Harden is cooking
— NBA SKITS (@NBA_Skits) December 16, 2020
pic.twitter.com/9YRtzmqQh2
And, there were still moments he is clearly learning the playbook a week later than the rest of the Rockets.
James Harden’s controller must’ve disconnected mid-play? pic.twitter.com/4rsYZXp18t
— @Hoopsxcenter (@Hoopsxcenter1) December 16, 2020
What Will His Season Look Like?
Look, James Harden is admittedly in “catch-up mode”. Someone has at least gotten in his ear enough to get him that far. Houston looked good for a team with so many new pieces in the first half of preseason. Who knows? When he catches up to everyone else he might just like what he sees. There are plenty of reasons to like this team, and maybe James is learning them.
James Harden says the Rockets have changed a lot since last season, but says Stephen Silas “has done an unbelievable job…” pic.twitter.com/26GAEOTviu
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) December 16, 2020
Regardless of where the Houston Rockets roller coaster is headed for this season, two things are for certain. First, we will be following it all season here on Belly Up.
Second, apparently this is the kind of fair with fried food we get along the roller coaster ride.
