LOL he is not past his althletic prime. He is playing more minutes and taking on a heavier share of the offensive load than he was in OKC . In houston he has to conserve energy as he needs to play well for 36+ minutes for us to win . Also he has accumulated a lot of wear and tear throughout the season . This is the reason he is tired . I'm not saying it's the end of the line but he is obviously not as explosive compared to the begining of the season or earlier seasons with OKC. If you give harden a few days off he can still jump just as high and be as explosive as ever. However we rely on him every game and so he has to tone it down in order to be consistently effective . Freaks like Westbrook are the only ones who can play at that high of an explosive level consistently . Even Westbrook gets hurt. Hardens game has evolved not because he is less athletic but because he needed to be able to play at a high level without relying too much on athleticism.
Seriously James Harden is tired. His shooting percentage has been awful since the all star brek. Give this man some rest!
fchowd is right, I noticed it too. He'll likely get fouled regardless of if he attempts a layup or goes hard for a dunk, but the refs are more likely to notice contact on a "soft" layup attempt. Definitely a conscious decision. I disagree that this is indicative of him being tired or whatever. When his battery is down, dude avoids the paint.
He's had a few monster dunks lately. Have you already forgotten his dunk on Omer and Davis? Come on... It was the second night of a back to back and 4 starters were out. 31-5-5 not good enough? Jesus.
It definitely is...but I wouldn't be mad if McHale decided to sit him for the last game or 2 at the end if it happens to not make a difference in the standings. If it does, well, the dude has to play and he wants to play. There's days off between every playoff game. He'll be fine.
I hate how some posters here just go full moron when the Rockets lose. Even in a historic season, it would happen 20 times. Think about that......
I think when the PF's both come back we'll probably get a chance to rest Harden. I can see he's tired, but the difference between being the 2nd or lower seed is huge. I'd rather curtail his minutes than have him sit out while DMo, Jones and Beverley are out too.
