ESPN to go 'Behind the Beard' with James Harden story tonight at 9

I've noticed this too, but I've come to the conclusion that he has to conserve way more energy because of the ridiculous load he carries (as well as minutes). It's hard to be zippy when you have the workload this guy does. I'm confident he's still got that zippiness, but like anything there's only so much you can do.

 

Btw, how can anyone seriously watch this and hear his story and tell me he's 'lazy' and 'a cancer'?

I am very confident this is growing pains.

 

Harden was half sleep during the interview

 

The narrative that he's a cancer that only puts up empty stats is not based on reality. The truth is he's been to the playoffs 7 straight years since coming into the league and gone on deep post-season runs with two separate teams. If he was such an awful teammate wouldn't Durant, Westbrook, and Parsons have negative things to say about him? It amazes me that people are ignoring his past winning resume and choosing to use one down year to define what kind of player Harden is.

 

As much as I defend Harden, I do hope he learned some lessons this season. Specifically, the need to start the year more focused and the importance of taking the off-season serious in terms of putting in the work to improve. I think too many players on the Rockets believed the hype that they would be a great team, that they would simply show up and easily win games.

Also, it might do Harden some good to slim down his physique a tad bit next year. That would improve his conditioning to be able to give more effort on the defensive end and gain a little of the speed/athleticism back of his OKC days.

 

Mummies wearing Adidas, awesome.

 

What does he hide behind that thick hair I mean beard?

 

great feature. really appreciate your posting that! gives me hope for the future.

 

CAREFUL SIR... you don't want to be flamed for being slightly positive about the team's best player.

 

When he decides to put on the jets it's surprising how quickly he gets to the rim.

 

Hard to do your job well in the Play Offs while playing 44mpg creating yourself and other with bad coaching and virtually no team plan on offense or defense.

 

Is it ok that he plays in Houston and doesn't know who ZZ Top is?

 

He needs to lose weight. Did you see that back door cut he made when he went up for the thunderous jam?

I haven't seen him do anything like that since maybe his first year in Houston

 

Really hope james commits to an offseason intense workout regiment this summer, he needs to cut body fat and become more dynamic.

 

I don't think Harden really has a connection with the city of Houston. He plays basketball at Toyota Center, and he's familiar with some of the clubs. But, I don't think Houston will ever be home. He plays basketball in Houston part of the year, but that's all Houston is for him.

 

That seems to be an anomaly relative to other sports stars in Houston that consider Houston 'their town'. I know Dream and especially Francis considered Houston as a home away from home like an adopted hometown.

 

lol...Harden loves Houston.

BTW, I'm from Houston and couldn't name a single ZZ Top song. They're an older band and not everyone listens to rock

 

Nice piece, but he's still James Har_en until he finds the "d" so sorely lacking from his game.

 

Seeing this makes me feel even more he was best suited in the role he was in at OKC. He can't get over leaving OKC because he realizes being the man is not for everyone, including himself. It's gotten hot in the kitchen this year for him and he can't deal with the heat. This guy is not a foundational player for a championship team. He just isn't. He can be one of the pieces but it's not realistic to try to build around him and expect that team to have championship aspirations. It's not in his character it appears to lead and be a foundational type player. The organization needs to swallow their pride and act accordingly. Deep down, Morey may have already seen this, that's why he's been star chasing every since Harden got here trying to build a freaking Dream Team around him just to make this situation work.

 

Bring durant to htown!