More reasons to fear Beard
Rested, ready Harden rocks Los Angeles
Steve Nash doesn’t agree that James Harden is more aggressive in games without Kevin Durant than he is when the Nets’ MVP candidate steps onto the floor. After Harden’s twogame swing through Los Angeles, it’s a hard argument to make. Harden hung a 36-point triple double on the Lakers on Christmas Night, then followed that performance with a 39-point masterpiece against the Clippers in a 124-108 victory on Monday.
Durant missed both games in the league’s health and safety protocol, and both games were reminiscent of the Harden who once won MVP in Houston, not the Harden who struggled to start this season.
Instead, Nash thinks Harden’s hometown barrage was more a byproduct of the rest his star guard got in the protocols before he was cleared to return ahead of the Christmas game.
“I think it’s more like, when he has his legs and he’s feeling good, I don’t think it matters who’s on the floor,” Nash said.
It has surely, at times, looked like Harden — an all-world scorer and shoo-in, first-ballot Hall of Famer — has foregone scoring in the name of playmaking and facilitating this season. He admitted as much after shooting just 4-of-15 from the field and logging 14 assists to seven turnovers in a loss to the Suns last month.
Yet the Harden who has suited up for the Nets during their abridged road trip looks like a player free from overthinking on the basketball court. He also looked like a player who was in far better shape than some anticipated after a week and a half away from basketball.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Nash said. “You’re expecting guys to feel their way back into it. From the jump, against the Lakers and again (against the Clippers), he’s just been clinical. Such a great head of the snake for us and when he plays like that we’re very difficult to beat.”
It was a history-making night for Harden, who recorded his fourth game with at least 30 points and 15 assists since his trade in mid-January. Only five other Nets have had that stat line once in franchise history. Again, The Beard just got here.
And “Houston Harden” arrived only days ago via express shipping to Los Angeles. It’s easily the best the Nets’ star has looked all season, and he credited his off-the-court work while in protocols for his play the last two games.
Harden, along with 12 Nets players, was forced to isolate after testing positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks. Every player has a different home workout situation; Harden has several cardio machines plus dumbbells at his disposal. In fact, he said he hit his peak physical condition this season in the games leading up to the omicron outbreak that hit in December.
“That break, or COVID, or protocol, or rest, whatever you want to call it, it could have went two ways,” said Harden, “and I just overly locked in on my body, my eating, and when I was able to start working out, my workouts.”
Harden also emphasized the importance of proper eating habits for his bounce-back from protocols.
“Young guys don’t really care about (diet),” he said, noting that when he was younger, he ate almost anything. “But now it’s like I might have one (cheat) day out of two months or something like that. … I’m trying to get ahead of this thing. I’m trying to make sure my body feels great, so I can continue to keep going up in the regular season and preparing for the playoffs.
“Individually I have to make sure I’m in the best shape and I’m the best James form that I can be for my teammates. If I’m that form, good things will happen for my team.”
The best Harden is the healthy and aggressive “Houston Harden” who carved the Crypto.com Arena with bad intentions, as if maybe, just maybe, a masterful performance would revert the name back to Staples Center.
“Our confidence is through the roof,” Harden said. “Now just you add (Durant), and (Kyrie Irving), and LaMarcus (Aldridge) and Joe Harris, and that’s four of our best players, four of our top players that are out. Our confidence level for our bench and guys that are in the game is high.”