It has been quite a week for the bearded one, hasn’t it?
When the Oklahoma City Thunder traded away their former Sixth Man of the Year to the Houston Rockets just days ago, everything changed for James Harden: he went from a legitimate contender – favored to win the championship by some – to a project team that Chris Sheridan coined “Bobcats material”. He also got a whole lot richer than he probably anticipated when negotiations began with his former team.
Now, many wondered what James Harden could do in a starting lineup where he would be the unquestioned go-to man in the offense.
Some said it was easy for him to come off the bench for such a talented team and produce when he was with the Thunder. Some believed he wouldn’t be able to match the production from last season due to the return of Eric Maynor. Others thought the world of Harden and was simply devastated by the trade. Then there were those who saw him struggle badly in the Finals against the Miami Heat and openly questioned his ability to carry a team on his back.
With the trade to the Rockets, we would soon find out what he is capable of when given the role of a Kevin Durant or a Russell Westbrook.
So Harden flew to Houston just three days before tip-off without knowing anything of the team’s schemes and suited up on Wednesday night against the Detroit Pistons. How did he fare in his debut? Judge for yourself:
37 points on 14-of-25 shooting, four 3-pointers, six rebounds, 12 assists, four steals and a block.
Franchise player, anyone? Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports certainly felt vindicated after openly wondering if Harden could lead the league in scoring after the trade went down (and got roasted for it):