We documented just how good he was in his debut as a starting shooting guard, but not many expected him to put on another show this good as an encore. Harden put up a career-high 45 points on a video game-esque 19 shots on Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks on their home floor. That’s nineteen shots, folks. The performance was jaw-dropping good, and Mr. Beard appears to be scratching the surface of just how good of a player he is going to be in a starring role.
He has made it look entirely too effortless to score the ball, and is averaging a whopping 41 points on 63.6 percent shooting, 6.5 rebounds, seven assists and two steals through the first two games of the season. After watching him put the finishing touches on a dejected DeShawn Stevenson and the Hawks, Kenny Smith followed up his first sentiment with something even stronger:
Though Smith is obviously being ridiculous at this point, Harden has simply been that good to begin the season. No one in the league has been better so far, and he just may have catapulted himself into the MVP conversation. Again, that sort of thing sounds rather nutty, especially given the sample size of what we’ve witnessed so far. Still, who is to say that Harden won’t continue to play at such a high level? All we can do at this point is tag along for the ride.
Tweet of the Night: Nicolas Batum