James Harden is sad, miserable, and depressed. If it weren’t for the strip clubs in Houston, I’m not sure Harden would even show up to work. He’s gotta pay those bills. After a bad loss to the Lakers last night, Harden sounded like a man defeated.
“I love this city. I literally have done everything that I can,” Harden said after the Rockets’ 117-100 loss. “I mean, this situation is crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.”
“We’re not even close, honestly, to that team — obviously the defending champions — and all the other elite teams out there,” Harden said. “I mean, you can tell the difference in these last two games.
“We’re just not good enough — chemistry, talentwise, just everything. And it was clear these last two games.”
It feels like Harden will be traded eventually, but it’s hard to find an easy solution. Philadelphia is playing well and Ben Simmons is much younger. Does Brooklyn want to mess with chemistry? Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t like Harden and likely prefers Khris Middleton. Does Houston want a broken Kemba Walker?
Part of the reason why Harden wants out of Houston is because of new owner Tilman Fertitta. That’s not being talked about enough. Harden is, however, right about the Rockets. They’re not good enough. The only problem is he’s partially to blame. He couldn’t get along with Chris Paul and Houston gave up assets to get worse versions of him. That’s on Harden.
So what’s next? Who the hell knows. The only thing that is clear is that Harden has quit on this team and has no interest in doing anything other than cashing checks at the moment. Hey, cheer up Rockets fans. Christian Wood looks good?
