Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. Unfortunately, COVID has continue to ravage the country… and the NBA is no exception.
James Harden feels the Houston situation is pretty much broken.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Troy Taormina/USA Today.)
So on the basketball front, this is the juiciest bit of drama right now. This is the closest James Harden will get to mentioning he wants out of Houston.
James Harden says Rockets are “just not good enough … I love this city. I literally have done everything that I can. I mean, this situation is crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 13, 2021
Literally have done everything. I mean, in years past, I guess. But he hasn’t exactly been the model citizen this year for Houston. If anything, he’s done all he can to get himself out of there.
He and the Rockets have knocked on the Finals door several times. And he’s had stars over the years to help him get there. Dwight Howard was there for a few years. Chris Paul and Harden had one foot inside but Paul had to sit out Games 6 and 7 of the West Finals because he was hurt. And then last season, Harden and Russell Westbrook reunited. For most of those years, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors were their biggest obstacles and Houston couldn’t get past them.
Harden may not be the most aesthetically-pleasing player to watch but he knows all the tricks to get to the rim and the foul line. He can score anytime he pleases. He’s also an excellent passer. He can get all the rebounds. And he can surprise people by dunking on someone once in a while. Harden has been the leading scorer in this league the past three seasons and won MVP in 2017-18.
Who wouldn’t want him, right?
Well, teams are likely going to sacrifice depth if they want Harden. And depth is crucial right now in the pandemic era. Pretend Harden wants to go to Miami. Miami would have to give up most of their core that’s not named Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Yes, Miami would have their “Big Three” but they won’t have that deep roster anymore, which was what got them to the Finals last season.
There were rumors about Philly and Brooklyn for Harden. The Sixers DON’T have that depth so they might have to give up Ben Simmons to get Harden. Daryl Morey, Harden’s old GM in Houston, would love to get his star in Philly. And Brooklyn also has ridiculous depth. There’s also the Kyrie Irving saga going on and I can’t say what he’s thinking but the Nets are not in a great situation with Kyrie at this moment.
We’ll see what happens as the Harden situation might have come to a head after his comments on Tuesday night.
Bullet Passes
Another day, another NBA game postponed. That’s another Celtics game rescheduled. This time, it was against the Bulls.
Sixers and Heat had a hell of a game. Tyler Herro had his regular season high of 34 points but Joel Embiid went for 45 points, 16 rebounds, and FIVE steals. Incredible.
Did Ben Simmons really only take two shots?
Turning your back on a shot and not even watching it go in is so cool. And kind of disrespectful, too. Ha ha. I enjoy it.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 13, 2021
George Hill of the Thunder had this to say about the new COVID protocols. From The Oklahoman:
Thunder guard George Hill pushed back against the stricter COVID-19 safety protocols the NBA announced Tuesday, wondering why the season would continue if such measures were necessary.
“I’m a grown man, so I’m gonna do what I wanna do,” Hill said after the Thunder’s 112-102 loss to the Spurs. “If I wanna go see my family, I’m gonna go see my family. They can’t tell me I have to stay in the room 24/7. If it’s that serious then maybe we shouldn’t be playing. It’s life. No one’s gonna be able to just cancel their whole life for this game.”
This sounds careless but he may have a point here. They’re not in a bubble and they have a semi-normal travel schedule. What do the new rules fix? They’re still playing basketball and they’re in close contact. How does this make any different? For the most part, NBA players know they can’t socialize with people outside of the ones they don’t play/work with/against.
I don’t know. I still want the season to pause for a bit.
NBA Scoreboard
Jan. 12, 2021
Watch This Play
If you don’t know Isaiah Hartenstein, NOW YOU DO.
🚨 POSTER ALERT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/BeRYkgtUTC
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 13, 2021
That was one hell of a Hart attack.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.