How the Houston Rockets spoiled LeBron’s Lakers home debut

James Harden got his swagger back

Harden is fresh off a 2017-18 season that saw him average over 30 points, nearly nine assists, and over five rebounds a game. He also raised his defensive intensity last year as well. All of this, coupled with a franchise high, 63, wins led Harden to finally receiving his first MVP trophy.

There were tons of questions about how Harden would respond this year. What’s next for a guy that’s played like an MVP for several seasons? Would he get complacent? Would he come out and try to defend his title? How would he fare with a ton of new teammates?

Harden struggled in his first game of the season, no question about it. He was inefficient and his entire game was off. He shot 40% from the field and missed five threes. He also was only able to get to the line on two separate occasions going 3/4 from the charity stripe.

The thing is, Harden doesn’t stay down for long and he proved that last night in Los Angeles. He looked back to being his MVP self and dominated the entire game. Harden ended the night with 36 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He also went to the line at his normal frequency and took 15 shots from the charity stripe. Unfortunately, he only made 11 of the 15 shots, which is lower than we’ve come to expect.

Harden, besides his free throw percentage, was also very efficient. He shot over 50% on all of his field goals, including going 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. It was a wildly impressive game for the reigning MVP, being tailed by lauded defenders like LeBron, Rondo, and even Lonzo Ball last night.

Harden getting his swagger back and stepping back into MVP mode was an obvious key to victory and something that enabled the Houston Rockets to spoil LeBron’s home debut. After nailing a clutch three, Harden also shouted “This is my city!”, as he is from LA, which further diminished what was supposed to be a historic night for LeBron and the Lakers.