When James Harden is on the court, the Houston Rockets are 13.3 points better per 100 possessions — their offense understandably jumps by better than 10 points per 100. He is an elite shot creator and averaged has 24.2 points a game this season.
Which is why this is bad news — Harden is out Saturday night due to the left foot injury that caused him to sit out the Rockets’ previous game. He is also questionable for Monday, reports CSNHouston.com.
The foot has bothered him for three weeks and Marc Stein at ESPN said Harden will sit out two games then be re-evaluated. Which means after resting it for three games it could be more once they see how it’s healing.
In the short term, this is going to mean a lot more Jeremy Lin, which isn’t all bad as his jump shot and shot creation have improved this season. But it’s not the same.
Still, with a player like Harden, the Rockets need to be patient. Better to have him miss games in November and get it right then have it linger through much of the season and drag down his play. Health matters. They can afford to have him miss a few games.
