Getty Houston Rockets guard James Harden
James Harden took a break from his absurd scoring tear with the Houston Rockets to toss some love to NFL wide receiver Michael Thomas. While Thomas and the New Orleans Saints held off the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, they’re now one win away from the Super Bowl.
One key reason the Saints were able to end the Eagles’ season with a 20-14 win was the play of Thomas, who’s had an exceptional season. The 25-year-old wideout has quickly become a go-to target for Drew Brees, and that was proven true in the playoff game Sunday. Thomas caught 12-of-16 targets for 171 yards and the touchdown which gave the Saints a lead which they never surrendered.
After the big performance from Thomas, he posted a photo on Instagram, and Harden was one of the first to send some love his way, as CBC Athletes revealed.
Michael Thomas’ Stellar Season With Saints
While Harden (rightfully) deserves a massive amount of love for the tear he’s currently on, Thomas gets a tip of the cap for the season he put together also. The former second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft had a big first two years after his time with Ohio State, but it all came together for him in 2018.
Thomas finished the year with 125 catches on 147 targets for 1,405 yards and nine touchdowns. For a receiver at any level to catch over 85 percent of the passes that come their way is almost unheard of, especially with the volume which Thomas saw this year.
James Harden’s Next-Level Dominance
The recent run Harden has put together with the Rockets has left virtually the entire NBA stunned. The team has been playing without both Chris Paul and Eric Gordon, leading to the reigning MVP taking on a much larger workload. Heading into Monday, Harden had scored 35 or more points in 14 of the past 17 games.
Then some even worse news hit, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed starting center Clint Capela will miss four to six weeks due to a thumb injury. After that came to light, the Rockets played the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night and Harden poured in 57 points on 17-33 shooting from the field. Most importantly, the Rockets won 112-94 to move to 25-18 on the year, even with the extremely shorthanded roster.
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