Getty James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets drives to the basket past Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers
As we all know, James Harden gets buckets. The Houston Rockets guard, who led the NBA in scoring this season (34.4 ppg) prior to the league suspending operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has arrived in Orlando and will look to continue his tear.
The Rockets will have their hands full attempting to knock off both Los Angeles teams from atop the Western Conference standings. However, this absurd stat shared by @arxanii on Twitter proves The Beard is more than ready to put his team on his back.
James Harden has more career 40-point games than Kawhi Leonard has 30-point games in his career.
Let that sink in…
Harden’s Knack for Dropping 40-Points is Historical
Obviously Leonard’s lack of scoring prowess compared to Harden’s can be written off to a number of things, namely load management, along with his expertise as a two-way player.
However, Harden’s knack for dropping 40 can not be understated, as he’s one of the best in league history at doing so. Earlier this season, the former league MVP passed Elgin Baylor to capture fourth-place on the list of most 40-point games in NBA history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Most importantly, when Harden reaches his 40-point marker, it usually means the Rockets will be leaving the arena victorious. Harden has scored 40 points on 19 separate occasions this season, eight more than any other player, according to NBA.com. In those 19 games, the Rockets are an outstanding 17-2.
As we sit here today, no current active player has more 40-point career games to their name (regular season and playoffs) than Harden and his 104.
Active NBA players with the most 40-point games (reg. season and playoffs):
1. James Harden – 104
2. LeBron James – 92
3. Kevin Durant – 66
4. Russell Westbrook – 54
5. Stephen Curry – 44
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Harden Arrives in Orlando , Westbrook Departs
A day after the Rockets announced that Russell Westbrook tested positive for COVID-19 and was sent home, the second-part to the NBA’s highest-scoring duo arrived in Orlando.
Better late than never. Five days after the majority of Rockets players and personnel flew to Orlando, Harden arrived at the Walt Disney Resort on Tuesday, masked up and ready to go, strutting his new-and-improved, slimed down quarantine body.
Speaking of quarantine, Harden will be pent up in his hotel room before being allowed to join Rockets teammates for practice, as he is in the midst of the NBA’s initial 36-hour quarantine period.
Houston’s first scrimmage is scheduled for July 24th against the Toronto Raptors, and the belief is Harden will be “without a doubt” ready to go by then.
“I think so,” D’Antoni said, per NBA.com. “Next week, yeah, without a doubt. James loves to play. So, I would expect after the first couple of days, we’ll get him geared up. Then, starting probably around Sunday he’ll start scrimmaging with the guys, maybe even before. He loves to play. It wouldn’t surprise me if he comes right out of the chute ready to go. But, definitely by next Friday, he’ll be 100%.”
Westbrook, on the other hand, has left Orlando, with D’Antoni currently unable to “nail down a definitive timeline” for his return.