James Harden: “My Confidence Is Through The Roof”

James Harden single-handedly destroyed the Golden State Warriors last night. The ruling force in the NBA over the past four seasons didn’t have an answer for the bearded guy in the red jersey.

Harden finished the night with another triple-double, scoring 44 points, along with 15 assists and 10 rebounds. Furthermore, he made 10 three-pointers for 44 minutes on the floor, including two big ones who eventually decided the match.

One of them was particularly tough, and when asked after the game how he made it, the answer was straightforward.

“I’mma tell you, the work. Yesterday I was in that same spot, shooting those same shots. So I had confidence that it was gonna go in.” Harden said during the on-court interview.

HARDEN WITH THE GAME WINNER! #SCtop10

What. A. Game. pic.twitter.com/9Hi2mGFXnK

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 4, 2019

And that is, in fact, the keyword for his success – confidence.

After the game, when all the journalists gathered around him in the locker room, one of them, probably heard what the Beard said back then, had an interesting question for the reigning MVP.

“How can you describe your confidence level right now?” the guy asked.

“Trough the roof.” Harden replied.

Anyone who saw those two above-mentioned downtown shots knows what’s he talking about.

The first one was with 57 seconds before the end of the regular part of the contest, and it forced overtime, after Houston’s comeback from a 20-point deficit they had in the late part of the second quarter.

But the one which buried the Warriors in the overtimes was even more impressive. He delivered a dagger with one second until the end, despite being guarded by the two, probably, best defenders in the Warriors team, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. With a sea of hands around him, Harden managed to take the shot off balance and to make a huge upset in Oakland.

Houston Rocket superstar didn’t want to celebrate too much, as he knows that this is just one game and that he and his teammates have a lot of work to do until they reach their goal.

“We got to keep going, man. We got a long way to go. It is a good win for us, continue to build and continue to keep our swag”

Over the last 10 games, Harden is averaging 40.2 points, 9.3 assists, and 6.8 rebounds, for 40 minutes on the court each night. His Rockets are 11-1 since the mid-December, but this is not their primary goal.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1081079668340609025

The title is what they crave for, especially Harden, who experienced a tough setback last year after being eliminated from the same opponent in the finals of the Western Conference, even though having two match points.

Start of this season indicated that the Rockets have some issues with the chemistry and the departure of Carmelo Anthony after just a couple of weeks since the opening night, was a confirmation of such claims. The flow of the game was heavily disturbed when Ryan Anderson and Trevor Ariza left, and losses at the early stage of the campaign, were threatening to ruin the whole season. On top of it all, Chris Paul recently suffered an injury which still separates him from the court.

And when the public thought that Houston’s title dreams vanished, Harden stepped up and did what is obviously the winning formula for the Rockets.

Took everything upon himself.

The creation of attacks, finishing, running, setting the pace, playing isolations etc, etc. Like a true MVP.

🚀 @JHarden13 (44p/15a/10r) walks off with 135-134 @HoustonRockets OT W!#NBAPostgame #Rockets pic.twitter.com/P2cfxI1GdF

— NBA (@NBA) January 4, 2019

Besides him, new players emerged to the surface, and we mainly mean on Clint Capela, whose recent games are on an All-Star level. Throughout the season, the 6 foot 10 center averages 17.3 points and 12.7 rebounds, and he is Harden’s best helper, who contributes very much to both team and Beard’s play.

After being near the bottom of the West, the Rockets climbed all the way up to the fourth place with 22 wins and 15 losses. Judging by the way they play, the No.1 seed isn’t far away.

And back-to-back MVP award for Harden isn’t either.