The Golden State Warriors may not be able to stop James Harden and the rolling Houston Rockets on Christmas Day.
Another year, another Golden State Warriors Christmas showdown. This will be the seventh season in a row that the Dubs have competed on Xmas but it may be their worst showing to date.
With Kevin Durant long gone and the splash brothers dealing with significant injuries, the Warriors have fallen off the map. Standing at 7-24, Golden State is the worst team in the league.
Against the Dubs will be a longtime foe, the Houston Rockets. The Warriors have eliminated the Rockets in four of the last five NBA playoffs but will be no match for them this time.
Houston has retooled with an MVP studded backcourt in James Harden and Russell Westbrook. These two are finally starting to put things together and have won four straight games.
Harden, in particular, is on a historic scoring run. After averaging a career-high 36.1 points last season, Harden has somehow upped the ante by putting up 38.6 points per game across his first 30 games of the season.
He has been a human blowtorch, virtually unguardable from anywhere on the floor. If his step-back 3-pointer isn’t’ doing the trick, Harden is exceptional at forcing his way to the free-throw line where he shoots 87.7 percent.
Harden has already scored 40+ points in seven games this season and has surpassed 50 a total of five times. In a victory over the Atlanta Hawks, Harden scored 60 points in just 30 minutes of playing time.
The record for the most points scored in an NBA Christmas Day Game is 60 by Bernard King in 1984. This mark seems like a feasible one for Harden to reach against an injured Warriors squad.
As Harden and the Rockets look to take revenge on the Warriors for all their years of trouble, watch out for a potentially record-breaking scoring performance.