HOUSTON – We have hit that special time of the year again in the NBA and the first team to 16 wins will earn the championship.
The Rockets own the top overall seed after winning 65 games in the regular season so now it’s time to put that success to work, raise the bar and take care of business beginning in the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
For the Rockets it will start and end with James Harden.
Last May, many felt he quit in Game 6 against the Spurs. It tainted his season and his career but now he has the chance to redeem himself.
Harden has just wrapped up an outstanding 2017-2018 regular season in which he put up incredible numbers and showed everybody working alongside Chris Paul was a good thing and not a distraction.
Harden is the MVP favorite after post career numbers finishing with 30.4 points a game and consistent dishing the ball with nearly nine assists per night along with 5.4 rebounds.
This season he finished with four triple doubles compared to 22 last year.
Harden is poised to break out in what should be an easy series win by the Rockets. He’ll be challenged by Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler who is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. Unfortunately as good as Butler is, it will not be enough to contain Harden.
He’s on a mission to now finish the job on the Rockets playoff run.