Houston Rockets superstar James Harden plans to practice with his team Thursday for the first time since the NBA’s restart, according to a new report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni said Wednesday that the Rockets would gradually ramp up the All-Star guard’s activities over his initial days with the team in Florida, with a goal of having Harden ready for scrimmages with his teammates by Sunday at the latest.
For an undisclosed reason, Harden arrived at the “bubble” on Tuesday night — five days later than most of his teammates. From there, the NBA has a mandatory two-day quarantine and COVID-19 testing period for all new arrivals. That makes Thursday the first day that Harden could be cleared to truly enter the complex and practice with his team.
Now 30 years old, Harden is an eight-time NBA All-Star and the league’s 2018 MVP. For a third consecutive year, the 6-foot-5 guard is leading the entire NBA in scoring this season at an average of 34.4 points, and he’s also tallying 7.4 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Harden’s Rockets (40-24) will enter the NBA’s upcoming restart tied for the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference, with their first regular-season game set for Friday, July 31 versus Southwest Division rival Dallas.
