For kids who love a sport, they dream about being able to watch their favorite stars perform live. Jayson Tatum could relate, probably he too was such a kid before becoming a basketball phenom. Hence, going against the prevailing law of resting games in the NBA, JT feels it’s his duty to suit up. “Kids might’ve got this ticket for their birthday or Christmas, knowing that’s the only time I get to come in town,” he said about the same.
And well, he isn’t alone who feels this way.
James Harden, a part of the Los Angeles Clipper has only missed three games this season. His policy is straightforward. “I just want to hoop” the Beard says about the urge that keeps him from playing no matter what. The silky scorer also agreed with Tatum’s perspective. But there is one key difference.
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Not only does James Harden want to satisfy the wishes of the many fans who spend their hard-earned money to watch him play, but he also wants to satisfy his temptations. “Yeah, that’s a part of it. And at the stage of my career it’s like who knows how long I am going to have this opportunity. So that goes into my mind as well,” James Harden said about the same.
This season alone, the longing to just keep playing has pushed Harden. In spite of having an illness and being questionable to play against the Lakers, he suited up. The Beard, clearly tired at times continued to go and ended up having a great role in the Clippers’ lofty win against their city rivals.
Having gone from being a marquee superstar to now being an expert floor general, James Harden is trying to extend the joy he reaps from basketball as much as he can in the years that he has left with the sport.
James Harden left frustrated with Bulls loss
Harden isn’t simply playing through a tough stretch for himself. Despite him just recovering from an illness, he has played in each of the Clippers three games. Those are part of their most intense schedule. Tonight, missing both Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac to injury though, they lost the battle against the Chicago Bulls.
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“It’s frustrating when you’re playing and you’re trying to get a rhythm and they add games one night and just switch the whole schedule around, which I don’t think has ever happened to me,” said Haden who passed Robertson to go 14th on the all-time scoring list tonight. “But this is our third (game) in four (nights) already. Then, we got a day off and we got another back-to-back a day from here,”.
He felt the Clippers didn’t have the “right bounce” to counter a rampant Bulls team that had a strong urge to just get a win. In the end, a strong third-quarter performance where they outscored the home team 36-16 gave Chicago a cushion to run away with the game. Although they had injuries, Clippers’ Norwan Powell wasn’t happy.
As their schedule is demanding, the smashing scorer feels the greater tests still await them. “I mean, we really don’t have an excuse. And the games we’re talking about haven’t even come up yet. So, I don’t think we have an excuse,” said Powell who led the team with 27 points tonight.
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Over the next five days, the Clippers face the Celtics and the Bucks as a part of their schedule. The Eastern powerhouses have both gained momentum recovering from their respective slumps. Those are the games to make a statement. And the Clippers will have to find something deep in their reservoir to get the desired result against them.
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