Houston Rockets: 3 takeaways from win vs. Timberwolves

1. James Harden is picking up right where he left off

After putting together arguably one of the most finest non-MVP seasons in recent memory last year, James Harden appears to be en route to finally capturing the league’s highest individual honor, as the face of the franchise has helped guide the Rockets to their best start in team history.

All the while, he’s dominating opposing guards on a nightly basis. The Beard made a conscious effort to carve Minnesota’s defense apart Friday night, driving inside to either score or set up his teammates throughout the evening.

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/967207751003893760

Although Tom Thibodeau tried his best to make life hard for the league’s leading scorer by having Minnesota’s bigs hedge on screens as opposed to switching directly onto Harden early on, it was not enough to slow down The Beard. The 28-year-old still managed to post a 30-point outing despite shooting 8-for-24 from the field to help the Rockets remain perfect in February.

"“We’re going to continue to take it one game at a time,” Harden told Sekou Smith of NBA.com during NBA All-Star Weekend. “We’re going to continue to get better on both ends of the floor. Offensively we’re number two. Defensively I think we’re seven or something. So we can get better that way.” “We’re just going to try to build, build every single year, get better every single game…try to incorporate Joe [Johnson] and Brandan [Wright] into what we’ve been doing. Just prepare ourselves for the postseason.”"

While it was not his most spectacular outing on the season, Harden’s performance in Houston’s first game back in action following the All-Star break has to be a positive sign, as it shows that No. 13 truly has the wherewithal to handle whatever that comes his way and can make things happen for his team even in the midst of a rough offensive night.

Next: 2017-18 Week 19 NBA Power Rankings

The Rockets seek to depose the Golden State Warriors for the top spot out in the Western Conference playoff race and will now look go for their 12th straight win as they head out to the Rocky Mountains to take on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets Sunday night.