NBA MVP Ladder 3.0 all about respecting elders; LeBron James remains on top

James Harden‘s blistering scoring pace slowed a bit over the last 12 games, one of which he missed with a sprained toe. The first of three former NBA MVPs on the ladder, the Houston Rockets star “only” averaged 33.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals in 35.7 minutes per game over his last 11 games.

His shooting over that span was 45.0 percent overall and 40.4 percent on 12.4 3-point attempts a night. Harden also got to the free-throw line an average of 10.5 times per game, hitting 80.2 percent. But Houston was also just 7-5 over that stretch, 7-4 when Harden was in the lineup.

But there have been some really rough games in there. Harden scored 41 points in a win at Atlanta on Nov. 8, but needed 34 shots to do it. He was 9-for-34 overall and 4-for-20 from deep, doing most of his damage by going 19-for-23 at the line.

Against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, Harden was held to a season-low 13 points, going just 3-for-12 in 36 minutes.

That marked Harden’s lowest-scoring game since he finished with just 10 points in a Jan. 18, 2018, victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Harden is still on pace to lead the NBA in scoring for the third consecutive season, averaging 37.2 points per game to go with 7.5 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 37.2 minutes per game on a shooting line of .446/.373/.860, with 13.4 3-point attempts and 12.3 free throw attempts a game.