Each week during the 2021-22 NBA season, we will take a deeper dive into some of the league’s biggest storylines in an attempt to determine whether the trends are based more in fact or fiction moving forward.
Or James Harden is just out of shape again.
The 32-year-old spent the shortened offseason rehabbing a hamstring injury that cost him 21 of the Brooklyn Nets' final 24 regular-season games last season and severely limited him in the playoffs. He declared himself "100%" at the start of training camp, blaming last season's injury on poor conditioning.