In the start of an extended stretch of home games at Toyota Center, former Rockets star James Harden appears poised to return to the lineup — albeit with limited minutes — when Philadelphia visits Houston on Monday night.
Harden, a perennial All-Star and MVP over eight-plus seasons with the Rockets, hasn’t played since Nov. 2 due to a right foot tendon strain. But playing in his adopted hometown clearly brings Harden joy, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this is his return date.
“I still live here,” Harden said Sunday, as relayed by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. I’ve got a lot of family, friends, and people here that come. This is home. There’s a love (from Rockets’ fans), and the feeling is mutual. That’s never going to change.”
After playing 15 of their first 23 games of the 2022-23 season on the road — making for the NBA’s biggest discrepancy — Monday’s game begins a run where Jalen Green and the Rockets will play eight of their next nine within the friendly confines of Toyota Center. In a scheduing quirk, they won’t leave Texas again until after Christmas.