Kendrick Perkins: ‘Skinny Harden’ makes Rockets title favorites

“It’s going to be dangerous, and it puts the Rockets up there as a heavy favorite to win the title,” Perkins said of Harden’s fitness.

James Harden‘s weight has been a hot topic of conversation on social media of late, with recent photos and videos of his workouts during the COVID-19 pandemic suggesting that he now has a more slender frame.

Teammate Austin Rivers put it bluntly on an Instagram Live session:

Y’all can call it what you want, but ‘beefy’ Harden was averaging 36 [points], so I don’t even know what ‘skinny Harden’ is gonna do. He definitely lost a cool 20 pounds.

Harden has led the league in scoring in each of the last three seasons at more than 30 points per game. He’s an eight-time NBA All-Star guard, the league’s 2017-18 MVP, and a three-time MVP runner-up.

And now, he might be in even better shape! In an interview with The Athletic‘s Kelly Iko, Harden said he had done “a lot of cardio” work.

What might that mean for the Rockets, assuming the 2019-20 season returns in July, as expected? Speaking on ESPN’s The Jump on Friday evening, former NBA center and current analyst Kendrick Perkins said a lighter Harden could launch his Rockets to the 2020 title.

“Look, I’m happy to see that James was dedicated and used his time wisely during this pandemic,” said Perkins, who played with Harden for two seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12 in Oklahoma City. He continued:

It shows dedication. James was in the lab. You’re talking about a guy who’s one of the most prolific scorers to ever touch the basketball, and now he lost weight and is dedicated? It’s going to be dangerous, and it puts the Rockets up there as a heavy favorite to win the title, if the season resumes. I love what James is doing

Because that’s the whole problem, that he always got tired, and he always got exhausted and disappeared in the fourth. You know with conditioning and getting yourself in better shape, that affects it. So at the end, when it’s crunch time and the fourth [quarter], it’s going to take them to new heights.

Before the COVID-19 hiatus, Harden’s Rockets (40-24) were tied for the fifth-best record in the Western Conference.

Former NBA swingman Richard Jefferson, who offered his analysis alongside Perkins on Friday’s program, didn’t go as far as the big man did in vaulting the Rockets to favorite status. However, he did concede that Harden’s weight loss would probably be a boost to their chances.

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