James Harden, the Houston Rockets goalkeeper, spoke honestly with reporters following the loss of the 117-100 Rockets at home to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Harden, who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists, said the Rockets are not good enough.
“I like this city,” Harden said. “I’ve done literally everything I can. I mean, this situation is crazy. It’s something I don’t think can be fixed.”
In Tuesday’s loss, Harden played in the fourth game in which he scored 20 points or less. This is Harden’s longest break in the 2011-12 season, when he played with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Adrian Wojnarowski, from ESPN, reported that Harden is aware that the Rockets continue to discuss commercial scenarios with the teams, although no agreement is imminent. The asking price from Houston remains steep for transactions involving Harden.
John Wall, the new Rockets defender who finished with 10 points and five assists in the game, said that chemistry plays a role in the misfortunes of the first season of the Rockets.
“When you have certain guys who don’t want to buy, it’s hard,” Wall said.
While the chemistry issues of the rockets were a problem, Wall did not hold back his thoughts of building a relationship with Harden.
“It was a little rocky, I’m not going to lie about it,” Wall said. “I don’t think it was as good as it could be. That’s all I can say.”
Harden has an average of 26 points (10th place in the league) in 37 minutes of action. He also leads the league in average assists per game with 11.
Houston (3-6) ranks second to last in the NBA Western Conference. The Rockets are also 3-3 at home and have given up two consecutive games.
The Rockets return to action on Thursday on the road against the San Antonio Spurs, a team that won on Tuesday 112-102 on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder.