There was also a disturbing lack of free throw attempts earlier on, which has slowly corrected itself with each passing month. Harden recorded just one game with 10+ attempts in his first 12 outings after averaging that volume over multiple seasons.

While his overall production and three-point shooting don’t paint too rough a picture, those that watched Harden compete saw a lot off with the star southpaw. His initial bursts and step-backs had no explosion behind them, while his defense regressed back into meme territory. He was an inconsistent threat to opponents and sloppy with the ball.

However since coming back from health and safety protocols on Christmas against the Lakers, things changed. Harden was almost forced to step up with lead man Kevin Durant out for this game and the following, and step up he did.

Harden put up a 36-point triple-double on Christmas, playing 38 minutes, getting to the line 17 times and topping an LA team led by LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. He continued tearing up Staples Center two nights after against the Clippers, when he scored 39 on scintillating shooting - 60% from the field and 44% from three - and dished 15 assists, also in a win.

Durant returned the following game but Harden didn’t slow down. He put up another couple 30 bombs, making it four in a week’s time after he only had three such games prior. Harden’s begun averaging 40 minutes per game and putting up stronger numbers doing it.

To compare, Harden assisted on 41.4% of his teammate’s shots and turned it over on 13.3% of his possessions in his last six appearances prior to Friday against Milwaukee, compared to 39.1% and 21.8%, respectively, in the 26 games before. His shooting efficiency is marginally improved, aided by much of his bounce and aggressiveness returning.

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