ome of it was about his Houston Rockets, who followed last season's 65-win campaign by beginning this season with an 11-14 record, one that left them languishing¹ in 14th place in the Western Conference in mid-December. Some of it was about him, as the league's reigning² most valuable player was almost instantly ruled out of competing for a chance to repeat as the award's winner this season after a sluggish³ start of his own.

有些是关于他的休斯顿火箭队，上个赛季65胜之后，休斯顿火箭本赛季以11胜14负的战绩开局，这让他们在12月中旬的西部联赛中排名第14而备受煎熬。有些是关于他的，作为上届MVP，哈登在赛季开局糟糕的表现后，几乎立马被排除在本赛季MVP竞争榜之外。

In the early stages of this season, it didn't always look like that. Yes, Harden's numbers were there — he averaged 28.5 points and 9.0 assists the first four games of the season before missing three games with a hamstring injury and then averaging 31 points and 8.7 assists in November — but the results were not.

在这个赛季刚开始阶段，他的表现并不总是像看起来那样糟。是的，毕竟哈登的数据摆在这儿——他在赛季前四场比赛场均能得28.5分并有9.0个助攻，之后因腿筋受伤缺赛三场，十一月复出后场均得31分和8.7个助攻——但比赛的结果缺不如人意。

So Harden went to work. He put in extra time in the gym. He put in extra time in the weight room. Eventually, things began to turn around — for the Rockets and for Harden.

所以哈登更加努力了。他在球馆付出了更多的时间，也在健身房付出了更多的汗水。终于，事情开始好转——对火箭队和哈登来说。

Suddenly, things look a lot different here in Clutch City. Houston has ripped off eight wins in its past nine games, including Thursday night's 127-113 victory over the Boston Celtics. Much of that success has been because of Harden, who has played like a man possessed⁴, including his 45 points while tying a career high of nine 3-pointers in Thursday's win, and at a level exceeding even his MVP campaign last season.

突然之间，休斯顿火箭发生了很大的变化。火箭队在过去九场比赛中赢得八场胜利，包括星期四晚上以127—113大胜波士顿凯尔特人。那场比赛能获胜关键在于哈登，他有神一般的表现，那个夜晚他砍下45分同时命中生涯最高的九记三分球，并且水平甚至超过了上赛季MVP时期。

NBA

"The game slows down (for him)," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "I wish I knew (how) because then I'd have a clue of what he does."I don't think anybody can figure out what he does, just because he does it so well."

“（因为他）比赛节奏降下来了，”火箭队主教练麦克·德安东尼说道，“我希望我能知道（他怎么做到的）因为这样我就可以知道他做了什么。”“我觉得没人能弄清楚他到底做了什么，只是因为他做得太出色了。”

A quick look at Harden's recent play will back that up. During this nine-game stretch, his stats across the board are remarkable⁵: 39.2 points, 5.6 rebounds⁶, 8.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game to go with shooting 44.7 percent overall, 40.7 percent from 3-point range and 87.8 percent from the foul⁷ line. He has had eight straight 30-point games and has eclipsed40 points three times in his past six. According to Elias Sports Bureau research, the 388 points Harden has scored in his past 10 games are the most by any NBA player in a 10-game stretch since Kobe Bryant scored 396 from March 22 to April 8, 2007.

回顾一下哈登最近的表现就会支持教练的观点。在这九场比赛中，他在球场的状态是可圈可点的：场均39.2分，5.6个篮板，8.2次助攻和2.0个抢断，同时投篮命中率44.7%，三分球命中率40.7%并且有87.8%的罚球命中率。他连续八场比赛得分超过三十分并且在过去六场中三次砍下40分。根据Elias体育局调查，哈登在过去10场比赛拿下的388分是科比之后NBA球员得到的最高分，科比在2007年3月22日到4月8期间的十场比赛共得到了396分。

"I think he's just wanted to pick it up and take it to another level," Rockets forward PJ Tucker said. "I don't think he was playing at the level he wanted to early on. He's got his body in such great shape now, being able to push through the times when he gets tired, teams throwing double teams, different kinds of looks, and his determination to still score and get to his spots is pretty remarkable.

“我认为他就是想把状态找回来并提升到一个新高度，”火箭前锋PJ塔克说道，“我觉得他还没有达到他早期想要的水平。他现在身形保持得非常好，使他能够在累的时候坚持下来，在有不同球员的两个阵容中带领球队，并且他保持得分和坚守位置的决心实在太不可思议了。”

"It's just what he does."

“这就是他”