James Harden Says Rockets 'Have a Lot of Work to Do' Ahead of Lakers Matchup

James Harden commented on the state of the Houston Rockets on Saturday ahead of Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Harden said: "We have a lot of work to do. I think every team feels that way but for us, we're behind because we haven't had our entire team or an opportunity to work together very often. As long as we continue to find chemistry ... we have a chance to do something special."

To Harden's point, the Rockets have seen multiple players miss time because of injuries and COVID-19 protocols.

Their season-opening game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 23 was postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Rockets' organization, and the team was without some key players to start the season, including point guard John Wall and center DeMarcus Cousins.

They were also without Harden for one game because of injury, making P.J. Tucker, Sterling Brown and Jae'Sean Tate the only Rockets players to appear in all seven games this season.

The Rockets have also played through controversy, namely Harden's reported trade request prior to the season. Despite Harden's apparent desire to play elsewhere, the Rockets have held onto him, as his contract runs through at least next season.

Harden is a one-time NBA MVP and three-time reigning NBA scoring champion. While he has played well this season with 27.0 points, 11.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game, he hasn't been dominant.

As a result, Houston is off to a bit of a slow start at 3-4.

The Rockets are set to face the Lakers in back-to-back home games Sunday and Tuesday, which will go a long way toward determining exactly where they stand.

The Lakers are the reigning champs and lead the Western Conference at 7-3, so if Houston can take at least one of the two games, it could give the Rockets some much-needed confidence.