Are the Rockets worried about James Harden’s pre-existing condition?

Houston Rockets superstar James Harden has asthma, which has been listed as a pre-existing condition for the novel coronavirus.

James Harden has proven to be unstoppable during his eight-year tenure with the Houston Rockets. We’ve seen The Beard punish opponents at will, as he’s both the best scorer in the league and a walking bucket, not to mention a soon-to-be three-time scoring champ.

Although Harden has been unguardable on the court, there could be reason to worry about him off the court, specifically as it pertains to the novel coronavirus. Harden has had asthma since he was a kid, and asthma has been deemed a pre-existing condition for the COVID-19.

I’ll be the first to say I’m not a doctor, nor am I an expert on the COVID-19, so I’m certainly not in a position to say whether or not Harden’s asthma could be problematic for him or not. But many in the national media have discussed Harden’s pre-existing condition of late, starting with FS1’s Jason McIntyre, who had the below to say on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.

Should the Houston Rockets be worried about James Harden’s pre-existing condition?

“I don’t know if a lot of people have talked about it. James Harden has asthma, and that’s a pre-existing condition for COVID-19.

So Harden, if you noticed so far, in the last seven weeks, he’s gotten super healthy. He’s lost alot of weight. I hope he’s in good shape.”

McIntyre goes so far as to say Harden’s reasoning for losing weight is because of the threat of his asthma on the coronavirus, which isn’t something McIntyre, or anyone besides Harden, would know.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Jackie MacMullan were on the Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective podcast, and shared their thoughts on Harden’s asthma.

Windhorst said, “Asthma is a pre-existing condition that potentially puts you at higher risk in this setting.”

The CDC has stated that people with moderate to severe asthma may be at higher risk of getting sick from the COVID-19, as it can possibly lead to pneumonia and acute respiratory disease. But MacMullan pushed back on the notion of Harden being hindered or potentially at risk, solely on the basis of his asthma.

MacMullan said, “Because you have asthma, to say you cannot compete? That’s ridiculous. There are different variances of how asthma affects you.”

What’s important to note in all of this is that Harden himself spoke about the coronavirus threat, and stated that he’d be willing to play, as long as it’s safe for the players. Harden didn’t mention his asthma or sound concerned at all, and one would think that he would have mentioned it if such a fear existed.

So in that regard MacMullan is right; the idea that Harden’s asthma would prevent him from being able to compete is ridiculous. That won’t stop it from being discussed though.