As part of Friday morning's media availability, Houston Rockets All-Star James Harden made it clear that he is not a believer in load management.

“If I'm hurt, of course, I won't play,” Harden said, via Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated. “Even if I'm a little banged up, I try to push through to a certain extent. Have you ever seen me not play because of load management?”

Harden's comments come in the wake of the Clippers' decision to rest Kawhi Leonard in their nationally televised matchup against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this week. Some were fine with it, while others, including ESPN's Doris Burke, were not.

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The NBA announced it was fine with Leonard sitting because of legitimate health reasons. The Clippers were fined $50,000 due to comments made by Doc Rivers that seemed to suggest Leonard was totally healthy.

As for Harden, the former No. 3 overall pick is putting up massive numbers again, even racking up some of the best statistical figures of his career. Through his first seven games of this campaign, The Beard has averaged a career-high 36.5 points on 38.7 percent shooting from the field (27.0 percent from beyond the arc), 8.1 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 35.4 minutes per outing.

The Rockets are currently riding a two-game winning streak after their 129-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. Houston will look for continued success on Saturday, as they're scheduled for a matchup against the Chicago Bulls.