Rockets' James Harden: Set to practice Thursday

Harden plans to join the Rockets on Thursday and take part in his first practice with the team since arriving in Orlando for the season restart, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports.

The 2018 NBA MVP didn't accompany the Rockets' main traveling party to the Walt Disney World complex last week, but now that he's in Orlando and has apparently passed all COVID-19-related protocols, he looks like he'll be ready to go when Houston resumes its season July 31 versus the Mavericks. Harden had been averaging 36.7 minutes per contest for the season prior to the NBA going on hiatus, but because of the lengthy layoff and his limited training time, he could have his playing time managed more carefully in his first few games back in action.