Rockets guard James Harden was close to winning the MVP award last season, but this year, it's questionable whether he's even working as hard as his girlfriend Khloe Kardashian.

Once upon a time Khloe Kardashian was little more than Kim Kardashian's heavier sister, but now she gets almost as many modeling gigs as Kim, and manages to keep herself in great shape despite also tending to her husband Lamar Odom, who is reportedly incontinent and unable to walk.

James Harden & Khloe Kardashian's Thanksgiving Actions Prove They're Wrong For Each Other

Meanwhile, Harden has taken a step back on the court, looking every bit like success has dulled his will to compete. Harden secured a lucrative sneaker contract this offseason and hooked up with Khloe, but apparently couldn't fit in enough gym time to arrive in camp in shape. It's showed so far; Harden's scoring (29.8 points) is actually up from last season, but his field goal percentage has dropped four points, and his 3-point shooting has dipped eight points.

Even worse, with the Rockets floundering at 7-11 -- 10th in the Western Conference -- Harden is calling for a reduction in minutes.

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"Forty a night is pretty tough, especially if you want to get efficient on both ends of the floor," Harden said to The Houston Chronicle. "We got to figure it out. We have to figure out how to give guys more minutes and be more effective on the court so as a team we can get better."

He went on to try and excuse his mistakes by blaming his workload. "Playing those minutes, you're going to have some lapses, you're going to have some mistakes. I try not to worry about them. I try to give it my all on both ends of the floor and live with the results."

Harden was playing 38.5 minutes a night before head coach Kevin McHale was canned following Houston's 7-11 start. Perhaps if Harden had taken his offseason more seriously McHale, who better understood his makeup, might still be on the sideline instead of J.B. Bickerstaff.

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