James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers is trying to change the narrative about him.
For years, people have said that he doesn’t have the stamina to last an entire season and is always gassed out and exhausted by the time the postseason comes around.
Unsurprisingly, Harden hasn’t found much success in the playoffs because of his lack of drive when April and May come around.
Charles Barkley on James Harden:
“Let’s be honest, he looked cooked last year.”
(via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/cb8li2Dvat
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 18, 2022
Many people have taken note of this, including NBA legend Charles Barkley.
Barkley spoke about Harden, his stamina, health, and work ethic on Tuesday night and was quite frank about his opinion.
“Let’s be honest, he looked cooked last year,” Barkley said about Harden.
Barkley isn’t wrong with his words but perhaps the “cooked” Harden is really in the past now and we are going to see a bigger and better version of the player.
Healthy Harden
Harden wasn’t cooked on Tuesday night but he was cooking.
The player put up 35 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in a loss to the Boston Celtics on opening night.
He was looking much better than he has in the recent past.
However, it is important to remember that this was the first game of the season, far too soon to make an educated analysis of Harden in 2022-23.
But if he keeps it up like this then people will no longer be able to call him “cooked” or “washed.”
There is a lot of work ahead for Harden and his team.
The entire NBA, including the Eastern Conference, is incredibly competitive this year.
That was clear when Harden did so well on Tuesday and his team still ended up losing to the Celtics.
NEXT: Joel Embiid Is Aiming For A Very Special Season