The hot takes about James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers are everywhere following the team’s painful Game 6 loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
It was a rough game for the 76ers and an especially rough one for Harden, who once again came up short with just 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Harden was supposed to be the missing puzzle piece that took the 76ers to the next level – that’s exactly why the team traded for him back in February.
But once again, Harden isn’t living up to the hype.
James Harden is 32 going on 42. Even worse, he just doesn't CARE. He's made tons of $$$ and knows somebody will pay him tons more. He's got his MVP. He's Top 75. Championships never were his thing. Hides under playoff pressure. Supremely skilled nightmare.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 13, 2022
Following the loss, Skip Bayless hopped on Twitter to give his thoughts about Harden and his lacking output.
“James Harden is 32 going on 42. Even worse, he just doesn’t CARE. He’s made tons of $$ and knows somebody will pay him tons more. He’s got his MVP. He’s Top 75. Championships never were his thing. Hides under playoff pressure. Supremely skilled nightmare,” Bayless said.
Will we ever see Harden again rise to levels he once reached?
Harden Hurting
Harden averaged 18.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 8.6 assists during this postseason.
That’s the lowest he’s been at since the first few years of his career over 10 years ago.
Again and again, Harden has shown that he isn’t the player he once was.
It’s surprising to see that Philadelphia thought this would end any other way.
There was no evidence that he’d be any different after changing teams and leaving Brooklyn.
In fact, his exit from Brooklyn was just another piece of a larger pattern: Harden starts strongly with a team, loses interest, demands a trade, then repeats the whole cycle again in a new city.
The sad truth is that it’s more likely Harden gets worse than better in the years ahead.
And now Philadelphia is stuck with him.
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