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James Harden has been taking shots at his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers since the offseason. He told hordes of fans during a trip to China that 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey was a liar. “The Beard” declared that he would never be part of an organization that employs his former Houston Rockets GM.
Harden continued his defiant stance by sitting out the start of the season. He sometimes joined practices but never suited up for his former team for the 2023-24 campaign. Once he was traded, he told the media that he was “the system,” implying he shouldn’t have taken a lesser role in Philly.
The Athletic's Joe Vardon recently reported that one of James Harden’s issues was that the 76ers asked him to “defer too much to Joel Embiid.” Harden blamed Doc Rivers for forcing him to give up the reins of the offense too much to the reigning MVP.
Harden was lit up on X, formerly Twitter, for making those comments:
When James Harden said after he was traded that he didn’t have control of the offense as he would have wanted, Embiid disagreed. “The Process” responded by saying that Harden was allowed to do as he wanted as he was the playmaker. Rivers wanted the former Rockets superstar to find the balance between orchestrating the offense and scoring. Harden apparently did what was asked but resented that the entire time with the 76ers.
“The Beard” complaining about his role in Philadelphia is even more hilarious now that he is with the LA Clippers. He is the third wheel on offense behind Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. In his nearly two seasons alongside Embiid, his usage rate was 24.5% as the co-superstar. In Los Angeles with Leonard and George, that number has dropped to 20.7%, his lowest since the 2010-11 season when he was a sophomore in Oklahoma.
James Harden continued his disappearing act in playoffs with 76ers
Basketball fans and analysts are not buying the idea that James Harden was asked to defer too much to Joel Embiid. “The Beard” has a long history of disappearing in the playoffs even when he had control of everything. He did it spectacularly with the Houston Rockets which earned him the “choker” label.
That inability to rise to the occasion under the brightest lights happened yet again last season. In Games 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between Philadelphia and Boston, Harden resumed his predictable wilting in the postseason’s biggest games.
In Game 6, which was a close-out game in Philadelphia, James Harden played 11 minutes and missed all four of his attempts in the fourth quarter. Two nights later, he played fewer minutes only because the Boston Celtics hammered them. He failed to score after shooting just once. Doc Rivers didn’t ask him to be that passive, particularly in the final quarters of both games.
The Clippers are playing like they can do some damage in the playoffs. Many will be monitoring how Harden will fare again. Most will be wondering what excuse he will use if he wilts under pressure again.
Guess the Lakers players!
