"Kyrie Irving came in there last week and took Harden’s heart" - Chris Broussard believes James Harden hasn’t been the same since the loss to the Brooklyn Nets

James Harden started well for the Philadelphia 76ers, registering wins in his first five games for the franchise. During that stretch, he averaged 24.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 12.4 assists, giving the 76ers all the reasons to believe they won the Harden-Simmons trade.

However, when Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets visited the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, Harden squandered his chance to make a statement. He shot poorly, converting only three shots from beyond the arc and making just one trip to the free-throw line. As a result, the 76ers were blown out 129-100.

Chris Broussard, on “First Things First,” brought up Harden’s poor performances since facing his former team. Broussard said it's a concern for the 76ers:

“Kyrie Irving came in there last week and took Harden’s heart. I’m not saying forever, but he took it in that game. And Harden has not yet been the same since.”

In the two games following the Nets matchup, Harden has gone cold, shooting 36.7%, including 26.7% from 3-point range. Barring the contribution from the free-throw line, Harden hasn’t really been impactful, giving the 76ers enough reason to be worried.

Broussard then went on to outlay his concerns for Philadelphia:

“My concern about this team, and I said it, you know, initially when the trade was made – why I didn’t think they’d win a championship with Harden – is I wanna see him handle adversity and pressure come playoff time.

“I don’t care if James Harden averages 30 points and 10 assists and leads Philadelphia to an undefeated record the rest of the regular season. It is going to come down to what does he do when the moment gets big?”

Can James Harden be the 76ers’ closer?

James Harden has a history of not being able to step up when it matters the most. Getting his name in the scoring column isn’t that much of a task for Harden, but history says he lacks the clutch gene. In his time with the Rockets, he managed to go as deep as the conference finals twice – in 2015 and 2018. Both times, he fell short, with the latter edition going into seven games.

During the 2021 playoffs, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, Harden succumbed to pressure – shooting only 29.4%, including 16.7% from beyond the arc. It's a trend with him, as analyst Chris Broussard points out in another concern for the 76ers:

“Who is going to close games for this team, in big moments? Because I think one of the things Harden liked about the idea of playing in Brooklyn was ‘I got KD and Kyrie to close out those games, and I don’t have to do it.’ Well, you gotta do it in Philly.”

The Philadelphia 76ers gave up quite a bit in order to bring Harden to the franchise. They felt pairing him with Joel Embiid was their golden ticket to a championship. But he has disappointed in two big games so far, and if that were to happen in the playoffs – the 76ers would have only themselves to blame.