You can quibble all you want but James Harden is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The Beard is a league MVP (he probably should be a two time MVP) and three time scoring champion, has a pair of assist crowns and ushered in a style of play – heliocentrism – that is now somewhat commonplace throughout the league. He’s made 10 All Star appearances, seven All NBA teams and is a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team.
Yet, as Harden hurtles towards his 34th birthday, it’s his playoff failures that remain his legacy.
Whilst that doesn’t seem entirely fair for a man who has achieved so much in the sport (the entire ‘rings-or-bust culture is a debate for another day) it remains the most talked about part of Harden’s legacy.
Harden at long last put some of that narrative to bed when, with league MVP Joel Embiid sidelined, he produced a throwback performance in the opening game if the Sixers current series with the Boston Celtics: 45 points on 17/30 shooting, six assists and seven threes, including the dagger to give Philly the lead in the final 10 seconds.
In game four of the series, he was arguably even better, going off for 42 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and four steals as the Sixers won a thrilling 116-115 overtime contest.
Between his floater to send the game into overtime and his clutch corner three to put the Sixers ahead for good, Harden was, without a shadow of a doubt, the catalyst for the Sixers in winning that match. He turned Boston’s phalanx of defensive stoppers – no matter their shape or size – into nothing more than traffic cones in a breathtaking performance.
You may have noticed that we’ve strategically skipped over games two and three. The reason for that should be obvious: Harden was gawd-awful in both matches, both Philadelphia losses.
In their two wins, Harden has produced an electric 43.5 points on ridiculous 62/57/100 shooting splits and three steals a game. In the losses those number plummet to 14 points (25/15/84 splits) and a half a steal a night.
Whilst the brilliant peaks and steep valleys of Harden’s game-to-game production are confounding, it’s no fluke that Philly victories coincide with Harden’s best games, no matter what Embiid produces.
Whilst Embiid is clearly the Sixers best player, it must be said: Harden is the Sixers bellwether?
Whilst it shouldn’t come a shock that you stand a greater chance of winning when your best players play well, the difference between Harden in playoff wins and losses is stark.
This post-season Harden is putting up 26 points on 47/48/90 shooting when victorious, against 14 points per game at 18/15/84 splits in losses. This sort of disparity is, however not the norm for Harden. Generally, he’s performed give-or-take as well in wins as in losses through his playoff career. A large part of that dichotomy between this and previous post seasons revolves around Harden’s role in the offense.
As a Houston Rocket, Harden was the Alpha and the Omega. If his teammates didn’t have it on a particular night, he was obliged to pick up the slack and attempt to drag his team over the line. In Philadelphia and to a lesser degree Brooklyn – the two stints where he has performed worse in losses – Harden is a secondary option. He’s also, to put it bluntly, older than he used to be.
Harden has never been renowned for his off-season workout regimen and with the extreme minutes and load placed on his body over his prime, it’s no surprise that he simply can’t bring it every night at this point of his distinguished career. He even implicitly acknowledged his place within the Sixers hierarchy in taking less money than was expected last off-season. He hasn’t dunked in an NBA game since October! Now, the responsibility of bringing it every night belongs to the newly crowned league MVP.
Embiid looks back up to speed following a short break with (yet another) injury and is putting up regular 30 pieces again. Harden’s role is to feed the big fella, see who (if anyone) else has it going and when the chance comes, attack the basket or hit his patented step back treys.
To that end, Harden is, on the whole, doing his job. He’s not an ‘every night’ superstar anymore and that shows in the vast chasm between his best and worst. That said, he could stand to be more aggressive on nights where he doesn’t quite have it physically, attacking the basket and unlocking his passing wizardry.
That playmaking could see Tyrese Maxey or Tobias Harris go off. Today we witnessed a quarter for the ages from an unlikely Lakers hero in Lonnie Walker. De’Anthony Melton went on a heater in game one. Why can’t Georges Niang or Shake Milton do the same?
All in all, Harden simply needs to produce another couple of high end performances in this series and it might be enough for the Sixers to progress to the conference finals.
So far in this season’s playoffs, Embiid has been Philly’s best player, but James Harden has been the Sixers bellwether. When he plays well, the Sixers can beat anybody.
