Getty James Harden of the Philadelphia 76ers
Following the Philadelphia 76ers‘ overtime victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Sixers legend and NBA Analyst Charles Barkley name-dropped James Harden while talking about inconsistency among NBA all-stars in these playoffs.
“The lows are too bad. I mean, you can have a low, but if you have a look at James’ lows. You can’t go from 40 to 12. That’s too much. His bad games should be 20, 24 if he’s playing bad,” Barkley said, via NBA on TNT’s YouTube Channel.
Barkley’s words ring true in this series, as Harden’s performances have played an instrumental role in both the Sixers’ wins and losses. In the games in which the Sixers have won, Harden put up 45 points in the Sixers’ Game 1 victory, which tied a playoff career-high for him, then put up 42 points in the Sixers’ Game 4 win.
In their losses, Harden put up 12 points on two-for-14 shooting in their Game 2 loss, then followed that up with 16 points on three-for-14 shooting in their Game 3 loss.
James Harden Details Clutch Shot in Overtime
Harden detailed how it all unfolded when he made the clutch three that would push the Sixers past the Celtics.
“We threw it into Joel, it was supposed to be a dribble hand-off where he dribble hand-off with me, but Jaylen Brown was denying me, and I didn’t wanna fight and fight it and let the clock run down, so I just gave Joel space to do what he did. He got so far in the paint that Jaylen Brown went to go help. Jo made an unbelievable pass and catch-and-shoot,” Harden said during his postgame press conference, per House of Highlights YouTube Channel.
Harden added that, above all else, he wants to win, which is why he took Game 4 as seriously as he did and why he’ll be prepared for Game 5.
“I just wanna win. Quite frankly, today (Sunday) was do-or-die for us. We found a way to win and that’s all that matters in the postseason, so watch film, get better, and be ready and see some things that we can get better at and be ready to go for Game 5.”
The series will shift back to Boston for Game 5.
Joel Embiid Pleads for Consistency From James Harden
During his postgame press conference, Joel Embiid singled out Harden for his performance while saying that his co-star has to do his part every game, just like everyone else on the team.
“That’s what (Harden) needs to do every night. Not think about anything. Obviously, we got some great teammates that can do a lot of things, but like I said the other night, players, doesn’t matter what is going on, players got to show up,” Embiid said, per House of Highlights YouTube Channel.
After adding that Harden showed up for Game 4, Embiid reiterated that Harden needs to be consistent, and what being consistent means in Harden’s case.
“He needs to do it every night. It’s not about taking a lot of shots, it’s just about being aggressive, attacking the rim, finding guys, and he was fantastic.”