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The honeymoon phase of the James Harden experiment is over in Philadelphia. His plodding style and inability to knock down jumpers are sounding alarms, with some declaring The Beard is washed up. Hold that thought.
Harden has been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury, plus he’s probably holding back on going full throttle until the postseason. Even if that’s true, there are multiple reasons for concern as the Philadelphia 76ers fall down the Eastern Conference standings. Their 119-114 loss to Toronto on Thursday night was as bad as it gets. They blew a 15-point and Harden went 3-of-12 from the field for just 13 points.
The 2018 MVP seemed to bog the Sixers’ offense down with his slow, grinding style of play – the complete opposite of the energy infused by Tyrese Maxey. After the game, Harden shared his thoughts on what is wrong and how they can fix it. The biggest issue? Spacing.
“I think our spacing helps us with not turning the basketball over and getting quality shots, possession by possession, that’s very very important in the postseason,” Harden told reporters, via Yaron Weitzman. “We really haven’t had any practice time so you talk about it in film, you know, it’s not the same as actually doing it and going over it. So this should give us an opportunity to actually do those things.”
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Harden’s Hamstring Bogging Him Down?
Shooters are going to shoot themselves out of slumps. Every NBA coach says it, including Doc Rivers. Let’s not get too carried away about Harden missing three-pointers or passing on open jumpers. Especially not when Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, Georges Niang, and Danny Green are lighting it up from the outside.
The more alarming trend with Harden has been his inability to beat defenders off the dribble and attack the rim. That was supposed to be the strength of his game, but it’s been a struggle in recent days. He looks slow, a few paces off his trademark aggressiveness. Maybe the hamstring tightness in his left leg is worse than anybody realizes.
“Just correcting things that we’ve been dealing with these last few games,” Harden said after the Raptors’ loss. “I think it’s our spacing … It’s been like that for a few days. We just gotta watch film and just talk about it and make sure we’re in our spots.”
Maybe He’s Just Not an Elite Player Anymore
The other popular theory starting to make the rounds is the one no one in Philly wants to hear. Maybe Harden just isn’t an elite player anymore. Kevin Wildes of First Things First brought it up and echoed comments made by Jalen Rose. Harden has zero dunks this year. Zero.
“Are you just not an elite player anymore? The days of James Harden flying by guys and catching dunks might be over,” Wildes said. “[He has] zero dunks. He doesn’t have one dunk. And I know he’s not Anthony Edwards. He never was. But you have a lot of memories of James Harden getting by guys and flushing the ball.”
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