As the playoffs approach, James Harden is not necessarily at his best and observers do not hesitate to point this out. The 2018 MVP has same been badly criticized recently… To bounce back, he could follow the advice just given to him by Shaquille O’Neal.
Arrived at the deadline from the Nets, James Harden delivers quite a mixed start to the Sixers. On the one hand, the back shines at the distribution, in particular stuffing balloons a Joel Embiid who should finish on the MVP podium. The duo he forms with the Cameroonian pivot is enough to terrify the competition, especially thanks to their ability to wear down the opponent with caused faults and bags of points scored.
On the other hand, however, Jimbo Slice has displayed chronic clumsiness since arriving in Pennsylvania with only 40% shooting success (33% from behind the arc). It’s little, far too little even for a player of his rank and it has also become a source of ridicule among analysts. The prize for the most original tackle certainly goes to Jalen Rose, who completely knocked out the Philadelphia star on the sets ofESPN :
Jalen Rose guns down James Harden’s ‘concert dates’
Jalen Rose did James Harden dirty on this one ????????????. Ba re his stats look like Concert Tour Dates ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/P8BhQOaLs4
– Stara sa Vaal???????? (@ hms325is) April 14, 2022
James Harden’s stats must be more like the ones he had in Houston, when they were absolutely insane. Today, it just looks like he’s dropping concert tour dates… Look at his shooting percentages lately: 4/15, 4/10, 4/13, 3/12… Looks like he’s in tour. He needs the ball to shine more.
The 2018 MVP has something to cringe about, because this punchline from the former Laker is as humiliating as it is justified. He no longer has the compass in his eye, which can pose a serious problem in the playoffs since his franchise will not necessarily be able to trust him in the money time. Shaquille O’Neal in any case decided to indicate to him the procedure to follow on TNT, convinced that the person concerned can be much better than he is now. The success of Philly in the post-season depends on it:
His team needs a second guy who can lead if necessary, so they can go far. He must do better. Embiid play like an MVP, what you gon’ do? I don’t know if he has what it takes to turn the corner, I just know he has to play at the superstar level that we know he is capable of. 15 assists is cool, but you can’t finish 3/12 in shooting at the same time.
The analysts’ report is clear: James Harden must get out of his negative spiral and regain address. If he succeeds, the Sixers could be practically unplayable in the playoffs and it would not be unreasonable to see them go to the Finals.
