It's almost like Harden in elimination games is licking his lips to enjoy Hardee's and hurricanes in Hawaii.
@jordnnnn Got any advanced stats that somehow magically show that Harden wasn’t as bad as he really was? He’s getting killed in here man!
I thought that Philly would've been better off long term trading Simmons/Green for Haliburton, Barnes and Hield, but I never thought Harden would perform this poorly. Instead I was worried about Harden in year 3, 4 and 5 What kind of player Harden will be moving forward is now a serious question and It will be interesting to see what they do with his contract. Harden can opt in for 47 million but if I'm Philly I'm def not giving him an extension anywhere close to his max (4/227 = 5/274). Conversely If I'm Harden I'd negotiate an extension to go with the opt in. Something like 4/180, (plus the 47 opt in = 5/227). Philly might prefer Harden simply opt-in with no extension whatsoever, but I doubt that'll happen since it leaves Harden vulnerable to losing hundreds of millions to injuries/decline.
It felt peaceful, almost zen-like watching Harden disappear like clockwork in a big playoff game, no doubt he was one of the best offensive players we've ever had but tonight what the Sixers fans are feeling, we know this feeling ALL TOO WELL. Sixers aren't winning a championship with him on the roster, that's for certain.
His step back has become a crutch for him. I wasn't the biggest fan of it when he was a Rocket, but now it's just terrible.
The Simmons/Harden trade is like a roller coaster. The season started with Morey getting clowned/criticized for not trading Simmons and making crazy demands. Fast forward 3-4 months and he somehow manages to trade Simmons for Harden. Morey suddenly is the genius again and has made an incredible trade. The new look Philly team comes out 5-0 and is declared a title favortie. Embiid + Harden the best duo in the NBA, unstoppable etc etc, blah blah blah. Fast forward 1 or 2 months and suddenly Harden doesn't look quite like a top 10-15 or even 20 player for weeks at a time. The Playoffs starts and there are more questions as this team simply doesn't look like serious contenders struggling to beat an injury riddled Raptors team. Now after being beaten by the Heat in 6 with Harden taking 2 shots 0 fta in the 2nd half, there's more questions. The trade isn't looking so hot and the question of Harden's next contract is looming. If Harden recovers next year like CP3 in 2020, this Roller coaster might ride high again for Morey, but I wouldn't bet on it.
0 points in the second half of an elimation game Regardless of how washed you are that's hard to do His best chance to win. Was when this team stupidly traded cp3 for Westbrook and didn't run it back
Love Harden - always got to respect those who embraced the city during their time here. With that said, he does have a tendency to let go on the gas when he knows whatever he's got ain't enough. Danny Green goes down. Embiid playing through legit injury. He himself ain't all that healthy. Bench ain't built out. He knows this year not his year. "Onto the next", is how he comes off.
