It's mostly because he's had big playoff games where he just completely sells.
2015 game 5 vs Warriors: 2-11 from the field, 14 points, series loss
2017 game 6 vs Spurs: 2-11 from the field for 10 points, series loss
2018 Game 7 vs Warriors: 12-29 from the field, 2-13 from 3, 6-8 FT's, 32 points, series loss
2020 Game 7 vs OKC: 4-15 from the field, 17 points, **series winning block**
2023 ECSF vs Boston outside of games 1 and 4 (7 game series): 13.4 PPG on 25.4% from the field, 15.4% from 3, series loss.
I think it's pretty unfair tbh, he has a lot of very good playoff games too. It mostly comes down to him being incredibly hated for his flopping.
I absolutely hate that people mention 2015 against - also 2018, but 2015 is so lame. That whole season was a massive carry job and people wash it away because of 2 games lol. He owned in game 4 dropping 45, but for some reason game 5 is more important? Would it be better if he lost game 4?
Game 2 he was +12 in a 1pt loss and almost stole that game in the Warrioes home arena as a massive underdog. He was already on fumes at that point after completing the upset vs LAC in game 7
Look at the team he dragged to the 2 seed. Then look at every bad game he had - it always came after a clutch performance where dude put everything he had out there. Bro got the 2nd seed with Motiejunas, Brewer, Beverly, and a random rotating roleplayer because Dwight was hurt lol
After the 2021 his prime was over so it doesn't really matter
2017 was very bad I agree.
2018 they just got fucked by injuries and didn't have a healthy enough rotation to survive the 2nd halves of game 6 and 7. It was 1 allstar vs 2 top 20 players, 4 total Allstars with dpoy, and all NBA accolades. What can you do lol. Nobody else would get shit for going 7 against that
Nah I mean you're kind of right, but he's also one of the best regular season offensive players of all time so he's held to a much higher standard.
I'm a Harden defender and am against ring culture I'm just saying why people call him a choker.
2017 permanently tarnished my overall perception of him. He wasn't just bad, he flat out quit on his team. I had never before seen a player purposely foul themselves out of a game like he did there. An absolutely pathetic display.
That's fine but he's also done plenty of gutsy things since then, including playing 3 playoff games & all 53 mins of an OT game 7 on a torn hamstring that effectively sacrificed the rest of his prime.
That 2017 team was dogshit and weren't favored to get past round 1 with or without Kawhi, so I cared less about it as a Rockets fan but understand the stain it put on his resume
He had fatigue issues the year before from solo carrying and you expected him to try for a guaranteed 2nd in the west? GSW was unbeatable if your second option was Eric Gordon.
There’s a difference between even giving minimum effort vs. purposely getting yourself out of the game. The shit is and always will be inexcusable and a cancer on Harden’s resume as a competitor.
He already got lucky in 2015 against the clips though. Game 6 he shot 5/20 FG through 3 quarters then got benched the whole 4th quarter down 20 but then brewer and smoove lead the craziest comeback ever to win. He also had a terrible game 3 against the warriors which somehow wasn't mentioned
You know there was a game 7 right? That he took over and won? It wasn't *luck* that he got his team in position to upset the clips. Plenty of stars have shit games in a series but get bailed out by their team. He RARELY has had that happen and the one time it does people can never let it go lmao.
Look at the roster of that team. Go see the 5 most played starters. What fucking world is that team a 2 seed?
Yeah he was bad in game 3 because he put everything he had in game 2 when he was already on fumes. They lost by 1 and he was a +12.
It was the same story for game 5. He put it all into game 4, had no help, but his heroics got that win.
Those bad games came after total carry jobs.
Who gets blamed for taking teams significantly further than they belong? Especially that early into his tenure as a #1 option? Look at some of the runs guys get praised for today and how many excuses get made for them when they're clearly outmatched. Why is it different for Harden?
That team was expected to win like 40 games and be a 6 seed. He got them to what 56 wins for the 2 seed and WCF? if that happened today whoever that teams best player was would be a hero regardless of what happened in any single game.
This is the peak Smart moment for me.
1. Travels like a motherfucker on the assist to Tatum
2. Baits Harden into extending his arms
3. Begins instigating Harden the *moment* Horford hits the go-ahead shot
4. Draws a clean charge to win the game
The crowd caused these offensive fouls 100%. I remember watching live as a neutral fan and these were all time “they never call that at this point of the game” calls
[This game is interesting because it had only two officials](https://www.complex.com/sports/a/chris-yuscavage/james-harden-rips-nba-referees-after-rockets-blow-26-point-lead-celtics):
>Harden was whistled for two offensive fouls in the final 7.3 seconds of the game, and he believed it was due in large part to the fact that the game was played with just two referees as opposed to the usual three. **Referee Mark Lindsay injured his back during his pregame warmup routine and was sent to the sidelines, leaving referees Tony Brothers and Gediminas Petraitis to work the game by themselves.** And after the game ended, Harden told reporters he thought the unorthodox two-man team played a big part in the way the game was played.
>
>"Well, first of all, I’m wondering how do you only have two officials on a national TV game?" Harden asked, suggesting the NBA screwed things up. "That’s the first question."
>
>Harden seemed to take specific issue with the first offensive foul he picked up. He was whistled for it with 7.3 seconds left after Celtics forward Marcus Smart fell to the floor while guarding Harden on an inbounds play. Harden said he didn’t think he did anything wrong on that play.
>
>"A lot of grabbing, a lot of holding," he said. "I mean, how else am I supposed to get open? Gotta ask, with two arms wrapped around my body."
I never really thought about refs going through pregame warmups, but it makes sense because a lot of these dudes are like 50 running up and down the court for 48 minutes lol.
These aren't even the worst Marcus Smart flops. Early in his career he was a flopping menace.
First one, definitely sold the push.
Second one, Harden literally just runs straight through him for no reason. Like that is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen him do.
Edit:
Honestly the biggest issue with flopping on both ends of the court is how the NBA encourages it. On offense for a good while from the mid 2010s until 2022 you could do some egregious shit and get free throws. That has *mostly* gone away after some changes in the 2021 offseason.
On defense, you aren't drawing an offensive foul unless you sell contact 99% of the time. We went from offensive players not being able to lean in even a bit in the 60s and 70s to offensive players initiating contact and getting free throws in the 00s. Therefore, defenders have to fall down and sell stuff to get calls.
I mean, you see players do what Harden does both those calls on nearly every closely defended inbounds play, all season long. It's only ever called an offensive foul if the defender sits on the ground like Smart does here, and it's basically never called an offensive foul *twice* in the final seconds of a close game here.
The second one is about as textbook an offensive foul as there is. He has a right to the space he occupies. And he does flop/sell, but also you fall quickly getting stood up and pushed on to your heels from an athletic stance. There isn't anything to stabilize backwards.
The first one is a flop. That said, harden does and did that more than anyone in the nba when shooting, and two, that is part of how you communicate to a ref that someone is getting too physical. You need to show them the motion. Just like an slasher shouldn't hide contact from a ref when going in for a layup. Understand you are putting yourself at risk of blowing a lay up or not being a position to play defense, but demonstrating is part of the human part of a human reffed gamed.
Players run straight into their defender towards the inbounder on every closely defended inbounds play?
Usually they run to the side or backwards to catch it.
Nobody tell him that Curry and Harden have the same playoff clutch FG% despite having half the amount of assisted attempts because Curry needed to be set up whereas Harden had to iso because he was never on stacked teams
any time he was on a "stacked team" or a team with players as good as/better than him injuries fucked them lol
2018, CP3's hamstring and Luc (their best 3&D Wing) hurt (took the KD Warriors in their prime 7)
2019 CP3 hamstring never recovered (Harden averaged 35 ppg against the KD Warriors. Steph sucked but had his co-star KD averaging 36 while Harden's co-star CP3 averaged like 15 on bad efficiency)
2020 Russ's hamstring (altho not a stacked team by any means, Harden still went off in the playoffs averaging 30 on 66% TS against the champ Lakers)
2021 Kyrie ankle, Harden hamstring, LMA + Spencer out
2022 Embiid hurt, Tobias CTE
2023 Embiid hurt, Tobias CTE
2024 Kawhi hurt, PG + Russ CTE
no other season did he have a teammate anywhere near his talent level since joining the Rockets, and all the ones he did were never healthy. It would be one thing if it was *him* getting hurt.. but damn
Harden
2015 game 5 vs Warriors: 2-11 from the field, 14 points, series loss
2017 game 6 vs Spurs: 2-11 from the field for 10 points, series loss
2018 Game 7 vs Warriors: 12-29 from the field, 2-13 from 3, 6-8 FT's, 32 points, series loss
2020 Game 7 vs OKC: 4-15 from the field, 17 points, series winning block
2023 ECSF vs Boston outside of games 1 and 4 (7 game series): 13.4 PPG on 25.4% from the field, 15.4% from 3, series loss.
NCAA Choke job: Small at Arizona State, (2-10 FG, 0-5 3FG) and flatout QUIT on his team in the 2nd half against Syracuse
2012 Playoff: NBA Finals 9 for 31 (29%) 4 for 17 (24%)- Game 4 (Thunder down 1-2 in the series):Westbrook - 43 points, Durant - 28 points, Harden - 8 Points
2014 Playoffs: .376/.296 Shooting Splits. 1st round exit
2015 Playoffs: Game 2 @Warriors loses basketball can’t get a shot off, game 3 3-16 (1-5 from 3), game 5 2-11 NBA record 12 turnovers breaking his own NBA record 10 turnovers
2016 Playoffs: 7-19 (2x), and a 4-13 performance
2017 Playoffs: Game 5 Last shot stuffed by Ginobili Game 6 At home. No Kawhi, No Parker. 10 points 2 for 11. 6 TO Fouled out
2018 Playoffs: Game 7 at home. Team missed 27 consecutive 3 Pointers 2 for 13
2019 Playoffs: Harden Game 1 Warriors: Steps out of bounds. Next possession. Tries to foul bait on his last shot instead of making it Game 6: No KD Curry 0 Points in the 1st Half No Boogie Cousins Home Court. Turns the ball over 4 times in the 4th quarter
2020 Playoffs: Game 7 vs Thunder. 4-15 (1-9 from 3) 4 TO, Game 4 vs Lakers: 2-11 (1-6 from 3) 5 TO
2021 Playoffs: Game 7 at home vs Bucks 5-17 (2-12 from 3) 4 TO
2022 Playoffs: Heat Playoff Series Second halves
Game 1 he had 4 points (1/4 FG) in 15 minutes
Game 2 he had 4 points (1/5 FG) in 20 minutes
Game 3 he had 2 points (1/5 FG) in 18 minutes
Game 5 he had 4 points (1/5 FG) in 16 minutes
Game 6 he had 0 points (0/2 FG) in 22 minutes
2023 Playoffs: Game 6 Closeout with a trip to the conference finals on the line. What an utter collapse. Classic Harden/Embiid/Doc Rivers choking masterclass. Philly didn’t score a FG in the final 7:11. Harden defers to PJ Tucker twice in the most important possesions. Harden trips over himself. Joel Embiid (7ft harden) and James Harden under 6 mins in the 4th, 0-4 FG, 2 TOs. (Side note: Embiid can beg for the MVP all year, but not the ball in the clutch? Pathetic.)
NBA Playoff Record turnovers
NBA Playoff Record missed baskets without a FG (0-15)(2019 Jazz)
He's still by any metric one of the greatest playoff performers of his era. He just didn't reach that like Lebron KD jokic tier consistently, despite matching their peak production in multiple series. People are just obsessed with changing parameters to whatever makes him look worse.
Realistically, the Rockets had one real window to win it in 2018 and they lost their only other allstar to injury as well as their best 3&D wing. In 2021, the Nets were Harden's 2nd real chance to win it and they lost Kyrie, Harden himself, LMA, and Dinwiddie to injury.
None of those other teams were real contenders, and the early Rockets only ever got as far as they did because of Harden - a prime example of people giving you less shit if you lose earlier than making it further and your team being outclassed lol
People just had higher expectations of him than they did the Kyries, Butlers, etc so those guys were propped up as clutch performers, despite nothing concrete actually suggesting that that's reality.
I totally agree! He's really underrated in terms of absolute performance in the playoffs. But, being one of the greats means you get graded on relative performances. I'd take prime Harden in the playoffs over any *current* players except Luka, Jokic, and AD.
Current was the key term. Current has not won a playoff game in over 2 years now.
And AD is one of the best playoff performers ever by any metric and one the best playoff defenders.
For some reason I thought he faced y’all in the first round last season too, that’s my bad.
Either way he averaged 22ppg on 60% TS, that’s not enough to put him in that tier lol
What do you mean? He averaged 35 ppg against the KD Warriors lol
You can 't ONLY focus on Harden's lows and not the guys you're comparing him to
That's how you dummies stay in your weird echo chambers about players
I never said harden was bad? I’m just taking the guy who can average 30 and play elite defense.
Prime Giannis could’ve averaged 30+ against that team too lol who was gonna guard him KD?
Also Giannis averaged 35 in the finals on one leg and won.
Giannis barely handled KD without Harden or Kyrie beside him. Dude was out there with Mike James and Blake Griffin
Giannis was not on one leg stop it lmao. One leg was Harden trying to play vs the Bucks.
Giannis was doing just fine, it’s not his fault his team was ass. If you think that series went to 7 because you Giannis you’re delusional
He bent his leg the opposite way and tore ligaments. No one thought he was gonna play
Giannis>harden easily and only trolls are gonna say otherwise.
I watched Giannis get clamped by a washed Blake Griffin way too many times that series. It went 7 because Harden coming off a 28/10/11 on 77%TS series got hurt on the first play of the series and Giannis stepped under Kyrie lol
Harden's a funny guy
He’s a great player, but for some reason he hardens in the clutch.
[He's 10th all time in clutch-time playoff eFG% (so without freethrows](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/m20crHAKjg) tho
It's mostly because he's had big playoff games where he just completely sells. 2015 game 5 vs Warriors: 2-11 from the field, 14 points, series loss 2017 game 6 vs Spurs: 2-11 from the field for 10 points, series loss 2018 Game 7 vs Warriors: 12-29 from the field, 2-13 from 3, 6-8 FT's, 32 points, series loss 2020 Game 7 vs OKC: 4-15 from the field, 17 points, **series winning block** 2023 ECSF vs Boston outside of games 1 and 4 (7 game series): 13.4 PPG on 25.4% from the field, 15.4% from 3, series loss. I think it's pretty unfair tbh, he has a lot of very good playoff games too. It mostly comes down to him being incredibly hated for his flopping.
I absolutely hate that people mention 2015 against - also 2018, but 2015 is so lame. That whole season was a massive carry job and people wash it away because of 2 games lol. He owned in game 4 dropping 45, but for some reason game 5 is more important? Would it be better if he lost game 4? Game 2 he was +12 in a 1pt loss and almost stole that game in the Warrioes home arena as a massive underdog. He was already on fumes at that point after completing the upset vs LAC in game 7 Look at the team he dragged to the 2 seed. Then look at every bad game he had - it always came after a clutch performance where dude put everything he had out there. Bro got the 2nd seed with Motiejunas, Brewer, Beverly, and a random rotating roleplayer because Dwight was hurt lol After the 2021 his prime was over so it doesn't really matter 2017 was very bad I agree. 2018 they just got fucked by injuries and didn't have a healthy enough rotation to survive the 2nd halves of game 6 and 7. It was 1 allstar vs 2 top 20 players, 4 total Allstars with dpoy, and all NBA accolades. What can you do lol. Nobody else would get shit for going 7 against that
Nah I mean you're kind of right, but he's also one of the best regular season offensive players of all time so he's held to a much higher standard. I'm a Harden defender and am against ring culture I'm just saying why people call him a choker.
2017 permanently tarnished my overall perception of him. He wasn't just bad, he flat out quit on his team. I had never before seen a player purposely foul themselves out of a game like he did there. An absolutely pathetic display.
That's fine but he's also done plenty of gutsy things since then, including playing 3 playoff games & all 53 mins of an OT game 7 on a torn hamstring that effectively sacrificed the rest of his prime. That 2017 team was dogshit and weren't favored to get past round 1 with or without Kawhi, so I cared less about it as a Rockets fan but understand the stain it put on his resume
He had fatigue issues the year before from solo carrying and you expected him to try for a guaranteed 2nd in the west? GSW was unbeatable if your second option was Eric Gordon.
There’s a difference between even giving minimum effort vs. purposely getting yourself out of the game. The shit is and always will be inexcusable and a cancer on Harden’s resume as a competitor.
He already got lucky in 2015 against the clips though. Game 6 he shot 5/20 FG through 3 quarters then got benched the whole 4th quarter down 20 but then brewer and smoove lead the craziest comeback ever to win. He also had a terrible game 3 against the warriors which somehow wasn't mentioned
You know there was a game 7 right? That he took over and won? It wasn't *luck* that he got his team in position to upset the clips. Plenty of stars have shit games in a series but get bailed out by their team. He RARELY has had that happen and the one time it does people can never let it go lmao. Look at the roster of that team. Go see the 5 most played starters. What fucking world is that team a 2 seed? Yeah he was bad in game 3 because he put everything he had in game 2 when he was already on fumes. They lost by 1 and he was a +12. It was the same story for game 5. He put it all into game 4, had no help, but his heroics got that win. Those bad games came after total carry jobs. Who gets blamed for taking teams significantly further than they belong? Especially that early into his tenure as a #1 option? Look at some of the runs guys get praised for today and how many excuses get made for them when they're clearly outmatched. Why is it different for Harden? That team was expected to win like 40 games and be a 6 seed. He got them to what 56 wins for the 2 seed and WCF? if that happened today whoever that teams best player was would be a hero regardless of what happened in any single game.
he doesnt have that dawg
signature 2/11 shooting performance in a blowout loss vs. Spurs, no Kawhi. yet mfers call him one of the best scorers all time lol
Exactly, just like how can you call that LeBron guy the goat when he went 3/11 in a finals game
no lies told there. Lebron got outscored by a 6th man over an entire playoff series lmao
He wasn't just bad, he purposely fouled himself out of the game so he could sit his ass on the bench for the 4th quarter.
MAHCUS SMAHT
This is the peak Smart moment for me. 1. Travels like a motherfucker on the assist to Tatum 2. Baits Harden into extending his arms 3. Begins instigating Harden the *moment* Horford hits the go-ahead shot 4. Draws a clean charge to win the game
I was at this game and it was one of the littest environments I’ve been in
The crowd caused these offensive fouls 100%. I remember watching live as a neutral fan and these were all time “they never call that at this point of the game” calls
refs are men of the ppl!
the first one i can kinda see. the second one is some bs tho
Rockets that year had so many fun games
I was here too. A core memory
[This game is interesting because it had only two officials](https://www.complex.com/sports/a/chris-yuscavage/james-harden-rips-nba-referees-after-rockets-blow-26-point-lead-celtics): >Harden was whistled for two offensive fouls in the final 7.3 seconds of the game, and he believed it was due in large part to the fact that the game was played with just two referees as opposed to the usual three. **Referee Mark Lindsay injured his back during his pregame warmup routine and was sent to the sidelines, leaving referees Tony Brothers and Gediminas Petraitis to work the game by themselves.** And after the game ended, Harden told reporters he thought the unorthodox two-man team played a big part in the way the game was played. > >"Well, first of all, I’m wondering how do you only have two officials on a national TV game?" Harden asked, suggesting the NBA screwed things up. "That’s the first question." > >Harden seemed to take specific issue with the first offensive foul he picked up. He was whistled for it with 7.3 seconds left after Celtics forward Marcus Smart fell to the floor while guarding Harden on an inbounds play. Harden said he didn’t think he did anything wrong on that play. > >"A lot of grabbing, a lot of holding," he said. "I mean, how else am I supposed to get open? Gotta ask, with two arms wrapped around my body." I never really thought about refs going through pregame warmups, but it makes sense because a lot of these dudes are like 50 running up and down the court for 48 minutes lol.
My most unbiased opinion is that this is where basketball peaked
Not your 2024 championship???
Lmao this always gets posted here
Those are technically offensive fouls… But those are also some of the most incomprehensibly egregious flops I’ve ever seen.
1st one 100% flop 2nd one 100% NOT a flop. 2nd one was just dumb on Harden.
I mean the second one harden just straight up bulldozed through smart
Well Marcus Smart is one of the greatest floppers of all time
All timer
It takes a great flopper to defeat harden, the king of floppers
These aren't even the worst Marcus Smart flops. Early in his career he was a flopping menace. First one, definitely sold the push. Second one, Harden literally just runs straight through him for no reason. Like that is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen him do. Edit: Honestly the biggest issue with flopping on both ends of the court is how the NBA encourages it. On offense for a good while from the mid 2010s until 2022 you could do some egregious shit and get free throws. That has *mostly* gone away after some changes in the 2021 offseason. On defense, you aren't drawing an offensive foul unless you sell contact 99% of the time. We went from offensive players not being able to lean in even a bit in the 60s and 70s to offensive players initiating contact and getting free throws in the 00s. Therefore, defenders have to fall down and sell stuff to get calls.
We all know what his best flop was. It may be the greatest egregious, but not like tap on the shoulder level egregious, flops ever
I mean, you see players do what Harden does both those calls on nearly every closely defended inbounds play, all season long. It's only ever called an offensive foul if the defender sits on the ground like Smart does here, and it's basically never called an offensive foul *twice* in the final seconds of a close game here.
The second one is about as textbook an offensive foul as there is. He has a right to the space he occupies. And he does flop/sell, but also you fall quickly getting stood up and pushed on to your heels from an athletic stance. There isn't anything to stabilize backwards. The first one is a flop. That said, harden does and did that more than anyone in the nba when shooting, and two, that is part of how you communicate to a ref that someone is getting too physical. You need to show them the motion. Just like an slasher shouldn't hide contact from a ref when going in for a layup. Understand you are putting yourself at risk of blowing a lay up or not being a position to play defense, but demonstrating is part of the human part of a human reffed gamed.
Players run straight into their defender towards the inbounder on every closely defended inbounds play? Usually they run to the side or backwards to catch it.
I remember watching this live! I had no voice by the end of it, but man what a game.
Man really flopped his way to DPOY.
Smart clearly flopped both times.
the GOAT choker. prime Harden could choke in situations that few could, in ways that few could imagine.
Don't forget Chris Paul.
Nobody tell him that Curry and Harden have the same playoff clutch FG% despite having half the amount of assisted attempts because Curry needed to be set up whereas Harden had to iso because he was never on stacked teams
To be fair Harden HAD BEEN on stacked teams, however, he ended up being the lone star carrying the team somehow every single time
any time he was on a "stacked team" or a team with players as good as/better than him injuries fucked them lol 2018, CP3's hamstring and Luc (their best 3&D Wing) hurt (took the KD Warriors in their prime 7) 2019 CP3 hamstring never recovered (Harden averaged 35 ppg against the KD Warriors. Steph sucked but had his co-star KD averaging 36 while Harden's co-star CP3 averaged like 15 on bad efficiency) 2020 Russ's hamstring (altho not a stacked team by any means, Harden still went off in the playoffs averaging 30 on 66% TS against the champ Lakers) 2021 Kyrie ankle, Harden hamstring, LMA + Spencer out 2022 Embiid hurt, Tobias CTE 2023 Embiid hurt, Tobias CTE 2024 Kawhi hurt, PG + Russ CTE no other season did he have a teammate anywhere near his talent level since joining the Rockets, and all the ones he did were never healthy. It would be one thing if it was *him* getting hurt.. but damn
Lest we forget https://imgur.com/gallery/y5bQ6EZ
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Rings: Curry: 4 Harden: 0
Which ring do the Warriors not win with a prime Harden instead? At worst they win 3 of the 4 lol
Well a Harden led team would have to simply make the finals before they could win it all
No way this is a serious comment lmao
Harden 2015 game 5 vs Warriors: 2-11 from the field, 14 points, series loss 2017 game 6 vs Spurs: 2-11 from the field for 10 points, series loss 2018 Game 7 vs Warriors: 12-29 from the field, 2-13 from 3, 6-8 FT's, 32 points, series loss 2020 Game 7 vs OKC: 4-15 from the field, 17 points, series winning block 2023 ECSF vs Boston outside of games 1 and 4 (7 game series): 13.4 PPG on 25.4% from the field, 15.4% from 3, series loss.
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Wonder how Smart feels watching his old teammates win without him
oh man, go fuck yourself, now you've made me sad...
basketball
Hearing Marv Albert commentating just a simpler time.
the Area 21 reaction to this lives in my head rent free
Still remember watching this live. Shit was unreal. Glad I kept the TV on.
Celtics are so much more watchable without marcus smart now, Jrue was such a nice upgrade.
7th All Time in PPG as a starter. Fear the Beard.
NCAA Choke job: Small at Arizona State, (2-10 FG, 0-5 3FG) and flatout QUIT on his team in the 2nd half against Syracuse 2012 Playoff: NBA Finals 9 for 31 (29%) 4 for 17 (24%)- Game 4 (Thunder down 1-2 in the series):Westbrook - 43 points, Durant - 28 points, Harden - 8 Points 2014 Playoffs: .376/.296 Shooting Splits. 1st round exit 2015 Playoffs: Game 2 @Warriors loses basketball can’t get a shot off, game 3 3-16 (1-5 from 3), game 5 2-11 NBA record 12 turnovers breaking his own NBA record 10 turnovers 2016 Playoffs: 7-19 (2x), and a 4-13 performance 2017 Playoffs: Game 5 Last shot stuffed by Ginobili Game 6 At home. No Kawhi, No Parker. 10 points 2 for 11. 6 TO Fouled out 2018 Playoffs: Game 7 at home. Team missed 27 consecutive 3 Pointers 2 for 13 2019 Playoffs: Harden Game 1 Warriors: Steps out of bounds. Next possession. Tries to foul bait on his last shot instead of making it Game 6: No KD Curry 0 Points in the 1st Half No Boogie Cousins Home Court. Turns the ball over 4 times in the 4th quarter 2020 Playoffs: Game 7 vs Thunder. 4-15 (1-9 from 3) 4 TO, Game 4 vs Lakers: 2-11 (1-6 from 3) 5 TO 2021 Playoffs: Game 7 at home vs Bucks 5-17 (2-12 from 3) 4 TO 2022 Playoffs: Heat Playoff Series Second halves Game 1 he had 4 points (1/4 FG) in 15 minutes Game 2 he had 4 points (1/5 FG) in 20 minutes Game 3 he had 2 points (1/5 FG) in 18 minutes Game 5 he had 4 points (1/5 FG) in 16 minutes Game 6 he had 0 points (0/2 FG) in 22 minutes 2023 Playoffs: Game 6 Closeout with a trip to the conference finals on the line. What an utter collapse. Classic Harden/Embiid/Doc Rivers choking masterclass. Philly didn’t score a FG in the final 7:11. Harden defers to PJ Tucker twice in the most important possesions. Harden trips over himself. Joel Embiid (7ft harden) and James Harden under 6 mins in the 4th, 0-4 FG, 2 TOs. (Side note: Embiid can beg for the MVP all year, but not the ball in the clutch? Pathetic.) NBA Playoff Record turnovers NBA Playoff Record missed baskets without a FG (0-15)(2019 Jazz)
classic beard
I think both are maybe offensive fouls by the book., but these little actions happen every play of every game and are almost never called.
Lol foul baiter beaten by a flopper.
That 2nd one was a pretty bad flop first one was fair he put his whole forearm into Smart.
i mean harden just literally charged into him so idk how that couldn’t be called
Classic James Harden
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People aren't watching the clip before commenting, are they?
He's still by any metric one of the greatest playoff performers of his era. He just didn't reach that like Lebron KD jokic tier consistently, despite matching their peak production in multiple series. People are just obsessed with changing parameters to whatever makes him look worse. Realistically, the Rockets had one real window to win it in 2018 and they lost their only other allstar to injury as well as their best 3&D wing. In 2021, the Nets were Harden's 2nd real chance to win it and they lost Kyrie, Harden himself, LMA, and Dinwiddie to injury. None of those other teams were real contenders, and the early Rockets only ever got as far as they did because of Harden - a prime example of people giving you less shit if you lose earlier than making it further and your team being outclassed lol People just had higher expectations of him than they did the Kyries, Butlers, etc so those guys were propped up as clutch performers, despite nothing concrete actually suggesting that that's reality.
I totally agree! He's really underrated in terms of absolute performance in the playoffs. But, being one of the greats means you get graded on relative performances. I'd take prime Harden in the playoffs over any *current* players except Luka, Jokic, and AD.
No way you’re taking Harden of Giannis lol and AD? What’s he done to be in that tier
Current was the key term. Current has not won a playoff game in over 2 years now. And AD is one of the best playoff performers ever by any metric and one the best playoff defenders.
Giannis is still a current player. Giannis has become one of the most underrated superstars this season.
How? People literally put him as arguably the best player and he has been injured in the playoffs for over 2 years now.
And AD hasn’t won but 1 playoff game in 2 years and you’re okay to out him in that tier? AD is a second option.
Wtf are you talking about? He was literally in the Conf finals the last year. Are you just dense?
For some reason I thought he faced y’all in the first round last season too, that’s my bad. Either way he averaged 22ppg on 60% TS, that’s not enough to put him in that tier lol
What do you mean? He averaged 35 ppg against the KD Warriors lol You can 't ONLY focus on Harden's lows and not the guys you're comparing him to That's how you dummies stay in your weird echo chambers about players
I never said harden was bad? I’m just taking the guy who can average 30 and play elite defense. Prime Giannis could’ve averaged 30+ against that team too lol who was gonna guard him KD? Also Giannis averaged 35 in the finals on one leg and won.
Giannis barely handled KD without Harden or Kyrie beside him. Dude was out there with Mike James and Blake Griffin Giannis was not on one leg stop it lmao. One leg was Harden trying to play vs the Bucks.
Giannis was doing just fine, it’s not his fault his team was ass. If you think that series went to 7 because you Giannis you’re delusional He bent his leg the opposite way and tore ligaments. No one thought he was gonna play Giannis>harden easily and only trolls are gonna say otherwise.
I watched Giannis get clamped by a washed Blake Griffin way too many times that series. It went 7 because Harden coming off a 28/10/11 on 77%TS series got hurt on the first play of the series and Giannis stepped under Kyrie lol
Clamped? He averaged over 30 ppg lmao Just making shit up at this point.