James Harden chokes in the big game against Brooklyn Nets and it’s not at all surprising to Charles Barkley.
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Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid were lucky enough to find the trade value that they had expected Ben Simmons would bring in when they got James Harden before the trade deadline last month.
Since that trade, both Embiid and Harden looked like the most dominant duo in the NBA, capable of delivering the strongest one-two punch the league has seen in a long while. They did just that in the 5 games they played together facing some of the best teams of both conferences in that period.
Among those games, Sixers won all five, 3 of which were against the top-6 teams of either conference including the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. Henceforth, giving the proof that they’ll be a top contender for the championship.
Embiid was averaging 32.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in those 5 games. While Harden was averaging 24 points, 12.4 dishes, and 7.6 boards instilling fear in the opponents who would match up with them in the Playoffs.
But Harden and playoffs do not fit well with each other, and we’ve had enough of his post-season miseries to know that having the best big man of the league might also not be enough for him to win it all. And on Thursday he gave a glimpse of it.
James Harden choked against the Nets, Chuck is not in shock
When the Brooklyn Nets visited Wells Fargo Center for the first time after the most hyped trade of the season, the 10x All-Star had the chance to prove why he decided to move on from KD and Kyrie in just a year.
But man did he not do just the opposite of that. And our most beloved TNT analyst, Charles Barkley, isn’t surprised that the Beard failed to rise to the occasion.
Even Shaq echoed Chuck’s point.
In a match against his former team where the Nets did not even have their newly acquired All-Defensive First team guard Simmons on the floor, James scored a mere 11 points, shooting 0/10 inside the perimeter and 3/7 beyond it.
He also dished out 7.4 fewer assists than what he’s averaging with his new team. With such a contrasting performance from his start with Philly, he has again proved that he can be a problem in big games.
This 129-100 loss at home in a similar fashion to how they were defeating other teams since Harden’s arrival, Doc Rivers team have been given a reality check at the right moment. They’d need to adjust it with Playoffs approaching.
