The Philadelphia 76ers have successfully won both their home games in the opening round of the 2023 post-season and look set to finish off the Nets in Brooklyn. However, Game 2 was a little concerning for Doc Rivers’ side as their playmaker James Harden had one of those games.
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The Beard, after putting up a magnificent 23-13-4 performance in 121-101 Game 1, went back to his Houston days and had a horrible Playoff game.
Much like some experts, the Philly fans must have been expecting this day to come. Skip Bayless for one, sure did.
Skip Bayless humiliates James Harden for his performance in Game 2
In over 38 minutes he played in the game, Harden could manage just 8 points. The 10x All-Star shot 23% from the field for his 13 shots and 25% from the 3-point line on 8 attempts.
And so, FS1 veteran analyst Skip Bayless used a troll name to mock the 3x scoring champ on his bad night.
He did not stop there, obviously.
There is no stopping this man when he goes on a rant. Just watch him on the next broadcast of UNDISPUTED raving about why Joel Embiid is the MVP as he has got to play with “Jim Harden”.
Harden’s Playoffs dip is a pattern
It’s not like this has happened in three off games in James’ career. It has been well more than 3 post-seasons where he has under-delivered compared to how he had been balling throughout the season.
And when it’s over 2, it’s a pattern. Whether it’s his last year’s Playoffs with the Sixers or his 6/8 seasons postseasons with the Rockets, Harden has not shot over 42% from the field.
At least 5 of those 9 times, his team was one of the favorites to win it all and was sometimes even in series-winning situations when Harden just starts choking, resulting in his team’s elimination.
Let’s hope this isn’t one of those times, and we see Embiid and him at least in the Finals for once.
