NBA Twitter compares James Harden to LeBron James after having botched a defensive possession on the fast-break against Pistons.
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James Harden hasn’t been himself since the start of the 2021-22 NBA season and there’s two glaring reasons as to why this is the case, with a third one potentially at play. The first of course, is the fact that the league has gone stringent with their foul-calling, swallowing their whistle on plays that would grant Harden at least 10 free throws a game.
The second would most probably be his strained hamstring, that dates back to the Milwaukee series in last season’s Playoffs. It could still not be a 100% healed at the moment. The third reason, which may or may not be true, could be that James Harden is reaching the tail-end of his prime.
The 2018 MVP is 32 years old (not all too old for the NBA nowadays but certainly not young either) and has shown a considerable amount of regression in his game to start this season off.
NBA Twitter reacts to James Harden and his lack of defensive awareness.
The Brooklyn Nets matched up against a team that has been historically horrendous to start off the season. The Detroit Pistons however, made it a close game down the stretch, requiring yet another late game save from Kevin Durant who pushed them past the finish line.
James Harden, though he finished with a triple double, had a lackluster performance overall. Perhaps what sums up his offensive and defensive game tonight would be a particular play he had with Saddiq Bey.
On offense, Bey is matched up against ‘The Beard’ and surprisingly, Harden simply could not burst past the young Piston. There was a considerable lack power on his drive and it led to losing control of the ball. What’s particularly bad about this possession is his incredible lac of effort on the defensive end, leading to a wide open dunk from Saddiq.
NBA Twitter of course, had a few choice words for James Harden following this perplexing possession from him.
