James Harden had a really good comeback game overall, despite his costly turnover at the end. Skip Bayless noted the same.
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Harden was not supposed to be this good in the very first game of the season, after all. The narrative about the Rockets superstar over the past month or so has been all negative. We criticized him for partying, we criticized him for showing up to camp overweight.
In a close game at the Moda Center, the two teams exchanged leads a bunch of times. The Blazers eventually forced overtime. A couple of clutch shots from CJ McCollum sealed the deal for Portland.
Even in preseason, Harden looked way off the pace at times. People speculated if he was going to underperform this season and tank his trade value.
Skip Bayless praises James Harden’s performance with sly dig
Judging from his efforts last night, Harden is definitely not going to gently into the good night. He put up a superb 44 point, 17-assist performance. His 17 dimes tied a career-best for the 2018 NBA MVP, who looks set to stake his name for the trophy once more.
Bayless is certainly no fan of Harden. In the past, Skip has criticized Harden for ‘choking’ on the big stages in the playoffs.
The crucial moment of this game came when Harden had the ball in his hands with a chance to win it for the Rockets. He elected to set up a cutter, but his pass was intercepted by the alert Robert Covington. PJ Tucker opted not to foul him down 2 points with 3 seconds to go, and the game clock expired.
However, Skip had only good words for the Beard on his performance. He elected not to take the easy bait, acknowledging his monster night. He might change his tune when the season progresses. Skip did definitely slip in that comment about Harden being fat.
