James Harden was a primary reason for the OKC Thunder beating the San Antonio Spurs in the 2012 playoffs. However, his play fell off in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. According to Kendrick Perkins, this was due to some of his extracurricular activities.
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Harden has long been labeled as a playoff choker by a lot of NBA fans. They’ve found some statistical grounds for this argument. The Beard’s performances in past elimination games have also been deserving of criticism.
The Beard has only been to 2 Conference Finals in 11 attempts since his trade from Oklahoma City. His Rockets posed a great threat to the Warriors’ dynasty in 2018 but were eliminated by Steph and co in 7 games. He’s yet to return to that stage for 5 years now.
With the Sixers down 2-1 in their second-round series, James looks likely to extend that streak by another year. Being on the back end of his prime now, his championship window is definitely closing fast.
James Harden was accused of visiting strip clubs during the 2012 NBA Finals by Kendrick Perkins
Kendrick Perkins was once a guest with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the All The Smoke Podcast. The former NBA champion was also a member of the OKC Thunder squad that made the 2012 NBA Finals.
Perk insinuated that visiting strip clubs was a major reason why Harden’s play fell off in Miami in 2012:
“We end up getting game 1. They got game 2, but when we went to Miami, man we could not get a win to save our life. Russ and KD came to play. I remember I had a couple of double-doubles, Serge was doing pretty good.”
“But man, James ain’t give a s***. You know why. Motherf***** king of diamonds and everything cut a hole in his hands, man. See, in San Antonio, he didn’t have a damn thing to do.”
“We got to Miami, s***, it was everything the motherf***** could do. We couldn’t get that motherf***** to buy a bucket. He didn’t get his rest, he was out all night.”
Harden could go to the Rockets if he doesn’t make the NBA Finals this year
The Philadelphia 76ers are in quite a dicey position with respect to their roster flexibility this offseason. James Harden is an unrestricted free agent and has been reportedly interested in returning to the Hoston Rockets.
If they can’t get past the Celtics and out of the Eastern Conference, the Sixers have precious few moves except for trading Tobias Harris in order to strengthen their roster.
Although Harden would be a few years away from contention if he went to Houston, the place is still home for him.
