Is James Harden making the right adjustments for the Sixers?
After a 16-point performance in a 106-92 Game 1 loss to the Miami Heat on Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers version of James Harden continues looking nothing like the 2018 MVP he was in Houston.
As the Sixers took the court without Joel Embiid, who suffered an orbital fracture and concussion in the first round, Harden tallied a total of 13 shots and was suffocated by the Miami defense. He had a hard time getting past defenders, a rarity for the three-time scoring champion, but the issue may not be that he's lost a step.
As Colin Cowherd outlined on "The Herd" on Tuesday, "Harden is simply just not staying current."
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Colin Cowherd explains why Harden is proof that athletes must continue to 'keep up with their game.'
Prior to this season, the NBA made a rule change that barred players from leaning into defenders and drawing a foul on a non-basketball move — a trick that Harden mastered years ago.
Harden used that rule to his advantage and the stats backed him up. Beginning with the 2014-15 season, he led the league for six consecutive seasons in free throws and free throw attempts. It wasn’t until 2018-19 that he led the NBA in field goals and field goal attempts in back-to-back seasons.
During the 2019-20 season, his last full one in Houston, Harden averaged 11.8 free throw attempts per game, making 10.2. Those numbers have fallen to 8.5 attempts and 7.4 makes this season between time spent in Brooklyn and Philadelphia.
Cowherd believes that at this point, even Harden knows he's not his former self, which has translated into "The Beard" taking his foot off the gas offensively.
"If you don’t take care of your game, and you don’t care of your body — sometimes it’s both, and sometimes it’s just one — it ends quickly," Cowherd said. "He’s got some self-awareness and knows what he is. He doesn’t have a single game as a 76er with 20 shots."
On Tuesday's "First Things First," Chris Broussard also pointed out a huge advantage that Harden had as a member of the Houston offense. In short, he was the offense, which wasn't the case in Brooklyn and hasn't been the case in Philly.
"The only years he averaged more than 30 or more points was in the Mike D’Antoni system, so he’s not going to do it outside the system that was completely built around him," Broussard said.
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Chris Broussard and Nick Wright decide whether James Harden has what it takes to lead the Sixers without Joel Embiid.
In a little over eight seasons in Houston, Harden's scoring numbers are well-documented. But arguably the most telling stat was his usage rate of 33.3% during the regular season and 33.1% during the postseason.
After nearly three regular seasons in Brooklyn and Philly, Harden has a usage rate of 27.7% in the regular season and 23.1% in the postseason.
In other words, the days of an NBA offense revolving around Harden seem to be a thing of the past.
Is the idea of Harden as a dominant player in the same predicament?