“Liability” James Harden Gets Bashed for 76ers Form: “He’s Supposed to Be There to Take the Pressure off of Joel Embiid”

The Philadelphia 76ers are the top 4 in the Eastern Conference. A few months ago, James Harden arrived in Philly as a scorer who would help support Joel Embiid. So far, Harden has not met the team’s expectations. Joel Embiid is still putting up his MVP numbers every game. Harden, as of now, has played 16 games for the Sixers.

James has been performing decently, but his percentages look off. Harden’s three-point percentage has gone down to 34%. With such performance, is James Harden a liability for the Sixers?

James Harden not playing as expected for the 76ers

The Sixers got Harden in February this year. The Beard, as everyone expected, would’ve taken a load off of Embiid. Joel has been doing his best, and with the addition of Harden, Sixers would have a reliable threat from the three-point line. Kendrick Perkins believes James Harden is a liability to Embiid.

“… for real, he’s been more of a liability than… than what they thought he was gonna be. Look he’s supposed to be there to take pressure off of Joel Embiid,” says Perkins. 

So far their chemistry looks decent, though Harden has to step up and be the scoring threat that he is. Perkins goes on to mention Harden’s history of playing with other star players.

Feb 27, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden (1) and center Joel Embiid (21) greet each other after the New York Knicks call a timeout in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden | Credits: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

“When you look at who James Harden has played, he… it didn’t work out with Dwight Howard, it didn’t work out with Chris Paul, it didn’t work out with Russell Westbrook, you went to the Brooklyn Nets, it didn’t work out with KD and Kyrie. Now you’re with Embiid.”

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This statement is true, as the Rockets tried to build a team around Harden for a while. James had his best season with the Rockets from 2017 to 2019. He won the MVP award, was his closest to the NBA Finals in 2018 when the Rockets lost to the Warriors in Western Finals, and led his team in scoring for multiple seasons.

Though it didn’t work out with Houston, Harden had a great chance at leading the Nets to the Finals alongside Kevin Durant. But injuries set him apart. Now that Harden is playing with an MVP candidate who currently has an edge over him, he can give his support on the offensive end.

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“… you have to be able to hold up your end of the bargain and not just depend on the other that you’re pairing up with. Don’t put pressure on Embiid, be an asset to him. Not a liability.” said Perkins.

This should worry the coaching staff as the playoffs are right around the corner. Harden’s playoffs averages are great, but he’ll have to step forward to match those numbers this year.

Do you think the Nets will meet the Sixers in the playoffs this year? Do let us know in the comments.

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