James Harden has come out with some comments criticizing the way the Philadelphia 76ers were using him after he got traded to the Clippers. This has rankled team leader and reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who didn’t agree with how Harden saw their team situation play out last season.
“I don’t think so. I think he did a lot of great things for us, but the notion of misuse, maybe that might have been coming from the way he felt with the coaching staff and what was said. In my opinion, I just feel like we allowed him to be himself and we gave him the ball every single possession because he is really good. I mean, he’s an amazing player.”
Embiid had more to add, complimenting Harden’s play but making sure he expressed his dissatisfaction with Harden, claiming he wasn’t getting the ball much.
“Being that great of a passer, I think we just gave him the ball. If you watch again, we gave him the ball every single possession to just go out and do his thing and from there, he had to make decisions as far as getting guys open or looking out for himself. But I thought it did a pretty good job of just getting us into an offense, and not just passing the ball, getting guys open. That’s the reason why he won the assist title last year. Maybe that might have been a discussion between the coach and him, but from my point of view, I think we allowed him to have the ball.”
Embiid gave a long answer on Harden’s comments today. Lot of Harden praise.
“We allowed him to just be himself, and we gave him the ball on every single possession. Because he’s really good. He’s an amazing player. I’m not that great of a passer, [so] we gave him the ball.” pic.twitter.com/biB7peKXKL
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) November 3, 2023
Nobody who watched the 76ers last season would say that there were severe coaching limitations on Harden, which didn’t allow him to play like himself. Even though Harden and Doc Rivers didn’t share the best relationship, everyone could see portions of the game where Harden would start trying to take over.
If Harden’s problem was with not being the No. 1 scoring option on the squad, that’s not something anyone can rectify. There was no way Harden would be featured ahead of Embiid on the 76ers, given he’s their franchise cornerstone and just won MVP. It’s good that he left because he may get more room to be himself on the Clippers with their star wing duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
What Did James Harden Say About His Time On The 76ers?
James Harden made a pretty big statement in his opening press conference with the Clippers. When asked about his season-and-a-half stint with the 76ers, Harden claimed that the 76ers stifled his true production, claiming he was put on a ‘leash’ and made to run a system.
“Someone that trusts me believes in me, I’m not a system player, I am a system. Someone that could have that dialog with me.”
‘I am the system’ is an incredibly audacious thing for someone like Harden to say at this point in his career. There is no doubt in my mind that prime Harden was an offensive system unto himself and nobody could do anything about it. Any team that tries winning meaningful basketball games on the backs of Harden-ball has never prospered and likely never will given his style of play.
Harden averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 10.7 assists with the 76ers, decidedly unimpressive numbers. Given the number of times he disappeared in the playoffs, there was no reason to play the ‘Harden system’ since that would lead to an even earlier exit than Philly is accustomed to.
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