James Harden had yet another poor playoff outing last night, as he and the Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Miami Heat. Harden struggled from the field last night, scoring just 11 points throughout the game, and had zero points in the entire second half.
Harden’s numbers were extremely disappointing. And one stat shows just how bad Harden has been in the last two games during the 4th quarter. James Harden has scored zero points in his last two 4th quarters for the Philadelphia 76ers.
By comparison, Ben Simmons, who was lambasted for his disastrous 4th quarter performances in his last two games for the 76ers, had three points in the same stretch. In fact, James Harden actually went 0-2 from the field in the entire second half of Game 6. These numbers do not shine a good light on Harden.
James Harden has 0 points in his last two 4th quarters.
Ben Simmons had 3 points in his last two 4th quarters with the Sixers. pic.twitter.com/HrUNtzLowQ
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 13, 2022
Ben Simmons was rightfully criticized for his lack of initiative in the 4th quarter of his last two games. But James Harden has actually been worse compared to Simmons, as he went completely blank. Harden had an incredible performance in Game 4, where he made a number of clutch shots.
But he has not been able to replicate that performance in the following two games. For James Harden, he will now have to focus on getting better for the next season. Much like Simmons, Joel Embiid also seemed to criticize James Harden’s performance in Game 6, a stark contrast to what he first had to say when he played with the former MVP.
James Harden has committed to staying with the 76ers, saying he will do whatever it takes to help the team win. Harden even suggested that he would sign with the 76ers for less money so that the team can sign better players for the coming season. For Harden, his window to win an NBA championship while playing at a high level is diminishing as he is getting older and does not have a lot of time left.
