Despite Philadelphia’s blowout loss to the Nets on Friday, FOX Sports analyst Shannon Sharpe still believes they are the team to beat in the East.
In a segment on First Take, he shared his view on the subject and suggested that this season will be the chance for him to change the narrative about his career.
“This is what I love most about sports because you get an opportunity to update your resume. James Harden has that same opportunity. He hasn’t played as well as the regular season guy who won MVP. That’s a scoring Champion. He hasn’t played that well and especially in the most meaningful ball games. It takes one series or a couple of series for us to change the narrative or change the perspective of how we look at an individual. Only James Harden can do that. I believe he’s going to change the narrative. He and Joel Embiid, they’re going to be right there when it’s all said and done. They’re going to be competing for a Championship when it’s all said and done.”
James Harden is guilty of putting on some true stinkers. Many times over his career, in OKC, Houston, and Brooklyn, he failed to step up in big-time games. This trend has earned him a negative reputation in the eyes of some critics.
“This was an iconic James Harden game. and the vibe I was getting from the stands was like deep down, they know about the history, they knew he had some stinkers in his past,” said Bill Simmons. “They knew they weren’t sure if they were gonna be able to go to war with him. They knew he quit on two teams. This was the ‘ug oh’ game.
It didn’t seem like Harden really wanted it. It was like watching a boxing match where one guy really wanted to mix it up and the other guy wasn’t really ready to do it. I felt like Kyrie was in ‘f you’ mode with him Harden just wasn’t matching it. It was weird to watch.”
Now is the chance for Harden to change all of that. If he is able to lead the 76ers to a championship this season, it will put all the narratives to rest.
Through 6 games with the Sixers so far, he’s averaging 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game on 45% shooting. The team is 3rd in the East with a 40-25 record.
