NBA
A Former Player And NBA Analyst Has Some Concerns With James Harden’s Scoring
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated18 Jan 2023
The Philadelphia 76ers are riding a wave of momentum going 8-2 in their last ten games and are on a small three-game win streak. Last night, Joel Embiid carried the Sixers with 41 points, Tobias Harris had 20, and Tyrese Maxey came off the bench to score 22. One 76er who struggled offensively last night was James Harden, a three-time scoring champion. A former player and now NBA analyst had raised some concerns with Harden’s effectiveness trying to score.
In the teams 120-110 win vs the LA Clippers last night, Harden finished the game with 6 points, 9 rebounds, and three assists. He went 1-6 from the field and 0-4 from deep in last night’s contest. After the game, Harden’s performance drew the eye of NBA analyst Jamal Crawford and he had some criticism for the 10-time all-star.
Pennsylvania Sports Betting sites have the 76ers at (+1600) to win the Finals this season.
ICYMI: we had some fun last night. 😃
📹 Game Highlights vs. Clippers (01.17.22)
pres. by @cryptocom pic.twitter.com/gR74GM5NoV
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 18, 2023
Jamal Crawford criticized James Harden for his lackluster scoring performance last night
It’s a fact that James Harden is not the scorer that he once used to be. Since joining the Brooklyn Nets in the in the 2020-21 season, Harden became more of a facilitator than he used to be. In 80 games played for the Nets he averaged (10.5) assists per game and in 50 career games with the 76ers he’s averaging (10.9) assists. That’s far more than his (6.9) career average and it’s in large part because he’s not the same explosive player he one was.
Tyrese Maxey’s 22 points and Tobias Harris’ 20 points were both key for the team on top of the 41-point performance by Joel Embiid. However, Harden’s six points last night just did not cut in the eyes of Jamal Crawford, and NBA analyst with TNT. After the game last night, Crawford had this to say about Harden.
“If Maxey and Tobias Harris are your second-leading guys, I’m not sure it’s going to get you far in the playoffs,” – Jamal Crawford
The 20-year NBA veteran went on to explain how the Sixers brought Harden over from the Nets with intentions of him being Embiid’s right -hand man. That has not been the case and Harden is playing more of a facilitating PG role for the Sixers. His season-high is 35 points and his six points last night were the lowest for him this season.
