What James Harden did after a blowout loss against Brooklyn Nets should worry the Sixers fans
In true James Harden fashion, instead of getting some extra shots after a bad loss, he went out to party with Lil Baby and Travis Scott. Should this worry the Philadelphia 76ers fans?
Reaction from a bad loss
Great players take pride in their games. Every bad loss, especially in big games, should make them angry and hurt. Harden should have taken the loss personally after delivering a sub-par performance with 11 points on 17.6 percent shooting on the field against the team he forced out from, the Brooklyn Nets.
Instead, Harden went out to party with Lil Baby and Travis Scott, who watched the game on the courtside.
He's free to do whatever he wants in his downtime, and Harden is a known party animal, but coming from a bitter loss, James should have acted accordingly. Partying after a loss in a big game is like spitting on Sixers fans' faces and telling them he doesn't care about it or that he played poorly. To be fair, he owned up to his performance and vowed to do better.
"There's no excuses. I got to be better individually... We got our ass kicked. Since I've been here everything has been sweet, tonight was good for us and we get an opportunity to come down to reality and get better."
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Saying things and then doing the opposite should worry Sixers fans. Yes, it's just a regular-season game, and Harden has more than enough time to prove the critics wrong. But, it's his penchant for disappearing in big games that's becoming a significant flaw in his game. A sentiment that Charles Barkley also shares.
"Fading in big games"
Charles Barkley talked about how Harden disappears in big games, even in his past teams.
"He has a reputation for fading in big games; he has done nothing tonight to make us forget that. James has just been flat-out awful."
In playoff series where it went down the line, The Beard uncharacteristically delivered poor performances. He shot 24 percent from the rainbow country and had 14 turnovers in Games 6 and 7 in Western Conference finals in 2018, which his team led 3-2 before losing 4-3.
He has Joel Embiid and a good supporting cast who are more than able to carry the load for him when he's on-off night. But, the front office didn't sign him to disappear in crucial moments. Harden is paid top money to carry the Philadephia 76ers to the promised land. So partying after a bad loss is a worrying sign, and he must change the already established narrative by starting to deliver in big moments.