‘Responsibility’ James Harden gets banged for 76ers form: ‘He’s supposed to be there to take the pressure off Joel Embiid’

The Philadelphia 76ers are in the top 4 in the Eastern Conference. A few months ago, James Harden arrived in Philly as a goalscorer who would help support Joel Embiid. So far, Harden hasn’t lived up to the team’s expectations. Joel Embiid still posts his MVP numbers every game. Harden, to date, has played 16 games with the Sixers.

James played decently, but his percentages look bad. Harden’s three-point percentage has dropped to 34%. With such performances, is James Harden a handicap for the Sixers?

James Harden not playing as expected for 76ers

The Sixers got Harden in February of this year. The Beard, as everyone expected, would have relieved Embiid. Joel gave his best, and with the addition of Harden, Sixers would have a reliable threat from the three-point line. Kendrick Perkins thinks James Harden is a handicap for Embiid.

“…for real, he’s been more of a liability than…than they thought he was going to be.” Look, he’s supposed to be here to relieve Joel Embiid,” Perkins says.

Their chemistry so far seems decent, although Harden needs to step up and be the scoring threat that he is. Perkins goes on to mention Harden’s history of playing with other star players.

“When you look at who James Harden played, he… it didn’t work with Dwight Howard, it didn’t work with Chris Paul, it didn’t work with Russell Westbrook, you went to the Brooklyn Nets , it didn’t work out with KD and Kyrie. Now you’re with Embiid.

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That statement is true, as the Rockets have been trying to build a team around Harden for quite some time. James had his best season with the Rockets from 2017 to 2019. He won the MVP award, was his closest to the NBA Finals in 2018 when the Rockets lost to the Warriors in the Western Finals and led his team to scoring for several seasons.

Although it didn’t work out with Houston, Harden had a great chance of leading the Nets to the Finals alongside Kevin Durant. But injuries set him apart. Now that Harden is playing with an MVP candidate who currently has an advantage over him, he can provide support on the offensive side.

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“…you have to be able to hold your end of the bargain and not just depend on whoever you associate with. Don’t put pressure on Embiid, be an asset to him. Not a liability. said Perkins.

That should worry the coaching staff as the playoffs are right around the corner. Harden’s playoff averages are excellent, but he will have to step up to match those numbers this year.

Do you think the Nets will meet the Sixers in the playoffs this year? Let us know in the comments.