James Harden had a number of brilliant moments for the Philadelphia 76ers in their NBA Playoffs series with the Boston Celtics. Who could forget his 45-point showing in Game 1? However, not even those performances could cover up for his disastrous showings when it mattered most.
In Game 7 on Sunday, Harden finished with just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting. Sure he had six rebounds, seven assists and two steals, but that's not really what the Sixers needed from him in the contest. Philly desperately needed Game 1 Harden to appear and step up so they can close out Boston, but he went missing in action once again as they lost 112-88.
Making matters worse, Harden failed to score in the fourth quarter despite playing for eighth minutes. That is now the third straight game that he laid an egg in the final frame, putting into question his ability as a closer and scorer for the Sixers.
Through Games 5 to 7, Harden has played a total of 32 fourth-quarter minutes. As mentioned, he failed to score in that span, per Stat Muse.
It's definitely a concerning trend for Harden. While the Sixers loved that he embraced a facilitator role when he joined Philly and paired up with Joel Embiid, the fact is the team needs him to score as well and back up Embiid when he couldn't get the offense going. We did see some of that in the series, but in the end, Harden just couldn't fulfill that role.
As the Sixers head into the offseason, James Harden's status and future with the team is expected to be a huge storyline.
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