“He chose his situation, so there’s no excuses” - Tim McMahon says James Harden has the most to prove in the NBA this season

James Harden's inability to come up big when the games really matter continue to hound him with the Philadelphia 76ers.[Photo: Bleacher Report]

James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers are in the thick of the fight for the best record in the East. They sit third, only three games behind the Miami Heat. “The Beard’s” arrival has pushed the Sixers to an 8-2 record when the former MVP plays.

Despite James Harden’s great start to his career as Philly’s starting point guard, there are still many who are waiting for a signature big-game performance. Yes, the Sixers have lost only twice since Harden arrived, but both were devastating losses to elite teams. He still hasn’t come up with the goods when his team badly needs him to do so.

Tim McMahon of ESPN believes that James Harden has the most pressure in the NBA to deliver on the biggest stage:

“Harden has the most to prove of any player in the NBA. Two straight years he’s chosen his destination. Last year the hamstring failed him, but he chose his situation. So, there’s no excuses. We can talk about roster flaws around them; this is what he chose.”

James Harden infamously forced his way out of the Houston Rockets to team up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant with the Brooklyn Nets. The 32-year-old’s much anticipated postseason debut with the Nets ended harshly as he was hobbled by nagging hamstring issues.

James Harden struggled in the 1st half, shooting 3-15, including 0-9 on 2-pointers.

Kyrie Irving held him to 1-7 shooting as the primary defender in the 1st half. https://t.co/FtLxCdap29

The three-time former scoring champ, midway through the season, also ditched his partnership with the Nets’ Big 3 to team up with Joel Embiid in Philly. Sixers fans were eagerly waiting for the game against Brooklyn not only to heckle Ben Simmons but to see how their team would stack against Durant and Irving.

In true James Harden fashion, he completely crumpled while Irving and Durant shone among the superstars. Tim McMahon stressed that Harden’s latest epic failure has become almost expected of him.

“They [Brooklyn Nets] absolutely humiliated them. They stole their soul. I mean that was an embarrassing performance! Listen, James Harden has a track record of sometimes shrinking when the lights get brightest. And that was kind of a classic big-game performance where he disappeared, they lose and then he reappears at a club with some of his rapper buddies after the game. They’ve had all the elements of a big-game James Harden failure,” he said.

James Harden with Lil Baby and Travis Scott last night 👀

(h/t @AhnFireDigital ) https://t.co/WXS7KVNzde

The 10x All-Star was hardly recognizable against his former team. He was a pathetic 3-17 from the field to finish with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. The Philadelphia 76ers were outscored by 30 points in Harden’s 29 minutes. The final score of 129-100 did not fully capture how badly Harden and the 76ers were outplayed in that game.

Will Houston Rockets James Harden ever show up again?

The Beard has not been the same since leaving the Houston Rockets. [Photo: The Dream Shake]

Just a year ago, the former Sixth Man of the Year winner was terrorizing opponents’ defense. This year, he has become a meme for his horrendous play. Ever since he re-injured his hamstring in the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks, he has never been the same.

The Philadelphia 76ers are not the most athletic team and are prone to giving up on plays on both ends of the court. They have gotten into a ton of trouble guarding prolific wing scorers and have been exposed on transition defense. With these kinds of issues hounding Philly, the 76ers will have little room for error and may need the Rockets’ version of Harden to be elite contenders.

The @sixers were powered by the two-way play of Joel Embiid who tied a career-high in steals with 5!🔔

Joel Embiid: 32 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST, 5 STL
James Harden: 24 PTS, 7 REB, 12 AST, 2 STL https://t.co/C2ROBkZAdu

Harden also has to prove that he’s so much better than his “choker” reputation. He can banish all of that if he can play his best alongside Joel Embiid.