“What do you mean you don’t feel pressure? You must be out of your damn mind” - Stephen A. Smith says James Harden is lying about not feeling any pressure ahead of the playoffs
NBA and Philadelphia 76ers superstar James Harden has come under immense scrutiny this season as he is under pressure to deliver a championship to his new employers.
On ESPN's morning show "First Take," sports media personality Stephen A. Smith reacted to Harden's comments about not feeling any pressure going into the postseason this year, with ESPN's premier personality calling him a liar. Smith said:
"He just lied. That's a damn lie he said. What do you mean you don’t feel pressure? You must be out of your damn mind. You better feel that pressure because you in Philly, bro. It's going to change. Life is different now."
Harden forced his way out of the Brooklyn Nets, just like he did with the Houston Rockets as his preferred destination has always been in Philly, and now with Joel Embiid as his teammate, all the expectations are on him and Embiid to deliver a championship this season or, at the very least, to come out of the Eastern Conference and make it to the NBA Finals.
How important is James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers?
James Harden had a terrific start to his career with the Philadelphia 76ers. He has taken to the team like a duck to water. He has seamlessly gelled with the likes of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and has put up very good numbers with his new team. But his form has dipped over the last couple of weeks. In his last 15 games of the regular season, he averaged less than 21 PPG and shot less than 29% from the perimeter and 38% from the field.
One of the greatest scorers the game has seen, James Harden was an unstoppable machine during his nine seasons with the Houston Rockets. However, he was also a great facilitator, and the Philadelphia 76ers need the perfect combination of both for their championship aspirations.
What makes Harden great is his ability to be a quintessential point guard and also a scoring machine who can excel in one-on-one situations. He has run the pick and roll with Joel Embiid incredibly well, and that will be the biggest offensive weapon for the 76ers this season.
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 only question mark for the 76ers is the health of their superstars Embiid and Harden. The former has a history of being injury prone, while the latter has sustained hamstring issues a couple of times over the last two years or so, with a lot of that having to do with his weight and conditioning.
The 76ers have gambled big time on Harden as they have given away arguably the best defender in the league (Ben Simmons) and a sharpshooter (Seth Curry). While Harden is a liability defensively, he has the offensive prowess to overcome that, and that is what the 76ers are counting on this season.