preface
After a big circle, James Harden still went to the Philadelphia 76ers who first reported a trade with the Rockets. Now Harden is also a big boss, in the league for 13 years, the top stars of the same era each have a championship, only he is still wandering, still looking for a place where he can realize his dreams, we can't help but ask, what kind of ending can be worthy of the ups and downs of this road?
Carelessly bury the championship
Harden is a superstar in the NBA, there's no doubt about that. His skills are unparalleled, but in the early years Harden had a characteristic that was questioned, that is, his mental attributes, when he was still in the Thunder, the Division Champion Thunder went to Miami to play the Finals, and as a result, he performed in the series, and once it was reported that he went to the nightclub to relax during the Finals, so after winning the championship, the Thunder gave him to the Rockets in order to save money.
In the early days of the Rockets career, eye defense became his biggest synonym, whether it was facing the Thunder series, or hanging with the Blazers, there were always one or two games to drop the chain, and his hanging Attitude was also questioned by many fans, and indirectly wasted his chances of winning the championship.
For example, in the 2019 Western Conference semifinals, in the absence of Durant due to injury and Curry's inaccurate state in the first half, Harden played very negatively. Even Paul has dribbled the ball halfway through, he is still pacing in the backcourt, the opportunity is in front of him, as long as you beat the Warriors, the Blazers and Raptors behind it are much easier to play, but he uses a careless attitude to let the champion slip from the hand, let Paul stare dryly on the side, it will not help. In addition, in the offseason Harden released himself every year, in the first few games of the season, the superstar in the NBA was the only one with a big belly and a big belly, first adapting to 5 games of weight loss before entering the state.
In 2016, Harden and Kardashian rumors made Harden's focus completely on basketball, which led to the Rockets with a good lineup being swept by the Warriors gentlemen in the Western Conference playoffs, and things off the court were far greater than inside the court, basketball is not a faith for him, just a walk through the court.
Conscientious but become a pot man
However, people always change, when seeing his contemporaries win the championship trophies one after another, Harden's mentality also began to change, he is no longer the playboy who is messy, since joining the Nets, Harden almost no scandal has appeared, he has put the focus of his work entirely on basketball. From the first moment he joined the team, Harden chose to give up power, willing to sacrifice everything for the team, as long as he can win, the data is really nothing for him, in addition, on the playoff stage is a second-degree strain, Harden is also with an injury, and now he really wants to win.
Although the Nets are still eliminated, Harden's spirit of not being afraid of injuries deserves the respect of all players, and this season, he is the player with the most playing time among the Big Three, and he has been used by Nash for more than 40 minutes in each game, becoming the nets' last fig leaf, but harden who did not expect to be so dedicated has become the Nets' back cooker. Due to the factions within the team, Harden was finally sent away by the team before this year's trade deadline, and in a short season and a half, the Big Three collapsed, and Harden began his confused journey to chase the championship.
Only the difference is that Harden in the Nets period has achieved the extreme, but unfortunately the offense is not as sharp as before, but this is also due to the fact that he can only increase his weight to top the inside line for the team's defense, if Harden still changes back to the Rockets' style of play, he averages more than 28 points per game at all. He can adapt, but Irving and Durant will be difficult to adapt, the chemistry of the Big Three will be affected, in fact, when Harden is the tactical core, it is the Nets' best form, last season's series with Boston just proved that Harden played a TPA data comparable to Jordan. But who cares?
When the team has problems, the Nets management will take Harden as the person behind the pot at the first glance, Irving even if he can only play part-time, no one said a bad word about him, Nash even if the coach is not smart, no one dares to replace him, the team boss Durant is not even willing to say a good word for the conscientious Harden, before he left the team also praised the news of Harden's departure, in the All-Star selection link is also deliberately skip Harden, it is really sad.
Escape the bitter sea and continue to chase the crown
The deal is undoubtedly a relief for Harden, who no longer needs to carry the burden for the Nets' incompetent management, and he has joined a team that is expected to compete for the championship. With four teams in 13 seasons, Harden's experience is enough ups and downs, but do you think he is willing to be so turbulent?
In fact, Harden also hopes to choose a team and end up, who does not like the drama of one person and one city, but at that time he did not meet a management that made him satisfied. Philadelphia may be hardened for him, it may be his last stop, or it may be his foothold, but like Philadelphia's "believe in the process" slogan, Harden should also believe that this team can win the championship, perhaps he will be the last link in the process, maybe the process is still far away.
epilogue
When seeing the back of Harden being eliminated in the playoffs, there is no one who does not feel sorry for him, but life is such an ups and downs, failure is the main theme of life, fortunately, Harden is just 33 years old, career is far from the end of the time, the hope of the championship is still there. Since you have been so upside down, then pursue the most perfect ending, and realize the dream of championship with Embiid!