20 points and 8 assists per game, 24 points and 7 assists per game!

Lao Liang commented

2024-04-28 22:43Posted in Shandong Sports Creators

The NBA playoffs have quietly begun, and it is not difficult to find from the regular season that young people have quickly risen to the top this season. Eastern Tatum and Brown led the league for a season after being helped by Holiday + Boshen, and the starting net difference was comparable to the level of the Bulls + Warriors dynasty at their peak, but the ceiling of Tatum and Brown leading the team is debatable. And on the Western side, the Thunder and Timberwolves, who were dark in the regular season, did not live up to high expectations when they came to the playoffs, the Timberwolves faced the Suns and got the match point early, the Thunder faced the Pelicans and got the match point early, and the Lakers led by James, the Suns where Durant is located, are only a matter of time before they are out. The Janduku era, which had dominated the league for more than a decade, has come to an end this season. And the other giant, the Clippers are having a hard time, and Harden also has a hard time.

Looking back at the Clippers' performance this season, Harden first came to the team with a six-game losing streak, but then quickly got on the right track, maintaining a winning rate of more than 80% in December and January, and topping the West in February. And in the next two months, Tyronn Lue still planned for the playoffs, in short, cutting Harden's ball-handling proportion and giving Xiaoka and George more space to play alone. One thing is for sure, first, no matter what team Harden is on, he can always have a guaranteed floor to lead the team. At the beginning of the Rockets era, the West with such fierce competition could still lock up the playoffs every year. Including after the Nets and 76ers, the top four is guaranteed, and the same is true for coming to the Clippers. On the other hand, the pressure on Xiaoka and George in the regular season has indeed been reduced a lot, and both Xiaoka and George have set a new record for single-season attendance after joining the Clippers.

But the most helpless thing is that when it comes to the playoffs, Xiaoka's state is sluggish after his comeback, George's visible downshift, singles like headless flies, all kinds of blind strong shots and untimely reluctant passes, the strongest duo of the NBA forward, but has become the one who drags down the Clippers. What about Harden? Let's list three sets of data, and you will understand: last season during the 76ers period, Harden averaged 20.3 points and 8.3 assists per game in the playoffs, and the two-point shooting rate was 39.3%+37.8%, which looks average, but don't forget that in the series with the Celtics, Harden scored 42 points + three-point kills, and a 45-point + three-point kill! But if Vanambiid is tough, maybe the 76ers will break into the Finals! And in the playoffs this season, Harden averaged 23.7 points and 7 assists per game, with a two-point shooting rate of 47.7%+In addition, Harden averaged 41.7 minutes per game in the playoffs this season, setting a new personal high in the past ten years!

To put it simply, Tyronn Ruby D'Anthony, Nash, and Rivers Sr. are all "excessive" and don't dare to let Harden rest at all, for fear that the team will collapse! But the problem is that since Harden left the Rockets, he has defected to Durant and Irving, and has defected to Embiid, including joining the Clippers to defect to Xiaoka and George, as Harden said in the bubble park at the beginning, he only needs a key gentleman, and he is here to find a thigh to join hands to win the championship! During the Nets period, Durant was injured+Irving stopped and stopped, and Harden once topped the top of the East with the remnants, winning the best month in the East for two consecutive months. Coming to the playoffs, there is Harden's Nets, 4-1 easy elimination of the Celtics! In that round of the series, Harden averaged 27.8 points and 10.6 assists per game; without Harden's Nets, Durant and Irving led the team to be swept out by the Celtics 4-0, and Durant also complained that Harden did not say goodbye.

During the 76ers period, Harden played games, and Embiid's winning rate when he was out of play was higher than Embiid's winning rate when he played. Not to mention being eliminated by the Heat in the first year, when Harden was on full fire in the second year, Embiid avoided playing, all kinds of falls, G7 was even directly invisible, and only got 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 turnovers in 5 of 18 games! Count on Harden to lead the regular season floor, and he did, and kept both Carl and George at a high level of attendance. But in the playoffs, it's Harden's turn to slow down, but the Clippers' points + assists + true shooting percentage (eighth in the league, 68.4%) + victory contribution value in the playoffs are the first in the team, and the average of 4.3 three-pointers per game is second in the league!

To tell the truth, Xiaoka is different from Embiid, Durant and even Paul, a healthy Xiaoka took the Raptors all the way through the game, and helped the Raptors win the first championship trophy in team history with a god-like performance, he does have this ability, the most terrifying supergiant in the playoffs, there is no one. But in the past four or five years, Xiaoka has hardly been in the playoffs, and the only time is in the bubble park, and the team is infighting! The reason is of course not Harden, because Harden is reducing the burden on Xiaoka and George, and Harden doesn't care about his own data, he works hard, he stands up when he needs to score, he does not need him to score, he works hard to organize in tandem, and defends in the low post. Of course, Tyronn Lue also knows that he feels sorry for Harden, but compared with several previous coaches, Tyronn Lue can't help it, except for Harden, who else can take the lead?

Even the ever-critical Los Angeles media said that Harden had become the real sustenance of the Clippers in the playoffs. But this is precisely the real reason why Harden has never been able to win the championship: of course, there is a certain element of luck, during the Warriors, Paul's thigh was strained, and Harden was close to the goal, and the injuries of the Nets, Embiid's covering of the bell during the 76ers' period, including the injury of the Clippers small card. But what else does Harden have to do to turn things around? It's a shame for Harden, he has done it all, but if his teammates can't match his contribution and dedication, it's doomed. Perhaps an imperfect career is the most perfect interpretation of Harden's career.

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