One other Recreation 7, one other James Harden disasterclass.
On Saturday, the Los Angeles Clippers fell to the Denver Nuggets, 120-101, for an underwhelming end to an epic first-round collection.
It was notably tough for Harden, who repeated his historical past of terrible Recreation 7s.
Harden scored seven factors, his fewest ever in a Recreation 7, on 2-of-8 taking pictures (1-of-4 on threes). His 13 assists saved him from a very horrid field rating, however that baker’s dozen cannot masks the stench of his putrid efficiency.
It harkened again to 2023’s 14-point East semifinals loss to the Celtics, when Harden was with the Sixers, or a 2021 East semis loss to the Bucks as a Brooklyn Web.
In seven profession Recreation 7s, Harden is 3-4, along with his final win coming within the 2020s Disney bubble with the Rockets. In these seven video games, Harden has averaged 19.3 factors on 35.5 % taking pictures, together with 22.4 % from past the arc, with 7.9 assists and 4 turnovers per recreation.
Harden was a facilitator for the Clippers, taking his fewest shot makes an attempt in his sordid Recreation 7 historical past. Contemplating his tough taking pictures numbers on his restricted makes an attempt, that will have been for the very best. However for a participant who would not provide a lot on the defensive finish, Harden’s disappearing act on offense in his group’s most necessary video games has made him a net-negative in these moments.
Harden, who turns 36 in August, has a June 29 deadline to say no his $36.3 million participant possibility. Together with his diminishing on-court returns, the Clippers is perhaps higher off if he did.
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