In the wake of the Philadelphia 76ers’ season-ending loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday — a game in which midseason acquisition James Harden was nowhere to be found in the second half — all of the national sports commentators fired off their takes on Harden and the state of the Sixers moving forward.
Among the peanut gallery was takesman Skip Bayless, who tweeted:
James Harden typically no-showed in the second half of this closeout game. Now he’s mostly just another Jim Harden. Ben Simmons eventually will make this trade look so phoolish for Philly. [Skip Bayless]
That part isn’t all that interesting. Bayless gets paid to say things that he doesn’t actually believe and without a modicum of context. The Sixers lost. Harden was pedestrian. Talking heads talked. More at 11 p.m. on your preferred local news network.
What followed was interesting, though.
đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/xasyt5DAzj
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 13, 2022
For those who aren’t processing this image with Twitter eyes:
Ben Simmons “liked” Bayless’ commentary. In the world of social media, “liking” someone’s commentary is often read as an endorsement. When a celebrity “likes” someone’s aggressive commentary, it can come across as petty, controversial, or lacking in self-awareness.
If those in Philadelphia learned anything from observing him over the last 5 years, it was that Ben Simmons’ lack of self-awareness is perhaps his greatest downfall.
Now, maybe he was just showing appreciation for the vote of confidence, but even then, it shows a lack of self-awareness given the rest of Bayless’ commentary.
More than that, Bayless’ last sentence suggests that Simmons was some sort of casualty of acquiring a bigger fish. So, is Simmons suggesting the Sixers made a mistake in trading him? Is he taking enjoyment in Philadelphia’s failure this season?
Simmons could be agreeing with the fact that it was a mistake to trade him to Brooklyn. If that’s the case, it’s also a failure in self-awareness. Philadelphia sent him to a roster that can cover up all of his embarrassing offensive shortcomings. With Kevin Durant and, ostensibly, Kyrie Irving, he doesn’t have to be the first or second guy on the offensive end.
Would a better decision have been to trade him to a smaller, less-competitive market? That’s not exactly a great look for Simmons either, as he has been accused of wanting to fade away to an irrelevant franchise so that he could hide from the spotlight.
Simmons could be taking enjoyment in Harden’s lack of output in the most critical moments. If that’s the case, it’s an incredible exercise in lacking self-awareness. The biggest, most appalling mark against Simmons is his tendency to freeze as the playoffs get more intense. He may be the very last person eligible to laugh at Harden’s failure.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=63997]
[lawrence-related id=64000,63994,63991]