The Philadelphia 76ers walked away with a 121-107 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday for their only win on the four-game road trip. It was an impressive performance; Philadelphia was terrific defensively and showed tremendous poise.
The contest featured a reunion with James Harden. The Sixers acquired The Beard from the Brooklyn Nets at the 2022 deadline and he played well in a Sixers uniform. In 79 games with Philadelphia, he averaged 21 points, 10.6 assists and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 37% from deep and 43.1% overall. He wasn’t the ruthless scorer he once was, but he was still prolific.
However, the relationship went south in the 2023 offseason, and he made it known that he wanted out. He called out President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey and made it known he wanted to be traded to the Clippers. Morey waited and waited and received an offer from LA that he liked in October.
Harden skipped out on the media after the loss to the Sixers on Sunday. After LA fell to the Indiana Pacers on Monday, he faced the media and downplayed the matchup with the Sixers and his upcoming return to Philadelphia:
On what he expects in his return to Philadelphia: “I don’t know, and I don’t care. We got bigger problems to worry about.”
On what it was like to face his former Sixers team on Sunday: “Listen, we have bigger problems than me worrying about Philadelphia. That’s — we have bigger problems.”
Harden did many good things for the Sixers despite the playoff shortcomings. It will be interesting to see how he is received by the Wells Fargo Center crowd on Wednesday.
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