There’s still hope for “old” Harden.
The Philadelphia 76ers are fringe NBA title contenders. They probably aren’t in the same tier as teams that recently competed in the finals like the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, but they aren’t more than a tier removed from those teams either.
The Sixers have +1300 odds on Tipico Sportsbook to win the 2023 title, eighth-shortest in the NBA and fourth-shortest in the East. Whether they can maximize their talent to become the last team standing largely falls on the shoulders of James Harden.
Harden has been extremely busy this offseason working to silence critics after a lackluster close to last season. He opted out of a contract that would’ve paid him roughly $47 million next season knowing he likely wouldn’t receive as much in a new deal, but it allowed Philadelphia to add some depth pieces. That was one way he showed his commitment to winning.
He’s also posted the obligatory workout videos, including one of him getting reps in the gym alongside assistant coach Sam Cassell and promising young guard Tyrese Maxey. But the most encouraging thing Harden did this offseason for anyone tempted to bet on Philly’s title odds is admit he wasn’t himself last season.
“I don’t really listen to what people are saying. I wasn’t right last season and I still almost averaged a triple-double,” Harden said in an interview with Yahoo Sports. “If anybody else had those numbers, we’d be talking about them getting the max. People were used to seeing me averaging 40, 30 points, and so they viewed it as a down year. I was in Philadelphia for a couple of months and I had to learn on the fly. That’s just what it was. I’m in a good space physically and mentally right now, and I’m just looking forward to next season.”
He told AP Sports he’s finally back to his old self.
“I wasn’t able to get in my spots and get to where I needed to get to without thinking about it, so that right there slowed my confidence down,” he said. “It was craziness, but I’m finally back. I’ll be a lot more aggressive scoring-wise just because my body allows me to.”
While there was some defensiveness in Harden’s tone, he’s right about nearly averaging a triple-double. He put up 21.0 points, 10.5 assists and 7.1 rebounds in the time after the Sixers acquired him. However, those numbers dipped to 18.6 points, 8.6 assists and 5.7 rebounds in the playoffs. More concerning, he was just a 40% shooter from the field in the regular season and playoffs combined.
Harden’s admittance that he “wasn’t right” gives bettors optimism that there’s room for improvement, rather than having to accept his postseason as representative of who he is now. Last year was abnormal for him after all, considering the tumultuous situation in Brooklyn and the hamstring injury that put him on the shelf for a while.
Even if Harden is done as an MVP-level performer, it’s possible his new normal is somewhere closer to the middle of the Houston Harden and how he performed last season — which is still an All-Star player. That’s important to know for people who are bullish on the Sixers. Because as good as Joel Embiid is, he can’t push this team to a title alone.
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