ARGOMENTO: Last season, CJ McCollum had this to say about Jam

Last season, CJ McCollum had this to say about James Harden."James Harden is really good man," . "Regardle s what he does in his free time, he is really fing good at basketball."McCollum uttered those words after Harden dropped 44 points and 17 a sists while clearly being unhappy with his situation in Houston.It was the perfect encapsulation of the Harden experience. He could dominate while being out of shape and not Keena Turner Jersey mentally locked in. And he can do that because McCollum is 100 percent right Harden is really good at basketball.He's one of the best of all time. A Top 75 NBA player. A first ballot Hall of Famer. But when it comes to Harden's greatne s, you can't ignore his inadequacies in the NBA Playoffs.His poor postseason performances are a legitimate knock against him. Those questions surrounding his big-game capabilities will only grow even louder given his lackluster showing in the 76ers' Game 6 lo s to the Heat.Harden finished with 11 points while taking just two TWO! shots in the second half to go along with four turnovers. He ended the game as a minus-16 on the score sheet, and for the first time in his career,he played 40-plus minutes and did not attempt a free throw.Worst of all, Harden looked disinterested, which will Trent Williams Jersey surely give the 76ers pause ahead of a big offseason. Harden is eligible to make up to $275 million over the next five years if he re-signs with the Sixers, and he has a player option for$47.4 million that he must pick up before July 1. If he does not, he will become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.MORE: Harden?Have we seen the best of James Harden already in the NBA Playoffs?In his short time in Philly, Harden has been more of a playmaker than a scorer. He averaged 10.5 a sists in 21 regular season games with the 76ers and 10.3 a sists per game overall, finishing second in the league in that category behind only Chris Paul (10.. Harden's scoring, however, dipped to 21.0 points Deion Sanders Jersey per game in Philadelphia, his lowest mark since the 2011-12 season.And while that's definitely not great, the Sixers didn't need Harden to nece sarily be a high volume scorer. With scoring champ Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey in the starting unit, the Sixers have guys who can get buckets. Plus, Embiid is the focal point of Philly's offense and rightfully so.The Sixers, however, traded for Harden to be their No. 2 option. This means that Harden had to somehow rediscover his scoring touch. Unfortunately for the Sixers, Harden appears to be past his peak offensive prime.All season long, Harden showed a lack of offensive burst and ability to blow past defenders with his speed and mesmerizing handle. Instead, Harden relied on bombing away from long distance, which wasn't a succe sful strategy (career-low 33.0 percent on 3-pointers in 2021-22).Aside from a vintage performance in Game 4 of the second-round series against Miami (31 points, nine a sists, seven rebounds), Harden was a non-factor. He disappeared for the last two games of the series as the 76ers went out with a whimper.James Harden's struggles in NBA Playoff elimination gamesIn February, ESPN's Zach Lowe did a deep dive on all of Harden's fourth quarter po se sions in every single one of the All-Star guard's postseason appearances. The results backed Ray Ray McCloud Jersey up the narrative that Harden hasn't played at his usual elite level in key moments."Harden's fourth quarter numbers, in big games, in elimination games, in 2-2 series games, are bad,". "His crunch time numbers are bad. Most of his best playoff games are when his team is up 3-0, down 3-0, up 3-1 and down 3-1."I watched all of his field goal attempts in the fourth quarters of his postseason career, a lot of his crunch time baskets are like, 'Oh, Golden State is up eight. We'll concede a layup so you don't get a three.' And Harden inflates his crunch time field goal percentage from zero to Richard Sherman Jersey something better than zero with e sentially a conceded layup."Here's a breakdown of Harden's stats in elimination games:2022 Heat 4-9 (0-2 3pt), 4 turnovers. -162021 Bucks 5-17 (2-12 3pt), 4 turnovers. -22020 Lakers 12-20 (2-8 3pt), 6 turnovers. -292020 Thunder 4-15 (1-9 3pt), 4 turnovers. +92019 Warriors 11-25 (6-15 3pt), 6 turnovers. -102018 Warriors 12-29 (2-13 3pt), 5 turnovers. -132017 Spurs 2-11 (2-9 3pt), 6 turnovers. -282016 Warriors 12-23 (3-7 3pt), 7 turnovers. -272015 Warriors 2-11 (0-3 3pt), 12 turnovers. -42015 Clippers 7-20 (2-7 3pt), 7 turnovers. +122015 Clippers 5-20 (2-6 3pt), 1 turnover. -212015 Clippers 9-20 (1-8 3pt), 5 turnovers. +232014 Blazers 9-15 (4-6 3pt), 4 turnovers. +72013 Thunder 7-22 (4-10 3pt), 4 turnovers. +32012 Heat 5-11 (3-8 3pt), 3 turnovers. -172011 Mavs 7-11 (1-5 3pt), 2 turnovers. +32011 Grizzlies 6-10 (4-8 3pt), 1 turnover. +242010 Lakers 1-3 (0-1 3pt), 0 turnovers. -1James Harden career stats in NBA Playoffs(Current through 2021 NBA Playoffs)23.3 points per game5.5 rebounds per game6.0 a sists per game1.7 steals per game0.5 blocks per game3.4 turnovers per game35.4 minutes per game42.8 percent shooting33.2 Trey Lance T Shirts percent 3-point shooting86.8 percent free throw shooting