Like the Philadelphia 76ers, the Cleveland Cavaliers are currently fighting tooth and nail in the playoffs. The No. 4 seed in the East, they are up against the Toronto Raptors in the first round, and from the looks of it, that is going to be a tight series. James Harden is once again in a featured role on a contender, but as usual, he is already showing signs of sheer inconsistency in the postseason.
The former 76ers superstar, who forced his way to get traded anew before the deadline going from the Clippers to the Cavaliers, is now the co-star of Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland. To be frank, though, only the colorway he is donning has changed. At his very core, he is still the same mercurial star who can get ice-cold quickly when it matters the most.
After an impressive first two games for the Cavs (both of which culminated in wins), Harden was absolutely disappointing in Game 3. He finished the game with just 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists on 5-13 shooting from the field and 3-10 from three-point territory. Worse, he coughed the ball up eight times. The turnover difference allowed Toronto to dominate them in the fourth until they could no longer make up for it.
James Harden is still the exact same star that he was with the 76ers
Harden, who still does not have an NBA Finals appearance in his resume since his final season in Oklahoma City, is one of the most temperamental star figures in history when it comes to the playoffs. One night, he is going to drop a 40-15 stat line –– only to follow it up with a 12-point performance out of nowhere.
The 76ers have seen this movie before. In his final playoff series with the 76ers (a Conference Semifinals affair against the Celtics, their archnemeses), Harden registered 45 points in Game 1, only to follow it up with a 12-point outing.
In Game 4 of that series, he led Philly with 42 markers, then logged just 17 in his subsequent game. Most notably, in Game 7, Harden finished with just nine points, basically shooting the team out of the playoffs altogether.
Now, the Cavaliers have yet to truly see Harden put on his signature ice-cold game, but following precedence, one can safely assume that it is going to happen one way or the other at some point. After all, he has always been that inconsistent, and more importantly, he is not getting any younger.
And when that time comes, only Philadelphia fans can give the Cleveland faithful a sub in the back, mumbling, "we told you."
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