James Harden fell apart in crunch time, again, as the Houston Rockets ceded a pivotal Game 5 to the San Antonio Spurs in overtime. His no-show when the team needed him most was nothing new, as it followed a trend he set over the course of the season, recurring at different points throughout his illustrious career.
James Harden’s Game 5 meltdown wasn’t his first. It better be his last
Harden has a history of disappearing in crunch time. The Rockets need him to be much better.
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
His latest disappearing act, one all too familiar, came against a Spurs team missing Kawhi Leonard (ankle) down the stretch and Tony Parker (quad) for the series. It cost Houston an opportunity to close San Antonio out at home in Game 6. Instead, a daunting Game 7 at the AT&T Center is Houston’s best-case scenario.
To his credit, Harden did finish with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, padding his postseason run with another triple-double. But The Beard failed to score after the 3:12 mark in the fourth quarter. He turned the ball over four times between then and the final overtime buzzer, including an offensive foul with 11 seconds left in regulation that nearly cost Houston the game.
On the final possession, he got by Manu Ginobili to attempt a game-tying three, only to be swatted from behind by the soon-to-be 40-year-old Argentinian.
How could this happen?
Harden comes up big in some moments and small in others. It’s not like he’s allergic to pressure situations. He’s just not consistent with his decision-making.
For example, Harden is one of, if not the most dangerous scorer off the dribble. If he blows by you, he’s either getting a layup or getting to the free throw line. That said, The Beard did not attempt a layup or a foul shot in overtime. Instead, he settled for threes rather than getting to his bread and butter in the paint.
Harden also has a propensity to defer to his shooters down the stretch. Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Trevor Ariza are undoubtedly long shot snipers, but they’re not the breadwinners of the team. Harden is. Harden got paid beaucoup dollars to carry the load with the game on the line. Instead, he’s looking to his shooters to bail him out down the stretch.
That works occasionally throughout the course of the game, but it won’t hold up with the series on the line.
In retrospect, 23 of Harden’s 33 points came in the first half. He picked up point No. 26 at the 11:12 mark in the 3rd quarter before going more than 15 minutes without a point. The Rockets’ super scorer didn’t see the ball go in again until the 7:21 mark in the fourth.
In overtime, Harden didn’t score and turned the ball over three times. He shot 0-of-3 in the extra period, failing to get to the paint. Instead, he settled for threes, missing each one of them. That can’t happen.
The Rockets may also need to get deeper.
Houston ran only a seven-man rotation in Game 5 with Harden, Ariza, Gordon and Patrick Beverley each playing 40 or more minutes. Harden played 43 after averaging 36.4 minutes per game through 81 regular season games. He played 2,947 minutes in those games, third-most behind Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, with an additional 370 coming in the post-season.
He may just need some backup, and that’s not a bad thing. Progressive fatigue is very real.
As great as Harden’s been, he has to be better.
There’s a reason The Beard will likely finish second in MVP voting: He’s a helluva scorer. There’s arguably no harder check in the NBA, though a deft point guard in Cleveland might say otherwise, and Harden’s sneaky speed mixed with his shrewd maneuvers make him the toughest perimeter scorer out there today.
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But he needs to take the lead in crunch time to propel the Rockets to the next level.
He’s not the third wheel to Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant anymore. He’s the captain now. And if he’s not ready to impose his will on a game down the stretch, Houston may need to add another star next to him who will.
Harden has had his late-game woes, but only one came at a worse time than Game 5: when he pulled a Houdini in Games 3 and 4 of the 2012 NBA Finals.
The NBA’s new Sixth Man of the Year was fresh off a 21-point Game 2 performance when witnesses last saw him. Harden then vanished, scoring just 17 points on four-of-20 shooting in the next two games, combined.
It’s a cold case no one’s been able to solve, one the Rockets have now become familiar with. And if Houston hopes to compete for a championship in the near future, it had better look for an answer fast.
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