James Harden brought another disappointing playoff performance for the Denver Nuggets in the Clippers’ Game 5 loss.
The Los Angeles Clippers fell 115-131 and pushed them onto the brink of elimination as Harden managed just 11 points in the 35-minute action.
The former MVP fired 33.3% of the disastrous fire from the field, unable to connect with a single 3-pointer, adding four turnovers on an unforgettable night.
NBA analyst Bill Simmons didn’t write words down when assessing James Harden’s performance.
“Harden, that’s just ridiculous. He’s now in his mid-30s and was in the 2009 draft. This was a huge part of his resume,” Simmons said on the podcast.
“Like this amazing player, and again and again, we remember him 30 years from now. That wasn’t much in the playoffs.”
After opening the series with 32 points in Game 1, Harden’s production has steadily declined with outputs of 18, 20 and 15, and is currently only 11 points in Game 5.
The Clippers’ -15 plus/minus during his floor time tells a harmful story about his impact.
This continues to be a career trend for Harden, who hasn’t led the team past the second round since taking the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals in 2018.
Harden’s offensive no-show was particularly noticeable as teammates Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac contributed 20 and 27 points respectively, finishing with the fewest points of the Clippers starters.
Simmons questioned whether the Aging Star could still provide the performance he desperately needed to survive the series.
“They really needed either the last game or this game. Does he have it in him anymore? Are we expecting too much?”
“It’s hard to say they can survive in something like an offensive no-show game from Harden,” Simmons concluded, echoing concerns among Clippers fans as he hopes the playoffs will be on the thread.