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One of James Harden’s former teammates is suggesting that Harden look in the mirror for why he has so many failed partnerships.
The Philadelphia 76ers had lost three of their last four games entering Sunday and the new star in town is drawing the blame. Harden’s shooting percentages had dropped to 36.6 percent from the floor and 30 percent from 3-point range over his previous 13 games after a fast start.
“He’s been more of a liability than what they thought he was going to be,” ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins said earlier this week. “He’s supposed to be there to take pressure off of Joel Embiid, and when you look at James Harden and you look at all the guys that he has had, all the superstars that he has played with, he has had more features than DJ Khaled when he had Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Migos, Drake and everyone across the board.”
Perkins and Harden were teammates with the Oklahoma City Thunder when they reached the 2012 NBA Finals but lost to the Miami Heat. Since then, Harden has been traded three times, including wearing out his welcome in two cities and forcing trades from the Houston Rockets to the Brooklyn Nets and from the Nets to the 76ers.
“When you look at who James Harden has played with, it didn’t work out with Dwight Howard, it didn’t work out with Chris Paul, it didn’t work out with Russell Westbrook,” Perkins said. “You went to the Brooklyn Nets, it didn’t work out with KD [Kevin Durant] and Kyrie [Irving]. Now you’re with Embiid.
“At some point, you have to be able to hold up your end of the bargain and not just depend on the other that you’re pairing up with. Don’t put pressure on Embiid. Be an asset to him, not a liability. Right now, that’s what James Harden is since he has arrived with the Philadelphia 76ers.”
The Sixers were stuck in the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference — 2.5 games back of No. 1 Miami — as of Sunday afternoon.
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