Philadelphia 76ers: James Harden needs to embrace his inner CP3

When James Harden‘s on, he’s still one of the best scorers in the NBA. He can break down a defender like nobody’s business, draw contact at will, and juke out even the best defender with his patented stepback 3.

Unfortunately, the frequency at which James Harden looks like James Harden has become a bit fewer and further between than in seasons past. For every upper-20s or even 30-point performance the 32-year-old puts on his game log this season, there’s an alarming number of points scored with a one or even a zero – see February 2nd, 2022 – before the final digit.

While he’s still been able to get things done from the line and his shooting percentages from the field and beyond the arc are all within a single-digit of his career averages, Harden’s attempts per game have dropped significantly from his final season in Houston to his first half-season in South Philly; falling from 22.3 in 2019-20 to 14.1 in 2021-22.

Sidebar: Harden attempted just .9 more shots from the field overall in 2021 than he just attempted from beyond the arc in 2018-19. Needless to say, it’s hard to average 36.1 points on only 14.1 shots.

So what gives? Is Harden cooked and Daryl Morey a mark for surrendering the vast majority of his team’s assets to reunite with his favorite player? Are the Sixers going to straddle themselves with one of the worst contracts in the NBA, as more than a few ESPN personalities – like Bobby Marks – have suggested?

Only time will tell, but if the Philadelphia 76ers‘ point guard wants to have a puncher’s chance at aging gracefully out of his prime, he’d be wise to take a page from his former teammate Chirs Paul‘s book and embrace being a high IQ floor general from the point guard position.

James Harden needs to embrace running the Philadelphia 76ers’ offense.

There are only two players in the NBA who are averaging double-digit assists so far over the 2021-22 NBA season: 32-year-old James Harden and 36-year-old Chris Paul.

I know, crazy, right? You’d think there would be more players born after 1990 setting up their teammates to the tune of double-digit assists per game, and I will say, the next five players on the assists-per-game list are all in their 20s, but alas, for one reason or another, that hasn’t come to be; the only guards – or players, period – averaging 10 or more assists per game were both members of the 2018-19 Houston Rockets’ backcourt, which is a fun fact worth noting.

Like Harden, Paul has watched his average attempts from the field per game go down pretty consistently with each passing season, especially since he left his playing prime back in Houston. And yet, as Paul went from being “The Guy” in New Orleans and Los Angeles to a veteran cast-off on a team looking to enter a youth movement on OKC, he embraced allowing his teammates – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder – to take more of the center stage and parlayed a bounce-back season with the Thunder into a fantastic opportunity to become a willing 1B to Devin Booker‘s 1A.

If Harden can embrace that same sort of status on a team headlined by Joel Embiid – facilitating for his teammates as a sort of on-court floor general – then maybe he too could find himself playing on one of the best teams in the NBA on the “wrong side of 35” and be considered a good value player on a massive contract extension.

Fortunately, Harden has a game ideally suited for such a role change, as his on-court playing style isn’t as predicated on elite athleticism as, say, his former OKC teammate Russell Westbrook.

Can Harden burst past opposing defenders on his way to the hoop? You bet; if he switches onto a slower reserve, he can blast past them with ease, but in general, Harden is at his best when he slows things down, breaks down the defense, and runs air traffic control for himself and his teammates. That’s where his high basketball IQ, picturesque passing, and ability to get himself a clean look become all the more lethal, especially if he’s tasked with playing alongside shooters he trusts to do something when they get the ball.

Some of that transition will come with time, as especially when he’s headlining the second unit, Harden rarely looks to pass to his new teammates on his way to the basket, but it can also be fast-tracked by a concerted mental effort to get his teammates involved, even if their shots don’t always go in.

Considering Harden is making less than 45 percent of his shots from the field and 35 percent from 3, it’s entirely possible a player like Georges Niang or Danny Green could have a higher-percentage look if they are open in the corner for a 3, especially if the defense is collapsing in on a drive.

While James Harden may never again lead the association in scoring, let alone his own team, “The Bearded One” still has all of the ingredients to remain a successful NBA player for years to come; he just may need to configure them in different concentrations based on the matchup. If the opportunity presents itself to go for 20 in a half, or 30-plus in a game, then the ace scorer should shoot his shot without pause. If, instead, the best road to victory runs through Joel Embiid, or even Tyrese Maxey, then Harden should instead embrace his well-honed ability to play from the point guard spot and finely tune the offense for on-court success. If Harden’s goal is to win the big one, especially with the Philadelphia 76ers, he needs to embrace becoming a grizzled floor general instead of trying to recapture his former glory on diminished athleticism.