James Harden already has 31 playoff games in his career in which he finished with more turnovers than made field goals. This postseason alone, suiting up for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 36-year-old has five instances. Tonight in Game 7, he had just one turnover, but his limited offensive performance was the talking point.

The Beard is going back to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2018 as the Detroit Pistons lost handsomely, 125-94. The Cavs prevailed despite James Harden’s 9 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists on 2/10 FG, and 0/6 from the three-point range. Entertaining, the do-or-die matchup at Little Caesars Arena, the 11x All-Star’s eight Game 7 appearances in his career also put doubt in fans’ minds. His average was just 19.1 points, shooting a brutal 35.3 percent from the field (22.2 percent from three) with 3.8 turnovers. It was a brutal reality check as tonight’s score was less than the average.

But Harden has nothing to worry about. Since his future with the Cavs is seemingly clear. Brian Windhorst of ESPN stated before Game 7, “No matter how this playoff run unfolds, Harden, who has been inconsistent in the postseason again, will likely be coming back to Cleveland this summer on a multiyear deal.” The Cavaliers traded franchise point guard Darius Garland in February for Harden with multiple seasons in mind. He has a $42 million team option, which the franchise is ready to select.

 

Let’s not forget, in terms of financial planning, this comes as a huge decision as the Cavs are a second-apron team, the only one in the NBA, with a league-high payroll of $226 million (including the luxury tax, the number is north of $280 million). The franchise is prioritising James Harden’s contract as the backcourt partnership during the regular season produced the results.

Even if they want to trade him, the $42 million contract can be judiciously used to lure in other star players. He received the good news of potentially being with the Cavs for longer. The Game 7 performance meant that social media was filled with bad news for the 36-year-old.

Fans expressed their concern over James Harden’s display

The poor shooting in the clutch has followed the Beard throughout his career. Here are some of the Game 7 performances for you to judge. In 2011, for OKC vs the Grizzlies, Harden had just 17 pts. In 2020, representing the Rockets vs OKC, the 11x All-Star scored just 17 points on 27% shooting from the field and a poor 11% from the three-point range. Another Game 7 transpired during his time with the 76ers in 2023, when he scored just 9 points on 27% shooting. It’s a theme that fans have noticed: “Pretty standard stats for James Harden in the clutch.”

Let’s look at his last 5-game sevens shooting in Isolation. 3/9 FGM vs Toronto, 2/8 FGM vs Denver, 3/11 FGM vs Boston, 5/17 FGM vs Milwaukee, and 4/15 FGM vs OKC. It’s a pattern that another netizen wrote, “Of course… Games 7 Harden is always a–.” Another similar sentiment was, “2/10 and 0/6 from three in a playoff game. Classic Harden playoff meme writes itself.”

It was after Game 2, when the 11x All-Star ended with just 10 points, on 3 of 13 shooting and 4 turnovers. One of those late mistakes helped Detroit seal the win. A fan added, “9 points on 10 shots… he’s passing the ball to the other team at this point.” On Sunday, the Cavs escaped with the win despite Harden’s single-digit scoring production. Because they still had four players with over 20 points tonight with Donovan Mitchell (26), Jarrett Allen (23), Sam Merrill (23), and Evan Mobley (21 points, 12 rebounds).

 

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