Sports – FiveThirtyEight — James Harden RSS



James Harden Doesn’t Need To Play Fast To Play Efficiently

With his Philadelphia 76ers tied 109-109 with the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 29, James Harden caught the ball on the left wing with just over 20 seconds remaining. He had just crossed half court. He held the ball for a moment and waited for a screen from Joel Embiid. He jab stepped, took a slow […]

Continue reading



Can James Harden Still Score Like An MVP?

For a little while, it looked like the Philadelphia 76ers would get all of the good and none of the bad. James Harden’s opening run in a Sixers uniform, after his deadline-day trade out of Brooklyn, was a rebuttal to the gripes that have lately attended his here-and-there career. Can’t coexist with a franchise big […]

Continue reading



The Sixers Have Their Superstars. But Tyrese Maxey Is Their X-Factor.

In the immediate wake of the Philadelphia 76ers’ blockbuster trade for James Harden, most of the focus was on how Harden would mesh with Philly’s incumbent MVP candidate, Joel Embiid. The early returns on that front have been mostly encouraging, give or take an embarrassing blowout loss to Harden’s former team, the Brooklyn Nets, and […]

Continue reading




The Fouls You Won’t See On 3-Point Shots This Season (And Some You Still Will)

Over the last several years, plays like these have become commonplace in the NBA: James Harden, one of the league’s most accomplished and well-known swindlers, sensed just the faintest contact from defender Paul George. Harden instantly brought his off-arm up to accentuate the contact, flailing around until a whistle blew.  ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Breen’s […]

Continue reading