Now Thriving With Clippers, James Harden Says 'villain Role' Is Over

Melissa Rohlin

Fox Sports NBA Writer

LOS ANGELES – James Harden was struggling.

As he walked off the field after a recent LA Clippers game, he couldn’t fasten his bracelet, which was at least two inches wide and studded with diamonds. A security guard accompanying him tried to help several times, but Clapp refused to cooperate.

In some ways, this may have been his biggest problem in the new year.

Clippers, the team Harden was traded to in October after an offseason of stalemate drama with the Philadelphia 76ers, has been one of the hottest teams in the NBA over the past month. After initially struggling to fit in and losing his first five games with the team, the 34-year-old Harden is now averaging 17.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and eight assists for the Clippers, who have lost 12 of their last 14 games. Have achieved victory. Finished fourth in the Western Conference with a record of 20–12.

As far as all the drama is concerned, he believes it is all behind him.

“Honestly, all of that, all of that is over,” Harden told Fox Sports. “I don’t want to talk about it. Not playing the villain or anything like that. It’s all over. I’m over it.”

Harden has made it clear that fans and pundits who are quick to judge him don’t know the whole story about his previous stops in Philadelphia and Brooklyn and Houston. But few in the sports media believed they had seen enough to form their own opinions.

One of them, Brian DeMaris, who previously worked in the Dallas Mavericks front office before becoming a Mavericks broadcaster for Bailey Sports Southwest, saw a two-minute video go viral in November when the Mavericks hosted the Clippers. In it, he detailed how teams have moved mountains to accommodate Harden — yet Harden always pointed the finger and absolved himself of blame when things fell apart.

“Listen, James, have you ever had friends who had terrible roommates?” Demaris asked in the video. “Again and again, he complained about his bad roommates. ‘This guy is horrible.’ They never thought about being self-conscious that they’re bad roommates. They’re the problem. ‘Hey James, you’re the problem.'”

Of course, Harden heard those comments. Perhaps coincidentally, he helped the Clippers win nine games a week after he was drafted.

Did Harden use those words as motivation?

“No,” Harden told Fox Sports with a sneer. “uh uh.”

However, Harden has openly stated this season that he takes issue with the narrative of being selfish, difficult and temperamental for requesting three trades en route to playing for four teams in four years.

When he was labeled selfish, he pointed to taking a $26 million salary cut to help the 76ers build a contender around reigning MVP Joel Embiid. When asked to be tough, he insisted he was willing to change his role and sacrifice for each team. Mercurial? In his introductory press conference after the Clippers trade, he said that he wanted to retire with the 76ers, but “they didn’t want me.”

Now Harden is trying to move forward.

He is inspired by the symbolic blank line in his tall list of accolades. For the Compton native, winning a championship in his hometown would be especially meaningful, making his winding journey worthwhile.

When Harden was asked what a ring would mean to his legacy, he told Fox Sports, “Very important.” “It’s just the way it is. I always want to give myself a chance to win. I know how difficult it is. There’s only one team standing at the end of the year. So, I’ll keep trying to do that.” ,

When Harden asked the 76ers to trade him, he made it clear that he wanted to play for the Clippers. And the team’s superstar performers Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook welcomed the offensive wizard with open arms.

“The reason he’s here is because we wanted him here,” said George, who remembers seeing Harden for the first time when they were playing at a skills academy in L.A. when they were teenagers. The ball was thrown between his legs and dunked.

But with Harden on the court, the Clippers initially looked like a disparate cast of All-Stars rather than a cohesive unit. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue admitted that Harden was not playing his game early.

“He was taking six, seven shots a game,” Lue said. “But now, I think with the change in rotation (Westbrook going to the bench) — taking him out early and bringing him back with the second unit — has allowed him to be more aggressive when he’s at the basket. Is attacking, they’re having to step back 3s, running a lot of pick-and-rolls, we’re a dangerous team. And so, getting him more comfortable was the biggest thing. He’s been doing a great job since then. doing.”

(Emotion vs. Analytics: Why James Harden and Daryl Morey were always destined to implode)

Harden has preached sacrifice since coming to the Clippers.

The former league MVP doesn’t need to, averaging a career-high 36.1 points with Houston in 2018-19. Or his career-high 11.2 assists with the team in 2016–17.

But he needs to be himself.

He has to create open shots for his teammates. Be a threat out of the pick-and-roll. And be a reliable presence on the court, especially considering that Leonard and George have often battled injuries.

For Harden, it’s easy to explain what has changed since his explosive start with the Clippers.

“There’s still more games to be played with the team,” Harden told Fox Sports. “More Games.”

Harden appears willing to do whatever is necessary. He knows his championship window is shrinking. He has reached the Finals only once in his career, when his Oklahoma City Thunder lost to LeBron James’ Miami Heat in 2012.

When asked if he believed this team would give him the best chance to win the title, he paused.

“I don’t know yet,” Harden told Fox Sports. “It’s too early. We have about 50 games left.”

Just as he refuses to look behind him, he also refuses to look ahead.

At that moment, what mattered most to Harden was the problem facing him – holding on to his stubborn bracelet. When he was finally secured, he nodded and smiled.

These days everything seems to be going its own way again.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for Fox Sports. He previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow him on Twitter @melissarohaline,

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