James Harden

Praised for his late-game heroics in the Cavs-Pistons series and defended by the hosts.

“... where Cade Cunningham, I think he had three straight turnovers and James Harden had three straight iso ball, everyone get out of the way buckets. He went floater, another two, and then a three to seal the game. And I'm happy for James Harden. He actually w…”

Mentioned as a player the hosts want to see in a high-stakes elimination game.

“Hank's gonna get the rankings?But yeah, I, I, uh, I, I do wanna see James Harden in, like, a big time-”

Referenced as the victim of a famous aggressive play by Ron Artest.

“But there has been precedent for this type of... Ron Artest, remember Ron Artest like almost took James Harden's, like head clean off?”

Discussed for his poor record in game sixes and high turnover rate in playoff games.

“James Harden, according to our friend Keerthika, James Harden is now 4 and 14 in game sixes in his career, the second-worst record in game sixes in NBA playoff history, uh, with a minimum of 10 game sixes played. Um-”

Howard Beck analyzes his performance and track record in postseason closeout games.

“But man, like, it's hard not to just look at the Cavs, Harden in particular, but Donovan Mitchell too on this night, and just say, h- how, how is, how is this possible? Like, you know, you, you... A, a narrative gets created based on your track record. We in t…”

Mentioned for his performance in a close-out game.

“Uh, let's take a quick break. I wanna talk about the Cavs and the Pistons. Cavs had a chance to, you know, end this series at home. We talked about on the previous segment how the Spurs showed championship acumen, um, and put a team away on the road. Um, and, …”

Criticized for his defensive liability and inconsistent performance during the Cavaliers-Pistons series.

“It's a wei- it's a weird one 'cause I don't feel like Cleveland's playing the right lineups. Now, granted, I'm a guy on my couch in LA, [laughs] you know, and I'm not, not spending every minute with the team. But, like, unless Sam Merrill's hurt, I don't under…”

Mentioned as a player who was traded by the Clippers.

“... the Clippers pick away, the number five pick, and that's that. Um, I had a, I had a doozy for you guys. Well, first of all, the Clips turned Zubac, who I didn't even think was playing that well this year, and Harden, who didn't wanna be there anymore, into…”

Criticized for his playing style and discussed regarding his upcoming contract and team future.

“Jeez, Alex Taylor. Um, and then this one I got before game seven from Britt Pierce about, um, watching James Harden push off on every drive and flop all over the floor. The best playoff moment this year has to be Dwyane Wade slipping-”

Mentioned in the context of his supporters' arguments regarding his playoff career and historical ranking.

“That he's one of the 40 best players of all time, that he's actually come up big in some playoff games. They just all happen to be in series that his team eventually lost. Uh, bad luck against the Warriors a couple times, uh, four conference finals. I don't kn…”

Mentioned in the context of his relationship with Daryl Morey and a commissioned painting.

“... wrote that piece, and it was like, "S- in the living room stands this painting of t- commissioned from this artist for this amount of money," and it's James Harden doing this, and then it's a quote from Daryl being like, "Yes, he is my muse. We will be for…”

Mentioned as a key player involved in the series competition.

“Well, I mean, and just, I'm, I'm going six and a half, maybe seven, 'cause it's a young team. It's a rising team. I- in a lot of ways, like, again, this is a team that had it over under, I think, in the high 40s before the season started, and, and here they ar…”

Mentioned in the context of defensive matchups and team dynamics.

“... because he just has to do everything. And the Cavs, I think, probably, uh, switched too easily against Cade. Like, they gave him Harden, they gave him Donovan Mitchell, they gave him Merrill, they gave him whatever matchup he wanted. They never really trap…”

Mentioned in the context of the Rockets' era of high success without reaching the finals.

“The Harden, the Harden Rockets is probably the most successful example of just a ton of success, but never actually made the finals. The Celtics, pre-COVID Celtics, basically, '16 to '20.Where they made the Eastern finals I think four to five times.”

Mentioned as a player in the context of the series odds.

“I like Price Is Right's rules as well. Brunson minus 170 for final, for conference MVP. Mitchell's three to one. Towns plus 950. Harden 20 to one. OG's 22 to one. And then Evan Mobley sitting there at 33 to one.”

Mentioned for his performance and his preference to avoid internet chatter.

“That's what you get to hear. Hey, James Harden, uh, said he doesn't do internet, which I respect and appreciate. I wish more people would be able to do that, myself included. After he goes crazy, uh, two games ago, he's asked afterwards, like, "Do you think th…”

Discussed as a significant player for the Cavaliers who could impact the series against the Knicks.

“... can go off. James Harden can go off. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen can be very good. So Max Strus, dog.”

Mentioned as the last American-born player to win a specific award.

“I, I think it w- the official, uh, like, guy who was born in America was 2018, James Harden.”

The hosts discussed his performance in Game 7s.

“He was incredible. But this was... We f- we found the antidote for Big Game James, James Harden s- uh, game 7s. It's just simply have Evan Mobley, uh, Donovan Mitchell, Sam Merrill-”

Discussed regarding his historical performance struggles in late-series games.

“on their home turf they're a different beast to deal with. And I think that, again, until we see otherwise, even though we have to applaud James Harden, what we have seen from him in games three and four, respectfully, that hasn't really been his problem. His …”

Mentioned for his recent poor performance and turnover issues.

“And it takes your role players out as well, right? Because they're constantly having to, you know, help you out by getting the ball out of the double team, and it just messes up the flow of an offense, right? Like, um, so we'll see what happens. Uh, we kinda t…”

Mentioned as a potential teammate for LeBron James.

“Um, but no, I, uh, s- like, the Cleveland aspect to me is, is fascinating, right? 'Cause on one hand, you're right, it is, in theory, easier to get to the finals, um, if you're in the Eastern Conference. Um, and we're gonna talk about Cleveland in a minute, an…”