Harden s curse: Why did Kobe s prophecy seven years ago always come true in the playoffs?

When the Nuggets beat the Clippers so hard that they couldn't find the North in the tiebreak battle, Harden's performance of only 7 points on 2 of 8 shots allowed fans to find Kobe's famous prediction in 2018. Black Mamba hit the nail on the show back then: "Just this way of playing, Harden will never win the championship!" Now seven years have passed, from the Rockets to the Nets to Philadelphia, Harden has replaced three luxury battleships, but he has never been able to overcome the playoffs hurdle. The most heartbreaking thing is that Kobe analyzed his flaws of "held the ball and singles are easily targeted", which will occur on time every year - just like a set alarm. Does it really fit the old saying: It is easy to change the country, but it is difficult to change the nature?

Watching Harden's plus or negative value in tiebreak battle-29, many Rockets fans remembered the 2018 Western Conference Final G7. That year he made 2 of 13 three-pointers and watched the Warriors complete the reversal. Now at the age of 35, he is still familiar with the recipe: 15 seconds of cooking on the top of the arc, either step back and make a move to the iron, or throw the blame on his teammates. Nuggets coach Malone laughed after the game: "We wish he would play singles every round." After all, the league knows that the defensive intensity in the playoffs will make Harden's "brain tricks" invalid - this year he averaged only 2.9 free throws left, which is a full 7 fewer than during the Rockets.

Kobe's analysis back then sounds more like a curse now: "When the whole team watches you be lucky, the defenders can recite your next step." This statement is completely fulfilled by the Clippers: when Harden holds the ball, the Clippers' offensive efficiency is the countdown in the league; when he stands without the ball, his opponent directly defends five and four. The irony is that when he first came to the Clippers, he threatened to "sacrifice for the championship", but the playoff usage rate was 3% higher than the regular season. The post-match sentence of teammate George, "We need a better transfer ball" is simply reading Kobe's lines seven years ago.

But is Harden really useless? Black Mamba also gave a thumbs up back then: "30+ games in 32 consecutive games? This is so crazy! "The problem is that Harden in the regular season is a data brush, but Harden in the playoffs has become a version abandoned. Look at his career record of 3 wins and 4 losses in the seventh game in his career, his degree of a slap in critical moments is comparable to that of a joke writer. This year's record of 7 points and 5 rebounds in the life-and-death battle is even worse than the data of the opponent Jokic in the quarter. Some fans commented: "It is recommended that Harden learn from Ginobili - people with bald heads know that they should pass the ball at critical moments."

【End Sublimation】

Harden's dilemma is very similar to some "Gods" in our workplace: PPTs are usually very magnificent, but they always lose track of their work at the end of the year. The essence of Kobe's prediction is not to sing bad things, but to point out the simplest truth of basketball - champions are never a game that passes the level alone. When Jokic averaged 9.8 assists per game to revitalize the entire team, Harden was still obsessed with replicating himself in 2018. Maybe it will not be until the day of retirement that Hei Mamba said that "you can't do it" but "this way can't do it". As for the dream of championship? Unless he is willing to throw pride and play into the crusher like Nowitzki in 2011.