Even though his tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers started in a good way, James Harden is already drawing some concern around the league given his style of play and how it can affect his team's ability to win a championship.
It happened in Houston, then he struggled to get things going in Brooklyn and it could be the same in Philadelphia if he doesn't make the right adjustments. We've seen what Russell Westbrook is going through on the Los Angeles Lakers, and many folks believe that the Beard could have a similar stint with the Sixers.
Gilbert Arenas recently sat down with Paul Pierce to discuss a variety of topics, including the potential Pierce-Nowitzki duo we never got to see on the Dallas Mavericks, but also current topics around the league.
Talking about Harden's time with the Sixers, Arenas claimed that if he doesn't change his mentality and style of play, he'll never be happy, no matter where he goes.
"The problem is, it's different than when we played. Because when we played, we had to adapt to different offenses. Because he's never had to adapt, he don't have the off-the-ball scoring, he don't have those plays, he has the play, give me the ball at the top of the key, I'm gonna play the ISO-ball. That's his scoring 99.9% of the time. He don't have off-the-ball scoring. If the offense isn't run like that, I don't think he can actually play, because he'll always be unhappy because I don't know if he's ready to compromise his game."
Harden's style of play is really good for the show and works a lot in the regular season, but many people have stated it's very hard that he can win a title with Iso-ball. This season, he has a great teammate in Joel Embiid, and some people have already compared them to Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. That's a reach right now, but we could see these two making a lot of damage in the Eastern Conference if Harden finds the balance.
More must-reads: