James Harden and the Clippers were sent on an early vacation by the Mavs on Friday. An inspired Kyrie Irving went on a rampage in the second half of game 6 to clinch a playoff round 2 spot for the Dallas side with a 114-101 win.
James Harden, who was locked out in game 5 by Irving and scored only 7 points, could not do much to force a game 7. Despite the disappointment, there was a silver lining for the Beard as he entered the top 10 in the list of playoff assist makers. With his 13 assists on the night, Harden surpassed Bulls legend Scottie Pippen, taking his tally to 1049.
In front of him is Steve Nash with 1061 and Larry Bird with 1062 playoff assists in 9th and 8th positions, respectively. But there remains a big question: will he surpass them in the Clippers’ colors? After the buzzer sounded, James Harden tried to address that himself.
What’s Next for James Harden?
Despite finishing ahead of the Mavericks in the regular season with a record of 51-31, the Clippers could not progress any further than round one. With Kawhi Leonard out for the majority of the games in the series, the burden to pull the LA side over the line mostly fell on James Harden and fellow NBA veteran Paul George.
Now that their journey is over, James Harden broke his silence over his future when he was asked about it in a post-game interview. The 2018 MVP said, “I don’t even know. You are asking a lot of questions that I don’t have the answer to or haven’t even thought about.”
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Harden is set to become a free agent in the off-season, so a big decision for him and the Clippers is on the horizon. The LA side is also looking to secure the future of their HC Tyronn Lue, who is linked with a move across the town. Given the salary situation after Kawhi Leonard’s extension earlier this year, it will be hard to meet Harden’s demands if he asks for more to return next season. As of now, everyone is as unsure as James Harden himself is.
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