As we all know, the playoffs are a stage to test the stardom, and whether you can play a highlight in the playoffs and lead the team to win the series not only affects the historical status of the individual, but also affects whether you can sign a big contract! Therefore, in the playoffs, the pressure on the stars will be very large, on the one hand, from the game itself, and more from the media and fans.
Recently, the famous A-Smith lined up the 5 stars with the most pressure in this year's playoffs in the show, 1-5: 1 Harden, 2 Irving, 3 Paul, 4 Butler, 5 Thompson.
Harden is in first place, and I believe most people will not have objections! However, Harden himself said in a recent interview that he had nothing to prove and did not feel any pressure. In this regard, A-Smith bluntly said that Harden was lying!
Why A-Smith is convinced that Harden is lying, let's talk about the pressure of Harden's playoffs this year.
The first is the pressure from the team, the 76ers were already the favourites to win the championship before Harden came, they finished first in the East last year, reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals, and if simmons had not played a disaster-level series, they could have easily reached the Eastern Conference Finals. Now, Simmons, who is considered a cancer on the team, is gone, in exchange for the historic double guard Harden. The 76ers have no excuse for losing, and their goal can only be a championship, or at least an Eastern Conference champion!
So Harden has to help his team go further in the playoffs, and he has to prove that he can bring a higher ceiling to the team, which is no small challenge for Harden today.
Secondly, the pressure of the media, Harden's performance in the playoffs over the years has been controversial, although his average data looks very luxurious, but in some key games, key moments, Harden's performance is always disappointing! So much so that many media have labeled Harden with the performance of the soft-footed shrimp in the playoffs, and even now when Harden's regular season performance is not good, the media will use Harden to enter the playoff mode early to ridicule.
Harden needs to play some iconic games in this year's playoffs to crush doubts! When the game hits Tenno Mountain and hits the seventh, Harden must be the one who stands up! And once Harden's key battle pulls his crotch again, it is conceivable that he will be questioned overwhelmingly at that time.
Then there's the extra pressure That Harden himself puts on himself, and if Harden hadn't filed a trade request and was still with the Nets, there might not have been such extra pressure. But because of Irving's part-time job, team atmosphere, lineup configuration problems, he chose to leave the Nets and joined the 76ers with a better record, and now that Irving has been allowed to participate in all games, the Nets have become the favorite to win the championship again, and people can't help but wonder if Harden's decision is wrong! In order to prove that his choice was right, Harden must get back in shape, correct his name in the playoffs, and at least help the 76ers go further than the Nets.
In addition, it is the pressure of opponents, the 76ers' first-round opponent Raptors, is a team with amazing long-handed and long-legged athletic talent, very good at changing defenses, which will greatly reduce Harden's blocking threat and increase the difficulty of his game.
Finally, there is the pressure to renew his contract, Harden's contract expires for one year, and he has player options next season. If Harden's performance in this year's playoffs is much lower than expected, it will inevitably affect his contract extension negotiations with the 76ers.
This season may be Harden's last chance to correct himself, whether he can lead the 76ers out of the East, or even win the championship, we wait and see!