(Mandatory Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
While the Miami Heat were promptly swept by the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers last week, there were still two first-round series that had yet to wrap up. One of them includes Jimmy Butler’s Golden State Warriors against his hometown Houston Rockets; the other includes Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers against Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP, and the Denver Nuggets.
Both of those series were extended to the full seven games, with the Nuggets and Clippers wrapping theirs up Saturday night. The Nuggets secured a 19-point win at home, though arguably the biggest storyline from Saturday was Harden, once again, shriveling when the lights turned brightest, further quieting a puzzling online debate between him and Dwyane Wade.
No, James Harden’s not better than Dwyane Wade. Let’s stop acting like it:
Maybe it’s because I’m online too much, but a loud minority of individuals plaguing the interwebs–yes, we’re looking at you, Jeff Teague–believe Harden is either better than the Heat’s all-time great, or in the conversation of being better.
No, no he isn’t. Let’s talk about why.
Both are phenomenal regular-season players who elevated their team’s floor and ceiling for the full 82-game slate. Harden had the greater counting stats in the regular season due to his inflated usage rate. But Wade was the far superior two-way player, and Saturday was another episode of Harden being gone with the wind when his team needed him most in the playoffs.
He finished with just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting Saturday, adding five rebounds, a game-high 13 assists and two steals. Harden’s mixed a couple of good elimination game performances over his career; he overcame those woes in Game 6 mere days ago. But his shortcomings far supersede his best when the lights turn brightest, including in Game 7s.
Two seasons ago, Harden scored just nine points and seven assists (to five turnovers) on 3-of-11 shooting in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semis against the Boston Celtics. In 2019-20 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Harden had 17 points on 4-of-15 shooting (1-9 3PA) in 37 minutes; in 2020-21 with the Nets against Milwaukee, Harden had 22 points on 17 shots in 53 minutes–a game famous for Kevin Durant’s shoe barely being on the 3-point line to force overtime (instead of winning in regulation).
I could go on, but the history is too damning. Harden’s a great regular season player. Not in the postseason. Wade’s playoff history isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly not as detrimental as his counterpart’s.
Don’t forget Wade’s four-game superman heroics in the 2006 NBA Finals, averaging 39.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals from Games 3-7 after the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks opened with a 2-0 series lead. Or when Wade averaged 22.7 points and 4.9 assists on 54.6 percent true shooting in the three NBA Finals thereafter alongside LeBron James, including being the team’s best player in their 2011 disasterclass to Dallas. Or when he went on a three-game terror in the East semis against Indiana in 2011, including a 41-point, 10-rebound performance in a series-clinching Game 6.
Wade didn’t fold with his back against the wall. If I’m evaluating the all-time greats, the entire piece of the pie matters, not just what happened over the regular season. There’s no denying that Harden will go down as one of the greatest shooting guards ever and one of the most gifted passers ever for his position.
But he’s no Dwyane Wade. Let’s not get it twisted.
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