MY ACCOUNT
James Harden insisted he intends to stay with the Philadelphia 76ers next season after delivering a flat performance in the defeat that killed off the team’s playoffs dream.
After posting just 11 points on four-of-nine shooting, NBA veteran Harden said he hoped the 76ers could realise their ambition to win a championship, and stressed he wanted to be a part of that.
Harden did not put any points on the board in the second half on a 99-90 defeat at home to the Miami Heat, who advanced 4-2 to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The 32-year-old guard spoke about his lack of impact, saying: “I feel like the ball moved, it just didn’t get back to me.”
The Heat dominated the third quarter 25-15 to open up an 11-point lead, including a 16-2 run, and Harden said: “We didn’t score. They got some easy buckets in transition, and hit some big shots, and kind of broke the game open.”
Acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a February trade, Harden was asked whether he saw his future in Philadelphia.
“I’ll be here,” he said. “Whatever allows this team to continue to grow and get better, and do the things necessary to win and compete at the highest level.”
He explained: “For me, it’s been a long year, but since I’ve been here it’s been great. We tried to build something so fast – tried to build a championship-contending team so fast – which I still think we are, but we’re just missing a few pieces. Other than that, we tried to go for it right away, and we just came up a little short. It doesn’t stop, we’ve still got to put work in and keep going.
“We’re trying to win a championship, man. That’s the goal. We’ll continue to build, us individually, and continue to get better, us as a unit, and continue to get to know each other. We’ll find out what works, what doesn’t work, and things like that.”
Harden has battled hamstring trouble in recent times, and he believes there is a pathway back to full fitness, where he would not feel impeded at all next season.
“I’m finally starting to feel okay again, so it will be a great summer for me to get my body right and get ready to go for next year. This last two years have been a whirlwind though,” he said.
“I’ve been trying to get right throughout the course of a basketball season for two years straight, and that’s not it. All last summer I was rehabbing, and it was a little frustrating because I’m not used to going through something like that. It is what it is, and I’m just happy to be healthy now, and I have a full summer to be straight and do the things necessary to come back even better next year.”
