With talks of a “Space Jam” sequel coming down the road, it looked Thursday night like Houston Rockets star James Harden might have had his talent stripped by the Monstars — and that’s probably a theory ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith would believe.
Harden picked a bad time for one of the worst games of his career, as he was a no-show in the Rockets’ season-ending Game 6 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The banged-up Spurs annihilated the Rockets 114-75, while Harden scored just 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting with six turnovers before eventually fouling out.
Smith, in an appearance late Thursday night on “SportsCenter,” struggled to find an answer for Harden’s performance. He joked (at least we think he’s joking) that there should be an investigation into Harden’s performance.
“I think there needs to be an investigation to be quite honest with you. He looks like he was drugged out there for crying out loud,” Harden said. “Literally comatose. I don’t know who the hell that was playing for the Houston Rockets, but it wasn’t the James Harden I’ve been watching all year.”
Smith also said he already heard from five Hall of Famers (sick brag, dude) who accused Harden of quitting.
The entire segment is actually pretty entertaining and worth a watch … assuming you’re not a Rockets fan.
Smith’s made a career out of bombastic hyperbole, but it would be hard for anyone who watched Harden’s Game 6 debacle to argue with the assessment.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
