James Harden’s NBA playoffs struggles explained by former Clippers teammate Paul George

The early exit of the Los Angeles Clippers from the NBA Playoffs sparked heavy criticism, particularly aimed at James Harden. Many analysts felt the guard failed to meet expectations in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets—something that has happened to him in the past. Paul George offered his perspective on the issue.

“James is my guy, obviously,” George said during an interview on The Pivot Podcast. “I think, at times, his gift, how good he is, is often a curse because he can do so many things, he don’t know which one he wants to be or he needs to be for that specific game.”

Having played alongside Harden with the Clippers between 2023 and 2024, PG has a clear sense of how the guard operates both on and off the court. “James puts a lot into his craft, and I think his production drops or divots from time to time. I think when you’re a player of his caliber, he does everything so well. I think on some nights he doesn’t know if he should be a scorer or if he should be a playmaker,” Paul explained.

George believes there are two versions of Harden

George then went deeper on the different sides of Harden. “I think at times it’s, ‘I’mma come out and I’mma be aggressive offensively to score.’ That James is a hell of a James,” said the Philadelphia 76ers star. “Some nights he might come out, and you think he flat, but he has the mindset of, ‘I’m going to be the facilitator. I’m going to get guys shots and get them open. Make the game easy for everyone else,’ and then you kind of lose.”

George and Harden were teammates between 2023 and 2024.

However, far from labeling this as a Harden-specific issue, Paul George admitted he’s also experienced similar struggles: “I’ve been on the side of this sometimes, where I’m being so passive that I forget how to be aggressive within the game and I lose sight of being aggressive in the game because I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to get this guy easy look.’”

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Paul George holds LeBron James responsible for his ringless NBA career

Harden’s history in the NBA Playoffs

James Harden has a curious history with the NBA Playoffs. On one hand, he’s part of an exclusive group of players who have never missed the postseason in their professional careers. Since his debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2009 through this year, the guard has reached the playoffs every single season.

However, when it comes to playoff success, the story is very different. With OKC, Harden made his only NBA Finals appearance back in 2012, when he was still very young and not yet a lead figure on the team. He later had his best years with the Houston Rockets but never got past the Western Conference Finals, losing twice to the Golden State Warriors.

With the Brooklyn Nets, he played in the postseason only once, falling in Game 7 of the semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. He reached that same stage twice with the Philadelphia 76ers. And with the Clippers, things have been even less successful—two straight first-round exits—making Harden’s dream of an NBA title feel more distant than ever.