Houston Rockets: Tilman Fertitta talks MVP race and Harden in the postseason

Harden in the Post-Season

Fertitta had the below to say when asked by ESPN’s Max Kellerman about James Harden’s post-season “struggles”:

“James knows he just turned 30 years old just like Westbrook… And alot of great players do not win a championship until they’re in their 30s….Even the great Hakeem Olajuwon. This is the time for Russell and James to step up and make it happen in the playoffs. They have been unbelievable in the regular season. They’ve even had unbelievable series in the playoffs but they both know this is their time and I truly believe they’re gonna rise to the occasion.”

This is Fertitta pushing back on the narrative that Harden doesn’t step up in the playoffs, which is obviously incorrect as the Rockets have only been defeated in the first round of the playoffs once in the last 5 years, in large part due to Harden. Fertitta is also saying this year will be the year this narrative of Harden not being a playoff performer changes.

He also shows the basketball historian he is by pointing out how many players don’t win a title before turning 30. Obviously there will be and have been exceptions, such as Kawhi Leonard who won his first championship at age 23 and actually won two titles prior to turning 28.

He’s also right that Westbrook and Harden have been unbelievable during the season, as they’ve each not only won the MVP, but they both are on the ballot year after year. I’d like for Harden to finally silence the skeptics and critics who continue to push this false narrative that he doesn’t show up in the playoffs, but this is incredibly erroneous to even say about Harden. During the Western Conference Semifinals against the Golden State Warriors, Harden averaged 34.8 points per game, which led ALL players in the series. It goes without saying that Harden shows up in the post-season.