Pacers Coach Issues Heavy Praise to 76ers’ James Harden

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was complimentary of James Harden ahead of Wednesday's matchup.

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has had his fair share of battles against Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden. Before Carlisle was running the Pacers and Harden was starring for the Sixers, Carlisle was coaching the Dallas Mavericks, while Harden was the face of the Houston Rockets franchise.

“I lost count of the number of times we played him over the years in Dallas, but it was four times a year because they were in the division,” Carlisle said ahead of Philadelphia’s meeting against the Pacers on Wednesday night. “It was very difficult.”

That comment came after Carlisle issued tons of praise for the ten-time All-Star. As Carlisle geared up for another tough battle against The Beard, he couldn’t help but praise the player that’s recognized as a sure thing for the Basketball Hall of Fame when his career is all said and done.

“He’s one of the best,” said the Pacers' head coach. “He’s one of the best one-on-one players in the history of the game. He won the MVP, essentially being the guy that put the Houston Rockets team on his back and just was the creator. A lot of it was pick-and-roll, but a lot of it was just flat-out manufacturing it off the dribble, which is so hard to do. There’s just a few guys in the game that have that capability. Like, Luka (Donic) does, (Harden) does, LeBron (James) can still go get it. I mean, Donovan Mitchell, I think you’d have to say after his game a couple of nights ago, is a guy that can create shots, but James had to do it for multiple years.”

These days, Harden’s game looks slightly different compared to his days with the Rockets. In Houston, Harden was known for being a 30-plus points per game scorer, as he was the go-to scoring option on the team. These days, he’s mixed in a heavy dose of facilitating as the Sixers employ last year’s scoring champion in Joel Embiid.

NBA outsiders might criticize this version of Harden since he’s only averaging a little over 20 points per game on the Sixers. But when opposing players and coaches come to town, the star guard is never overlooked, as he continues to be recognized as one of the best guards in the league. Rick Carlisle is just another example. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.