James Harden's Former Teammate Makes Statement on Game 1 vs Mavericks

James Harden was tremendous in Game 1.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Without Kawhi Leonard, the LA Clippers needed James Harden to step up, and that's exactly what he did for the team in Game 1.

In a pivotal Game 1, James Harden put up 28 points, 8 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 rebounds on 47/55/100 shooting from the field. He did all of this with only 1 turnover, truly orchestrating the Clippers' offense and controlling the game.

Harden's former teammate on the Rockets, Chandler Parsons, had a ton of praise to say about the guard while speaking on FanDuel's Run It Back show.

"He played very, very well," Parsons said. "He had one turnover, which was huge because he's going to dominate the ball... He's been judged his whole career on how he plays in the postseason, not having a championship."

"[James Harden] was special. This was a big game and star players like him are judged off how they play right now, and this is a great start for this playoff for him."@ChandlerParsons with high praise for James Harden #ClippersNation pic.twitter.com/aZ1ZUaQMqG

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 22, 2024

If there's one person who knows the scrutiny James Harden faces, it's Chandler Parsons. Harden has reached a level of success in the regular season that critics put him in a lose-lose situation. If he does well in the regular season it doesn't matter until the playoffs, but if he does bad in the regular season it's because he's washed.

"Now this year, he's got a really good chance to make a run, to carry the load in this first round or however long Kawhi is out, and he's gotta do exactly what he did," Parsons said. "He was special. This was a big game and star players like him are judged off how they play right now, and this is a great start for this playoff for him."

Game 1 between the LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks belonged to James Harden and Ivica Zubac. Now, expect Dallas to focus in on those two stars for Game 2.

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