Recently, American media released a set of photos of 76ers player James Harden training. From the photos, Harden’s muscle lines are obviously much clearer than last season. In the past few summers, this has also been the best time for his body shape control, and even in some picture silhouettes, he still has a bit of “devil muscle man” taste.
And after reshaping his body, can Harden regain his peak form? This topic naturally attracts the reverie of many fans and experts…
Harden’s career has been at a low point for the past two years. Last season, he suffered a crisis of confidence with the Nets. After a midseason trade to the 76ers, his play was equally disappointing. In the playoffs, the 76ers’ journey stopped in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Harden failed to carry the offensive banner when Embiid was injured, which naturally attracted criticism from many people.
A rather pointed view is that Harden has passed the peak of his basketball career. In the past two years, he is no longer the rhythm god on the court, and he can no longer switch smoothly between individual attacks and organization. . Due to the decline in athletic quality, the frequency and efficiency of the bearded European layup and step-back three-pointer have also dropped significantly.
Some experts also pointed out that the reason why Harden was in a downturn during the season was due to his ageing, but the bearded poor body management habits also greatly affected his state. In the past two years, every summer, the bearded person appeared in front of the public with a beer belly. This “sloppy” shape and the decline in speed and explosiveness brought about by weight gain also disappointed many supporters.
However, this summer, Harden’s attitude towards preparation is very different. Almost from the first day of the offseason, he was headed into the practice field. During this period, except for a piece of news about traveling to Europe with Durant, and the recent return to Houston to hold charity events as usual, Harden spent most of his time in the training hall.
And this kind of accumulated training and polishing has finally carved out the muscle lines of his body that are different from previous years. From the perspective of body shape alone, he has almost returned to his peak form.
Of course, Harden’s transformation isn’t just on the practice court. After the end of last season, his attitude towards the game and his basketball career seems to have changed a lot.
After the door to the player market opened, Harden quickly stated that he would not be disappointed and discouraged at all because of the failure experience last season. In the new season, he will not only stay with the 76ers, but will also jump out of the player option for the last year of the existing contract, sign a new 1+1 contract with Philadelphia, and a new two-year contract of 68.64 million, which is in line with expectations. Between the top salaries, there are also huge salaries of tens of millions of dollars. In addition, Harden also readily accepted the role of second-in-command.
Harden’s salary cut so aggressively created a huge operating dividend for the 76ers. First, using the space created by Harden’s pay cut, Philadelphia was able to sign his old teammate PJ Tucker with a full mid-level exception (about $10.3 million this season). Secondly, at the same time as the lineup is upgraded, Philadelphia also holds a lot of high-quality chips, and has the initiative to continue to adjust the roster according to the style of play and record at any time.
It can be said that Harden suddenly became transparent in character, injecting a breath of fresh air into the 76ers team. Although, externally, the NBA has launched an investigation into Harden’s signing, and many people also believe that Harden has taken Philadelphia’s Yin-Yang contract, and his contract renewal process must be tricky.
But Harden was indifferent to all the doubts. This summer, he has been sweating profusely, and in the latest interview, he also shouted to Philadelphia fans that the new season will continue to compete for the 76ers. “Another year of trying to win a championship! Philly (fans) know what we’re going to do.”
Maybe this time, Harden really didn’t just talk about it casually. From his performance this summer, he is indeed more focused and more serious than most of the time in his goal of winning the championship in the new season… (Poirot )Return to Sohu, see more
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