“Couldn’t Find You”: James Harden Reminded of Traumatic Error by Ex-Teammate Slamming Clippers Star’s Bold Stance

The Los Angeles Clippers have been on fire lately. They have turned their season around after an awful start to the James Harden era. It looks like Harden has finally found his place in the roster and adjusted to playing alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Clippers began 2024 the same way they ended the last year, with a win. They have won two straight games to start the month of January.

James Harden called out the critics during an interview after the Clippers’ amazing turnaround. But Harden’s former teammate Kendrick Perkins brought The Beard back to the ground and reminded him of his traumatic error.

Kendrick Perkins slams James Harden for old mistakes

James Harden has been playing great recently. He is averaging 17.7 points and 8.1 assists, and the Clippers have moved to the 4th spot with him in the line-up. This recent surge led Harden to call out his critics, “And now those people that was talking, they’re nowhere to be found. Like literally nowhere to be found.” However, Harden’s former OKC Thunder teammate Kendrick Perkins responded to Harden’s comments and reminded him of his old mistakes.

“You forgot. I was your teammate when we went to the NBA Finals. And we couldn’t find you in the Finals when we lost to the Miami Heat. So, we wanna see it happen,” Perkins said, slamming his ex-teammate. According to Perkins, no one cares about how Harden plays in the regular season. People want to see him perform well in the post-season because that is where he has struggled his entire career.

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Is James Harden to blame for OKC’s 2012 Finals loss?

Perkins left no stone unturned talking about Harden’s performance in the 2012 NBA Finals. Harden averaged only 12.4 points and 3.6 assists in that series. However, it is a bit unfair to blame The Beard for OKC’s loss to LeBron James and Co. In 2012, Harden was not the superstar we know today. He was only in his third season and still playing in the shadow of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It was not until Harden joined the Houston Rockets that he started coming to his own and became one of the greatest scorers in NBA history.

Even though Perkins calling out Harden for his 2012 Finals performance is a bit of a stretch, Harden still needs to prove himself in the playoffs. Even after becoming a superstar in Houston, the former MVP was unable to get over the hump and reach the NBA Finals. He choked again last season during the Celtics-Sixers series in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. This year, Harden has the chance to silence his critics once and for all by helping the Clippers win their first Championship.

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