James Harden: Thunder Will Be Eliminated in Game 5 Unless Sixth Man Steps Up

James Harden appeared to be the Oklahoma City Thunder’s answer to the question of a Big Three that could match the Miami Heat’s in the 2012 NBA Finals.

However, aside from a solid Game 2 performance, the Sixth Man of the Year award winner has been anything but big for OKC.

In a crucial Game 4, the former Arizona State standout had one of his worst showings. Harden put up just eight points on 2-10 shooting (1-5 from beyond the arc), dished just two assists compared to four turnovers and picked up five fouls. He did have a team-high 10 rebounds, but his overall play was just terrible.

With the Thunder down 3-1 going into Thursday night’s matchup, Harden needs to figure out a way to get the ball to go down and become the fourth-quarter facilitator the team has relied on him to be for much of the postseason.

It was just over a month ago that the bearded bench player proved he was the third best player, next to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, on the team.

He eviscerated the Dallas Mavericks with 29 points, five rebounds, five assists and shot 68.8 percent from the field and 75 percent from deep. He was absolutely unstoppable going to the rack and was just as good dishing it out to open teammates.

If that Harden shows up for Game 5, the Heat are going to be in for a world of trouble. They will struggle to contain the gifted scorer, who has been blessed with court vision, while also trying to lock down KD and Westbrook.

However, if the Harden who turns the ball over, couldn’t hit water falling out of a boat and continually fouls decides to play in Game 5, it seems like Miami will be celebrating a championship on their home floor.