James Harden shoved by Tyrese Maxey
James Harden had high expectations when this season began. When James Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, they became instant title contenders. Last season, the Nets were the first team to earn a playoff berth. Despite this, the Nets lost out on the first seed to the Philadelphia 76ers. A series of unfortunate events led to the Nets trading James Harden to those same Sixers.
Last season, the Philadelphia 76ers looked like they finally took the next step. As the Sixers earned the first seed, they were expected to at least go to the Eastern Conference Finals. Instead, the Sixers got upset in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks. When Ben Simmons didn’t play well in Game 7, he fell under much scrutiny. This scrutiny led to Ben Simmons refusing to play for the Sixers.
James Harden wound up traded to the Sixers for Ben Simmons. Initially, it looked like the Sixers were going to take off. Instead, the Sixers only maintained their record, but they wound up finishing fourth in the East. The Toronto Raptors surged into the fifth spot, after spending a good portion of the season outside of the playoffs. James Harden ended the Raptors’ hot streak and Tyrese Maxey gave him a shove of support.
James Harden shoved by Tyrese Maxey
