James Harden Finally Showed Up In An Elimination Game And We Officially Have Our First Game 7 Of The NBA Playoffs

Harry How. Getty Images.

In life, you never know what's possible unless you ask for it. What's the worst that could happen? Someone says no? Big deal. But you can't get what you don't ask for. This doesn't just apply to life, but basketball as well. Earlier today I asked the Basketball Gods to bless us with a Game 7. As wonderful as these playoffs have been so far, it's the one thing we needed to cap off a near-perfect opening round. 

Well, well, well, would you look at that. Asking works! I didn't particularly care which of the three remaining series it ended up being, I just wanted one. Give me one 48-minute battle to the death. A true win-or-go-home game with a spot in the second round up for grabs. As I explained in that blog, NBA history told us we were going to get at least one. A total of 20 of the last 22 playoffs have had a first round Game 7, and we can now make that 21 of the last 23. 

For any Clippers or Nuggets fans reading this, my heart goes out to you. The anticipation you are now going to feel between tonight and Saturday night is going to be torture. There's honestly nothing worse as a sports fan to go through than a Game 7. Everything about it stresses you out. It takes all day to get to tip off, and then once the game starts it feels like it's over in the blink of an eye. Every possession feels massive. Every mistake convinces you that your season is over it. As someone who has been on both sides of a Game 7 at every stage of the playoffs, I don't wish that shit upon anyone. Nothing ages you quicker than a Game 7. Nothing.

Given that I don't have a rooting interest either way, I personally cannot wait for it. I find it to be the perfect ending to what has easily been the best series of the playoffs. It's only right that we get to settle this thing once and for all in a Game 7, and it feels great that all of our collective praying after we saw Game 1 of this matchup that the series would go the distance worked. Good job, everyone.

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We got here unironically in large part because of James Harden. How about that for a sentence that is actually true. Given his stinker in Game 5, Game 6 had to be a game where James Harden showed up. He responded by being one of the best players on the floor

He did it on 50/42% splits with a 63% TS%. When the Clippers needed their star to be a star, he delivered. The fact that the Clippers didn't get a Harden stinker was huge, but they kept their season alive because everyone chipped in. Kawhi was vintage Playoff Kawhi

Role players like Norman Powell and Nic Batum made MASSIVE plays down the stretch on both ends of the floor which is exactly what you're looking for in that spot from your "others" outside of the two stars

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Not to mention the INCREDIBLE post defense by Zubac on Jokic in the final moments. Moving his feet, contesting shots, blocking shots, he showed exactly why he got DPOY love as well as MIP love. He's having a career year and has been a monster in the middle for the Clippers all season. Nobody can ever truly stop Jokic, but he seemed to be able to rattle him in the high leverage minutes, which is something you almost never see from Jokic. The frustration of no calls and Zubac getting stops seemed to really get in his head and make him hesitant. As a result, his season is now on the line in a Game 7.

The thing is, the Clippers certainly didn't help themselves in the final 4 or so minutes of this game. A 15-5 Nuggets run is what made things tight, and it felt like the Clippers were more playing the clock than continuing to execute and play with force. Once you do that, you're just asking for the other team to change the momentum, cause TOs and make it a ballgame late. That's exactly what the Nuggets did, but they were ultimately a few plays short. When the Clippers had to get the stops they needed to stop the bleeding, they did. With their season being on the line, that rules.

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In terms of the Game 7, good luck picking that one. You could tell me the Nuggets are going to return home and use the altitude to their advantage and blow the Clippers out, and I could definitely see that happening. You could also tell me Kawhi goes nuts and has another game where he doesn't miss a single shot while carrying the Clippers to victory, and I could see that happening as well. That's the beauty of a Game 7. They're impossible to predict. We've seen teams at home in recent years lose Game 7s. Welcome to the era of variance. A bad shooting night and boom, enjoy Cancun. I'm getting antsy just thinking about it!

The two best words in sports. Game 7. LFG.