*After what ended up being his last game with the Houston Rockets, a 117-100 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, James Harden shared his doubts about H-Town’s chances at greatness, saying: “We’re not even close, honestly, to, obviously, the defending champions (Lakers) and all the other elite teams out there. I mean, you can tell the difference in these last two games.”
“Chemistry, talent-wise, everything. It’s clear,” he added. “I love this city. I’ve literally done everything I can. It’s crazy. I don’t think it can be fixed. Thanks.”
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Welp, Shaq pounced on those parting words. Harden was traded hours later to the Brooklyn Nets to join Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in what pundits are expecting to be an Eastern Conference winning combination – and nothing less.
During TNT’s Inside the NBA broadcast Thursday night, Shaquille O’Neal appeared offended by Harden’s last interview as a Rocket.
“When you say you gave the city your all, that ain’t true,” Shaq said, pointing out how the Rockets’ brought in Dwight Howard, followed by Chris Paul, and then Russell Westbrook, but none of them turned out to be a good fit. The organization then surrounded Harden with shooters, but still, no championship. Shaq also rattled off receipts of
“I used to be like James. I used to come home and complain,” Shaq explained. “My father said, ‘What the hell did you do?’ He ain’t do nothing. He ain’t step up when he was supposed to step up.”
“When you’re the man and you make all the money, you make $30, $40 million a year, it’s a big responsibility,” Shaq continued. “Chuck [Barkley] has said this many times, when you’re the man, you got a big responsibility. It’s all on you. When it comes time to show up, he ain’t show up, so I know a lot of people in Houston are glad he’s gone. Now he’s got his little superteam. He gotta win this year. He don’t win, it’s a bust. Period.”
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