Paul Pierce Drops Truth Bomb On James Harden’s Recent Hot Streak

The Boston Celtics got back in the win column on Sunday night with a 138-129 victory over the Orlando Magic, pushing their record back above .500 to 9-8. One of their former players, Paul Pierce, has been taking note of another storyline around the NBA involving Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden, though.

While the Clippers have crawled out to a 5-12 record this season, they have been receiving some vintage performances from Harden. Through 16 games, Harden is averaging 27.8 points, 8.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 45.3% from the field.

After his 55-point masterclass against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, folks began having some serious discussions about Harden’s standing in NBA history. Pierce, however, wasn’t joining that crowd, as he revealed he’s not willing to rank Harden over Allen Iverson just yet.

“Shoutout to James Harden’s system,” Pierce said on “No Fouls Given.” “I mean, he is, but I thought Iverson was the system, too … I played against Harden … and I know he had presence throughout his run, but Iverson’s was like rule-changing presence. It was ridiculous.”

Harden’s spot among the legends of the NBA sometimes gets overlooked, thanks to the fact that he hasn’t won a championship in his career. After a couple of down years, though, Harden is playing some of the best basketball of his career this season with Los Angeles.

He may not be on Pierce’s Mount Rushmore of shooting guards just yet, but if Harden can continue to string together big outings for the Clippers, that could change soon. As for the Celtics, they will look to disrupt the Detroit Pistons’ 12-game win streak when they return to action on Wednesday.