If any member of Team USA had a rough go of things during yesterday’s historic 83-point victory over Nigeria, it was James Harden. In going 3-8, Harden was the only American who failed to make half his shots, and he also got crossed to the floor by Tony Skinn (if you somehow missed this, please refer to the video above). Considering what little damage Nigeria inflicted, I think it’s fair to say James Harden took the brunt of the blow.
Today, JR Smith (via Twitter, of course) asked The Bearded One exactly what happened just before he hit the deck. Harden responded as quickly as he did predictably, essentially stating that the dog ate his homework. Here’s their interaction from earlier this afternoon…
The floor? Man, that’s the Olympic basketball court. Although I’ve never stepped on it, I’m pretty sure they keep it pristine… and with guys playing limited minutes while in cruise control it’s unreasonable to suspect a sweat puddle out near the top of the key.
As for the sneakers, I’m going to go ahead and suggest a new policy for that excuse: those who get unlimited Nikes for free complete with their initials stitched into the tongue may not blame their footwear for any on-court mishap.
The verdict: crossed, and crossed badly. Poor excuses too. I would’ve been more inclined to believe that his foot got stepped on, or that he slipped on the same banana peel that killed the O’Doyles.
