The NBA regular season continued, with the 76ers back-to-back away to challenge the Heat, a game in which Harden was absent and Embiid and Maxi led the team. Without Harden, the 76ers' offense was very fluid, they didn't perform well, Embiid suffered a tougher package, and Maxi didn't get the same shots as before, and the 76ers were limited. In the absence of Harden, the 76ers lost 82-99 to the Heat by 17 points on the road, and the five-game winning streak was ended.
The Heat's performance in this game was very good, they largely limited the 76ers' play on the defensive end, and against the 76ers without Harden, the team adopted a defensive strategy of wrapping Embiid, which was very good. When Embiid was on the ball, the Heat's Tucker, Adebayo and Butler would come forward to interfere with Embiid's dribbles and layups, causing him not to get many shots and limiting his performance. In terms of defending other players, the Heat also have a very good performance, the whole game, the team let the 76ers only score 82 points, which is a very good defensive performance, the team can win this battle, relying on excellent defensive play.
In addition to the excellent performance on the defensive end, the Heat also had a good performance on the offensive end, the core of the team Butler got 21 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, Hiro got 21 points, Correb Martin contributed 14 points, Vincent also scored 16 points, the team's 4 players scored in double figures, the offensive efficiency on the inside and outside were very good, with the team's excellent play, the Heat finally laughed to the end, they successfully ended the 76ers' 5-game winning streak, consolidating their 1st place in the East.
On the 76ers side, after the lack of Harden, the team performed poorly, Embiid encountered the bag of everyone, and he played one of the lowest fan performances of the season. He played 39 minutes in the game, shooting 4-of-15 from 6-of-0 from three-point range with just 22 points, 15 rebounds and 2 assists, and when he appeared in the game, the team had a plus-minus of -12. He was not able to continue his previous good performances in this game, being suppressed by the Heat in the game and failing to give the team more help.
Maxi, who had 20+ in 4 consecutive games, only had an average performance in this game, he only had 17 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in the whole game, and the record of 20+ consecutive games was ended, and when he appeared in the game, the team's plus-minus was -22, which was the lowest in the game. It can be said that after the lack of Harden, Maxi's performance has been limited, and he cannot play the same performance as before in the game, and the sense of existence is not very strong.
With Harden present, the 76ers remain unbeaten, and in Harden's absence, the 76ers lost miserably to the Heat on the road. From this aspect, it is enough to see that the current 76ers team can not lack Harden, without Harden, the efficiency of the team's offensive and defensive ends is not very high, and the attack is not smooth, in the game the team lacks players who can organize the whole team to attack, and no player can stand up at key moments. In my opinion, this game can see how important Harden is to the 76ers, and Harden is a key player in how far the team can go in the playoffs.