The Grizzlies are so young that they have a big question mark about what they can play in the playoffs; as for the other Western Conference teams, they all seem to have more obvious questions. Therefore, the Sun, which leads the league, is the biggest hit from the West this year. In comparison, this year's "Wild" East is more elusive; the Nets and defending champion Bucks are obviously more favored, but there are also optimistic about the Heat, Celtics, 76ers voices. Therefore, the sun and the 76ers can also be seen as a potential finals showdown.
However, the course and outcome of this game seemed to be a reproduction of the first leg of the meeting between the two sides; the 76ers once led by double digits in the game, and finally the Suns achieved a reversal.
In addition to the nearly identical game process and results, compared with that game, the core players of both sides played similarly to that game. Embiid, who had 34 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists in the first leg of the meeting, took 37 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks, and Harris, who last got 30+, although he only had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists in this game, but 8 of 14 was still efficient. And Maxi, who only had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists after playing 5 of 16 for the Suns in the first leg, still played 7 of 21 in this game to get 18 points and 3 assists. On the other hand, on the Suns side, Booker, who scored 35 points in the first round, still scored 35 points efficiently in this game. Paul, who contributed 16 points, 12 assists and 4 rebounds in the first leg, handed over 19 points, 14 assists and 4 rebounds. And Ayton, who contributed 10 points and 6 rebounds, only had 14 points and 12 rebounds in this game...
When the core players of the two sides are almost a continuation of the data and efficiency of the last meeting, it is reasonable to say that the winning sky should be inclined to the 76 talent pair; this is mainly because harden was still a Nets player when the two sides last met. However, the main reason why the 76ers were flipped in this game was not actually in the "essence of human beings being overturned" Rivers, and the pot deserved Harden to carry.
The game contributed 14 points, 7 assists and 9 rebounds, which is not in line with the identity of the superstar, and the shooting rate of 2-of-11 is even more miserable.
After joining the 76ers, Ha has averaged 23 points, 7.7 rebounds and 9.9 assists, shooting 42.9% from the field; but if you pull out the data of several focus games, it is a different "scene". Playing the Bulls 5-of-15 with 16 points and eight rebounds, his personal offensive efficiency crotch was masked by 14 assists. When it came time to play the old club Nets, he contributed 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists on 3 of 17. Playing the Raptors 5 of 12 contributed 17 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, especially in the last minute of that game, he directly killed the suspense of the game with consecutive mistakes on the court; counting the 2 of 11 in this game, it can be said that since Harden joined the 76ers, all the key games related to "ranking" and strong collisions, in addition to playing the Cavaliers' performance is acceptable, in addition to playing the Cavaliers' performance, the performance of Harden is really one game after another.
Of course, in fact, as early as the Rockets period, Harden once to the playoffs, there is a tradition of habitual crotch pulling; especially to the decision of the series watershed, the G7 or the team backwater battle, and then lose on the time, Harden's performance is basically not very normal. Compared with some players, the individual attack efficiency of playing key games is affected, but the performance of the ring of driving teammates has not declined significantly; Harden's problem is that as long as his personal offensive efficiency is limited, the other party will not include him; the other party does not pack, and his ability to use the pass to drive his teammates will not be revealed...
Compared with the past, although the playoffs habitually pulled the crotch, but the regular season is very "strong", the hamstring injury that began last year has a great impact on Harden's play. When the legs and feet are not so flexible, Harden's roll call ability has been much worse than before, his fighting spirit and attitude are still not obvious changes, and now Harden may only have 6 to 7 success in the Rockets period...
Of course, as you get older, the decline in superstar skills is nothing new. After Paul got older, he accepted the weakening of the role, reduced the control of the ball, let Booker let go of the attack, he was responsible for standing up at key moments, using an auxiliary way to control the rhythm, which is undoubtedly a model for the "transformation" of superstars. But it's clear that Harden can't do that. Whether it's at the 76ers or the Nets, while Harden has reduced the number of shots and singles, his long-term control of the ball hasn't changed. And once the ball is completely in Harden's hands, the team can't get up fast no matter what scene it encounters. Obviously, there are such a chaotic war master as Maxi, and a "leak king" like Sable who is good at stealing chickens in fast-paced games; if they have to accommodate Harden, they have been slow, and it is very uncomfortable to watch. And Harden's slow taking of the ball through the half not only means that the 76ers can only slowly grind their positions with the other side; and after the 76ers send away Curry Jr., there is no particularly stable pitcher, and their offensive space is also a big problem. So Harden's "hand-to-hand tractor" slow pace, in some games, is dragging down the overall offense of the 76ers...
When the 76ers got Harden, he was used as an important chip to impact the championship; with embiid's current dominance, if paired with rockets, it is indeed something to be expected. It's just that the Rockets are doomed to not come back, but the rockets' tradition of pulling their crotches at the moment of playing a key game has been preserved, so what does Harden + Embiid rely on to compare with the OK combination? And the core players have always had a tradition of pulling crotches in the playoffs, and the depth of the bench is relatively bad, so the 76ers want to compete for the championship is purely a pipe dream!