The NBA regular season has entered the final stage, but the Eastern Conference pattern is still very unclear, and half of the teams in the top ten have changed their rankings after a day of games. And in today's focus showdown, before the game are the first strong dialogue in the division, the 76ers lost to the Suns 104-114, and because of this loss, they lost the first place in the East and fell straight to the fourth place. Embiid had 37 points and 15 rebounds to dominate the game's restricted zone, but he single-handedly struggled to stop the Sun's multi-point blossom.
Harden didn't give Embiid enough help, scoring just 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting, with another seven rebounds and nine assists. While assists are good, Harden's desire to score is really too low, and among the 76ers' starters, he is only higher than defensive champion Sebel, and far below his career average. Harden himself admitted that he must shoot more and fight more aggressively. Averaged 20 points and 9 assists per game, returning to his original shape after leaving the Nets! Embiid complained publicly, and KD was relieved
Since Harden joined the 76ers, he has played 14 games with the team, with a record of 4 wins and 10 losses, a winning percentage of 71.4%, which translates to 82 games is 58 wins, and the East can definitely rank first this season, so it looks good. But these 14 games have to be viewed in 2 stages. The first stage is the first 4 games, Harden played consecutively, 4 games scored 27 points, 29 points, 26 points, 25 points, shooting more than 57%, it can be said that it is very efficient. And he also delivered 48 assists in 4 games, averaging 12 per game, which is amazingly efficient.
But in the next 10 games, Harden obviously had a problem, averaging 20 points and 9 assists per game, the score fell a lot, the shooting rate was only more than 50% in 1 game, 3 of 17, 5 of 19, and 2 of 11 today, if it were not for more free throws, the data would be more outrageous.
In the first 4 games, Harden will choose to feed his teammates first at the beginning of the game to cultivate the feel of his teammates, but if his teammates can't score, he will stand up and take over the game, playing very firmly and very hard, so it is efficient. But in the later games, Harden became like in the Nets again, with a loose attitude and a lack of determination. Nearly half of the 11 shots were three-pointers, and all of them failed to break through to the basket, all of which were deflected, and he was no longer the harden who could do everything on the offensive end.
Embiid complained publicly after the game: I've had this feeling in the last few games, we played too slowly, there was no rhythm. And now the 76ers' outside ball controller, who else but Harden can be? Embiid was clearly saying this to Harden, and both Maxi and Harris were scorers, not ball handlers. Harden and the Rockets in the same way of playing, 1 person consumes a lot of ball power, but he can not play the kind of offensive performance in the Rockets period, the speed is really slow, I don't know if the injury has not healed or is old. In short, harden is now on the offensive end, and there is no deterrent at all. If Harden continues to enter the playoffs with this attitude, the 76ers certainly won't go far.
Compared to the 76ers' woes, Durant should now be thankfully relieved, even if the Nets are still in the playoff area, but he enjoys every game. When he and Irving discussed forming a team before, there was no pressure at all, both of them had championship rings, and there was no need to deliberately pursue anything. But after Harden came, everything was different, and they had to fight for that ring for Harden. The result is that Harden himself lost himself in the playoffs, the Nets lost to the Bucks, and Harden has a lot of responsibility.
Now harden is gone, Irving is also unblocked, Durant has returned to the previous model, he and Irving in the game to play their talents, this is the real enjoyment of the game, whether to win the championship or not, Durant is happy. Of course, if he has the chance, he will definitely want to compete with the 76ers in the playoffs, and who doesn't want to prove that he is better in front of his predecessor?