On 2-of-11 shooting, Harden's performance that night was once again reminiscent of the night the Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Brooklyn Nets by 29 points 18 days ago.
On March 28, Beijing time, the NBA ushered in the top battle between the East and west, and the Philadelphia 76ers lost 104-114 to the Phoenix Suns, and the Suns won 8 consecutive wins. The rivalry between the two teams focused on this year's Finals has also captured the attention of many fans, with the Suns already finishing first in the West and the league's best record, while the 76ers are battling the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat for the first place in the East.
Everyone knows the importance of this game between the Suns and the 76ers. However, the 76ers were eventually reversed by the Suns with a 15-point lead, much like what happened in the last game when the two teams met in Philadelphia, when the 76ers led by up to 14 points before losing the game.
In addition, the Celtics won at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves that day, so after losing this game, the Green Army surpassed the 76ers and temporarily rose to the first place in the East.
76ers guard James Harden played 39 minutes, shooting 2-of-11 (2-of-5 from three-point range) and scoring just 14 points and nine assists on all eight free throws, with a plus-minus of -16 points on the field.
2 out of 11 again?! Seeing this data, Harden's performance against the Nets immediately came to mind - 3 of 17 in the whole game and 2 of 11 in the first half. The familiar recipe and the familiar taste, Harden never disappoints when it comes to disappointing in hard fights.
Some good people have counted the "black history" since Harden joined the 76ers, and it is really the key game of the downturn. On March 21, the 76ers were tragically reversed by the Toronto Raptors, harden scored only 17 points, three-pointers and four shots, but had six turnovers. Further on, there is the 76ers Nets game. The data shows that the shooting rate of strong teams with a winning rate of more than 50% of Harden is only 41%, while the shooting rate of teams with a bullying winning rate of less than 50% is close to 45%.
Bullying soft and afraid of hard, real hammer?
In the general perception of the outside world, James Harden is one of the most scoring guards in NBA history. He's won the top scorer three times in his career, won the MVP in 2018, and he has countless nights when he can easily score 40 points and deliver a dozen assists. However, in just two short seasons, Harden has become different from before. It was a strange night for Harden, who couldn't play the expected performance against a strong team like the Suns.
"There were a couple of free throws that didn't blow." Harden said after the game, "11 shots is not enough, I have to throw more balls and play more aggressively." ”
Harden was right that 11 shots were not enough for him. He's always had some ups and downs in the aggressiveness of the game, some games he looks like the Harden before, but sometimes he doesn't want to try to be that Harden again, and Harden, who pulls his crotch after a hard fight, appears. Two days ago, Harden said in a post-game interview that he was the oldest of the starters, although there were danny Green and Millsap in the team, but he already felt old, and he was not likely to feel this way before, Harden said: I said it once, I feel old, don't say it, don't say it.
If we analyze and interpret Harden's statement, he is indeed saying that he is old, but is it a disguised admission of his weakness, or does it imply that people should not always expect to see the "bearded man" who often shoots down 30+10 per game?
Contrasting with harden is his former Rockets teammate, 36-year-old Chris Paul. "Old Cannon" doesn't serve the old at all! In the fourth quarter of the game he gave another textbook performance, especially after using the blocking, Yan Shot Harden's mid-range jump shot gave the Suns an eight-point lead. To say how to evaluate, just two words: the key! You know, just 3 minutes ago, the 76ers chased the score to 100-101. In this game, Paul played 36 minutes to contribute 19 points, 4 rebounds and 14 assists, 9 of 15 shooting, plus-minus is horror is +25, and he ranks first in the team. He contributed 6 points and 4 assists in the crucial fourth quarter, and together with Booker he led the Suns to a 13-2 run that took the game straight away.
In the final moments, Jay Crowder hit a three-pointer in the bottom corner of the right to seal another victory for the Suns. According to statistics, so far this season, the Suns have entered the fourth quarter with a record of 45 wins and 0 losses when they entered the fourth quarter with a lead at the end of the third quarter of the game. Although the Suns had locked up regular season number one before the game, they continued to accumulate victories. Positivity and competitiveness are not problems for the Suns at all, they hope it's just getting started.
The Suns lost to the Bucks in the Finals last season, and Crowder was one of them, saying: "This enthusiasm comes from last year. Rushing all the way to the finals, but not achieving the main goal, this is the ultimate motivation. You want this, you want to go back to that place, you have to get a different ending. ”
"So, you can't skip any one step."
Over the course of two seasons, the Suns' system has been honed to great precision, they rarely make mistakes and seize opportunities, and everyone has the ability to score points, which makes people invincible. Throughout the game, the Suns scored in double figures, with offensiveers Devin Booker 35 points, Ayton 14 points and 12 rebounds, Paul 19 points, Mikale Bridges 11 points and Landry Shamet 12 points. There were also 9 points and 8 rebounds by Crowder, and Bismarck Biyombo scored 6 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in 15 minutes.
Playing against the sun and ignoring the details is unwise behavior. The Suns' 5 men on the court have always been closely linked on both the offensive and defensive ends, and the slightest carelessness can make you pay. 76ers center Joel Embiid admitted: "It's like the playoffs, everything matters. You just have to make one mistake and the result will be different. Tonight, we had a bunch of mistakes and we didn't organize well. ”
In terms of performance, the 76ers' loss is not a complete fiasco, and there are even some highlights. For example, MVP candidate Embiid scored 37 points plus 15 rebounds; Teres Maxi scored 16 points in the second half and 10 points in the third quarter; Andbias Harris scored 15 points in the first half. Those are the reasons the 76ers were able to lead the Suns by 15 points in the first half and stay ahead of the third quarter even though Harden didn't do as well. The 76ers' execution wasn't bad, especially in the fourth quarter when they scored 10 straight points, with Maxi hitting two consecutive three-pointers to bring the suspense back. Teams in general may panic when they encounter this situation, but the Suns obviously don't feel their panic. The Suns were rock solid, forcing them to make mistakes and beat them was so tough.
'There's a reason they're the best team in the league and I've said before that we still have a long way to go to get to that level. You can tell Embiid's frustration with the loss, but he makes sense.
The 76ers are obviously Embiid's team, but in a way, the 76ers have exchanged Harden from the Nets for Harden's team. Harden hesitates in the face of a strong opponent, and you don't know if he's afraid of a recurrence of a hamstring injury or simply wants to drive his teammates with a pass.
When Harden is about to block, playoff teams will mostly change their defenses to see if Harden dares to beat them with his body instead of his mind. Against the Suns, his left hamstring may have gone wrong again, but when he can't finish the layup or enter the crime-making scale with physical contact, and have a lot of possession, the team's attack inevitably stagnates.
Harden needs to realize that he can take over the game in the blink of an eye. He was only 32 years old, not older than Paul and James. Of course, Harden can say goodbye to the way he used to play with the big core of the ball, but occasionally you have to support it when you should support it.