Losing consecutive games to the Suns, Bucks, pistons, the 76ers swallowed a wave of three consecutive losses, and the team's ranking also dropped to 4th in the East, although this move allowed them to successfully avoid the Nets in the first round, but the team's form was also very bad, and they needed to get back on pace and get back on track.
The 76ers' state depends more on Harden's performance! In a game with the Suns, Harden performed extremely crotch-pulling, only 14 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists on 2 of 11, resulting in Embiid even though he cut 37 points and 15 rebounds, he still had no choice but to lose the game! Playing bucks, Harden played a big game, especially in the first 3 quarters, attacking, organizing a shoulder to shoulder, leading the 76ers to always suppress the opponent! Unfortunately, due to the late arrival of Harden in the last quarter, coupled with the slippage of the state, only 1 of 4, resulting in the team being overturned by the Bucks in the last quarter.
In a game with the weak pistons, Harden performance is even more crotch, only 7 assists at the same time, in the personal offense only 4 of 15 shots, only 18 points, offensive, organizational performance is not ideal, so that the 76ers planted a big heel, lost to the Pistons.
Harden's good or bad affects the performance of the 76ers, they want to win, they need Harden to stand up, whether it is an individual offense, or a full range of teammates, Harden can show a little, the 76ers are very different! In the anticipation of fans, Harden finally ushered in an explosion in the game against the Hornets!
The Hornets were previously ranked 9th in the East, and the team is competing for a play-off spot, so this game must be fully waiting! However, in the face of the menacing Hornets, Harden showed the skill of the passing master, constantly driving his teammates and taking the lead in gaining the initiative, but the Hornets were not willing to show weakness, relying on the impact of the inside line, and were not pulled apart by the 76ers.
Unable to attack for a long time, the 76ers bench began to exert power, Harris, Jordan Jr. blossomed inside and outside, playing a 9:2 point difference! But then the Hornets sent back a wave of 10-0 to catch up with the score! Seeing that the opponent was so difficult, Embiid and Harden finally began to exert their strength, one focused on personal offense, one constantly using the pass to drive teammates, they played a smooth attack at the end of the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and soon widened the point difference to nearly 30 points, and took a 23-point lead in the third quarter.
The 76ers played more and more fiercely in the last quarter, a wave of 11:1 offensive attack to stretch the advantage to more than 30 points, the game also completely lost suspense, early into the garbage time, the result of the 76ers 144:114 beat the Hornets, ending a 3-game losing streak.
Soaring 144 points, brewing a 30-point tragedy, the 76ers played a very good offensive performance, and Harden undoubtedly played an absolute role, giving 13 assists in the whole game, leading the team to 7 people to score in double figures, and 7 people to bomb 115 points.
Sable scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and he had a lot of opportunities to break through under the control of Embiid and Hard, and the scoring was very easy! Harris is the biggest beneficiary, originally a high-altitude artillery turret, he got a huge number of shooting opportunities around Harden, scoring 23 points on 8-of-13 in the game. Maxi did the same, scoring 19 points in the game, and even Embiid scored with great ease, scoring 29 points on 12-of-16. Milton, Niang and other substitutes contributed 10 points and 10 points respectively, and also played a role on the field.
Harden's personal offensive performance is still not good, 4 of 10 only got 12 points, but his pass is worth thousands of dollars, completely revitalized the team's offense, let the 76ers offensive end of the clouds, everyone can play their role, coupled with the attraction package he created on the offensive end, it is even more stressful for teammates, which is the value of Harden, far more important than the personal offense.
In the face of Harden's performance, 76ers head coach Rivers told the truth! Rivers said: I like the way Harden plays on the court and drives the team, Harden can score as freely as he did in the Rockets, but he knows that his teammates feel better!
Harden himself said in an interview: "I know sometimes I need to play offensively, but we have players like Maxi, Harris, Embiid, they can easily score anything, I can create scoring opportunities for my teammates very well, I just want to make the right choice.
Passing 1st, offense 2nd, that's what Harden is making now! Maybe we are all saying that Harden is not as good as ever, but his playing style has actually become clearer, maximizing the stimulation of the team at the same time, but also the best protection of themselves, when a generation of passing masters, for the extension of Harden's personal career is also a huge help, after all, Harden is 32 years old, the era of big packages, is not conducive to his later development.