On April 19, Beijing time, the 76ers and raptors ushered in the second round of the first round of the playoffs, and the 76ers sitting in their home home rich country center after the last game 131-111 bloodbathed the Raptors 20 points, naturally hope to continue to work hard today, with a 2-0 advantage to Canada, although in the first quarter the 76ers are still 1 point behind the opponent, but in the next two quarters the 76ers gradually found the feel on the offensive end, and finally beat the Raptors 112-97, leading the opponent 2-0.
Poor offense defense to make up, 3 steals and 2 blocks highlight Harden's defensive value
Compared with the previous game, the 76ers interior core Embiid ushered in a recovery, this time he cut 31 points and 11 rebounds, but the other backcourt core Harden, is still in the offensive end of the downturn, this campaign he started 41 minutes, 9 shots 3 only 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists into the account, although in the offensive and organizational end did not play their due strength, but this game Harden is indeed very active on the defensive end, want to make up for his poor offensive feel through defense, He managed 3 of the team's 5 steals, and the two blocks were second only to Harris, ranking second on the team.
There are at least 3 or 4 balls in this game, when VanVleet and Siakam played blocking and dismantling, when Maxi changed the defense of Siakam, before VanVleet gave the ball, Harden immediately trotted, secretly changed with Maxi, to defend Siakam, although the height of the two is indeed a certain gap, but Harden's lower limb strength is very sufficient, the hard-top Siakam is not down, and the latter just does not have the ability to single with his back, and suddenly faces Harden's strong small steel cannon, and he is also a little overwhelmed. It can only end with a pass or a hit.
Thanks to Harden, if the 76ers backcourt is still the defensive end of the Curry Jr. team, it will face a great test
And Harden's sparing efforts in the defensive end of this game also make people inevitably begin to sigh, if the 76ers are now the core position of the backcourt is still small Curry, in this round of the series with the Raptors, the old Rivers put the small Curry, Maxi, the two small guards who attacked strong and weak, Siakam a change of defense, in the face of these two defensive black holes, the 76ers absolutely can not play as easy as now, and it is even very likely that Siakam will be used as an inside cash machine to completely explode. In the blockbuster deal before the trade deadline, the 76ers sent curry Jr., Simmons and Zhuang Shen, who had better outside projection, got MVP superstars like Harden from the Nets, and in the playoff stage, harden was indeed needed to reflect his value.
The test has only just begun, can The Heat continue to be aggressive on the defensive end against potential opponents in the semifinals?
Have to sigh, this may be the charm of the super giant, in the feel is not ideal, coupled with the organization of the tandem end is also the Raptors this group of forwards to the death limit, but Harden in the previous most criticized defensive end to play aggressive, this is indeed somewhat unexpected, because Harden's entire career has been criticized as a heavy attack and light defense of the backcourt, especially in the playoffs, it is very easy to appear in the defensive end of the situation, but this time to the 76ers, Under the old Rivers, a champion coach who is good at adjusting defense, Harden can show his value on the defensive end, which is really emotional.
For Harden, the goal of this season is to compete for the championship, if after the first round of easy elimination of the Raptors, the 76ers will most likely usher in the challenge of the Heat in the semifinals, facing the league's defensive powerhouse, can Harden continue to give strength, in the case of a downturn in the offensive end, continue to play a high-pressure defense to block the fire attack of Hiro and Lowry in the backcourt? Let's wait and see.