Although the Raptors chased two consecutive games with a 0-3 deficit, Philadelphia's key G6 game withstood the pressure and defeated the opponent and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Doug Rivers was afraid that he already had a vague uneasiness in his heart, and the shadow of the opponent's great reversal was repeatedly pressed on his huge body, but this time it was a joke made by the god of fate.
Unexpectedly, it wasn't a joke, and soon after, he made another joke with Doug Rivers.
According to media reports, Joel Embiid suffered a fractured right eye socket and a mild concussion against the Raptors, and he will miss out of the following games and has no comeback schedule. Embiid suffered a similar injury four years ago, when he underwent surgery and missed 22 days, missing eight regular season games and two playoff games.
For Philadelphia, eager to make a difference in the playoffs, Joel Embiid's unexpected injury is a thunderbolt, and the team will soon have a series against the Heat. If Embiid is not able to play, Philadelphia's strength is bound to be greatly reduced, and it will be more difficult to break through the Heat in this case.
In the six games he played in the first round, Embiid averaged 26.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.
If Embiid misses the game, Philadelphia will become more passive, and who can hold up the team in a difficult situation? The answer is most likely James Harden. First of all, Harden is one of the core players of the team, of course, should take more responsibility in the game; second, Harden gets a salary, he must play a performance worthy of the salary.
But is James Harden trustworthy?
Former NBA player Richard Jefferson said on the show, "I have a lot of respect for Harden, but look at Trae Young's 'treatment' in the first round, not only because Harden is also the same type of player, but the Heat will constantly give you confrontation, confrontation or confrontation." 」 A good scorer isn't facing one defender and the next defender is waiting for you, but he hasn't performed too well all year. If Embiid can't stay fit, the 76ers don't have any chance. ”
While Harden once again followed his team to the divisional semifinals, reaching that achievement for six consecutive years — the longest record in existence — harden's performance in the series wasn't good enough. Also because of the lack of aggression on the offensive end, Embiid repeatedly mentioned that Harden should strengthen the offense to help himself, and Iverson also believed that Harden should be himself.
Harden's offensive performance with the Rockets is obvious to all, and the historical offense is breathtaking, but Harden seems to have lost that magic after leaving the Rockets. Harden hasn't been in good shape this season, shooting just 40.5 percent against the Raptors in the first round and shooting below 37 percent in four of his six games.
In fact, Harden's performance in the playoffs has been controversial, and the ceiling he led the team seems to be insufficient. Joining Philadelphia is an opportunity for Harden to prove himself, but Harden has not been able to break through the doubts, and the inefficient offensive performance is worrying. Therefore, in Embiid's absence, it is normal that Philadelphia's promotion is not optimistic.
Will Harden give his skeptics a resounding slap?
(Text/Yan Wujun)