When the tide fades, it is known who is swimming naked. When Embiid was injured, he knew who was the second core of the Philadelphia team.
The pinnacle of Harden is over. When Philadelphia beat the Raptors in the first round of G6, when Embiid was injured, people expected to see the superstar who blocked the god and the Buddha in the Eastern Conference semifinals again. Harden, however, said he was tired and he couldn't do it anymore.
Before the end of the first half, Philadelphia countered the score with a small wave of 8-0, giving fans hope of winning. At the start of the second half, Philadelphia still took the lead. However, facing the Heat's defensive lineup, when Philadelphia's offense was blocked, they were quickly lost.
Adebayo, Butler, Tucker, and the amazing projection of Hiro, the Heat have never been the top offensive teams, but they are enough to overpower Philadelphia and firmly control the situation. Harden lost his aggressiveness in the second half and once again lost his presence. On the field, only the young Maxi continues to attack the basket, his offensive efficiency is not high, but it is already philadelphia's hope and future.
When it comes to Philadelphia's second core, Harden can't take on the heavy responsibility. Harris's performance in the playoffs is clearly better than Harden's. He made 11-of-18 shooting and 1-of-4 three-pointers for 27 points and 6 boards. Maybe Harris won't be able to turn the tide, but he shouldn't be the superstar who can't stand alone.
Lacking the aggressiveness of the basket, Philadelphia could only be forced to shoot from the outside. In this game, they shot 6-of-34 from three-point range and shot just 17.6 percent from the field. Such a performance set a new record low shooting percentage for Philadelphia in at least 30 single-game shots in the playoffs.
In the whole game, Harden shot 5 of 13 and 2 of 7 three-pointers with only 16 points, 9 boards and 5 assists. Without Embiid, Harden is still the same as ever, and the data performance has not improved in the slightest. At the crucial moment, he lost himself, and in the final moments of the last quarter, Philadelphia was even crushed by the heat and entered garbage time.
Of course, Philadelphia's shots are unstable, and Harden can't be blamed entirely. The teammates received Harden's pass for 10 three-point shots, but none of them hit a shot, equaling the worst performance in the league in the past 8 years. Without Embiid's inside threat, Philadelphia's outside line would have struggled to get more space. Maxi three-pointers on 1-of-6 shooting, Harden 3-pointers on 2-of-7 shooting, and three-pointers on 0-of-7 by Niang, Philadelphia are crazy to play iron and are doomed to suffer the final defeat.
Looking at the situation throughout the series, Philadelphia without Embiid will certainly be difficult to compete with the Heat. But for Harden, he has to regroup, refuse to pull across, and prove himself.