With Embiid confirming his absence from G1 and G2, the 76ers faced the first game of the series against the Heat on the road, and Lowry was absent dueling to injury.
The 76ers lost 92-106 to the Heat, who opened the series and rewrote the score to 1-0.
In the face of such a loss, Harden, the core of the 76ers, also conducted a self-examination after the game, and listed the three major problems of G1 losses, refusing to talk about 4 free throws.
Throughout the game, Harden played 35 minutes, shooting 5-of-13, and got 16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 turnovers.
It is not difficult to see from the data that Harden did not play the offensive performance of the big core of the former Rockets as expected by the outside world, but it is still very stable in tandem.
Therefore, Harden's aggressiveness and scoring ability were also questioned after the game, and coach Rivers publicly stated that Harden needed to score more points.
Harden first talked about the impact of the absence of embiid, the core of the interior, on the game, harden said that the team is indeed missing Embiid, which is something that the team cannot control.
For this situation, the team needs to have a "next stand up" mentality, believe that the team can get better, will adapt to this series, and believe in the resilience of the team.
Then talking about his offensive performance, Harden conducted a self-examination, bluntly saying that he needed to play more aggressive, while praising the opponent Tucker, frankly saying that Tucker is Tucker, he has always been so tough.
Harden then talked about the 3 big problems exposed by the 76ers in G1, the first two points being that the team needs to do better in rebounding and turnover control.
Throughout the game, the 76ers made 14 mistakes, including Harden, Maxi and Harris, 10 of which were played by three players, and as long as the three players improved their form, this problem was not difficult to solve.
In terms of rebounding, the 76ers lost 6 frontcourt rebounds, Reid, Jordan Jr. have exposed a lot of problems, because Embiid G2 will also be absent, the 76ers can only rely on the team's scramble to fill the shortcomings.
The last point is the ultimate ability of the outside line, Harden shouted to the whole team, do not keep thinking about this game three-point shots only 6 of 34 three-pointers, these three-point shots will eventually hit, the whole team must maintain confidence, continue to resolutely shoot three points.
As Harden said, the three-point shot will eventually be thrown, and the 76ers' three-point projection in this game is indeed far below the standard, resulting in the Heat getting smaller and smaller, the clamping is more and more determined, as long as the three-point shot is open, the problem will be solved at least half.
As for scoring only 4 free throws in the game, Harden simply refused to answer the question, saying: "The next question."
Harris talked about a similar issue after the game, and throughout the game, Harris was the only player on the 76ers who was in stable form, shooting 11-of-18 and having 27 points and six rebounds.
Harris specifically emphasized the protection of rebounding, saying that whether it is the Raptors in the last round or the Heat in this round, they are a highly confrontational team and need to protect the rebounds in the backcourt.
The whole team got a lot of good empty three-point opportunities, but unfortunately the team failed to hit, and the team was beaten by the opponent in the third quarter, which is completely unacceptable.
At the same time, Harris also stressed the aggressiveness again, and needed to change the defense against the Heat's small guards, and then resolutely attack the inside line to enhance the team's aggressiveness.
Maxi gave a similar view, bluntly saying that the Heat were more aggressive in the second half, which left the team in passivity.
But it is not difficult to see from the team's 1-point lead in the first half that the team won is not a distant thing.