On May 3, Beijing time, the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals 76ers challenged the Heat away! The game was a huge test for the 76ers, as their top star Embiid was unable to play due to a fractured eye socket and a slight concussion, and the team suffered a heavy blow on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and no one expected to be able to retreat on the South Coast. In the end, as expected, the 76ers 92-106 lost to the Heat and suffered a black opening.
Embiid was originally the most insoluble point of the series, no one was able to match him in terms of body size, and his absence made the 76ers extremely passive in a strategic sense. To steal the victory away from home, Harden needs to play at the MVP level, and the 76s have a glimmer of life. Before the start of this series, many media also discussed Harden's role in the series, and everyone agreed that Harden needed to play rocket performance, he needed to increase offensive aggression, and he had to cut down 30 points, or even 40 points.
Harden in the playoffs has been criticized for questioning how tough he is in the playoffs, always dropping the chain in key games. Now embiid is absent, for Harden is the best time to prove himself, he needs to turn the outside world's doubts into the driving force of the game, to prove that he is still the MVP Harden, can still support a team's attack.
However, in the end, we did not wait for the "rocket boarding", for the expectations and doubts of the outside world, Harden turned a deaf ear, his performance is still tepid, no different from usual, we do not see his sense of urgency, do not see his aggressiveness.
Harden played 34 minutes in the game, shooting only 5 of 13, 2 of 7 from three points, 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and made 5 turnovers, including 1 offensive foul, 1 pass error, 1 dribble out of bounds, 2 dribbles were cut off, and his concentration was seriously inattentive. In the second half of the game, Harden only made four shots, scoring 4 points and 0 points in the last quarter, as if stealth.
You know this is the Eastern Conference semifinals, every game, every round is crucial, and Harden as the team's locomotive was turned off in the crucial second half, facing Hiro, Oladipo, Martin and other defensive weak rings, all chose to pass, no aggression to speak of, did not shoulder the responsibility of a leader, did not show the determination to win. In the absence of Embiid and the poor three-point feeling of his teammates, Harden only shot 13 times in the whole game, which is far from enough, at least 25 shots are reasonable.
Although Embiid is absent, the overall strength of the 76ers is not as good as the Heat, and the loss is reasonable, but Harden, as the former MVP, did not even work hard to give the victory to people, such a way of losing is really difficult to swallow.
Dropping the chain again and again in key games, perhaps we have to admit that the "Rocket" is really gone, his scoring ability and efficiency have been seriously degraded, and it is not a problem of aggression.
In an interview after today's game, Harden said that he should play more aggressively, hoping that he can put it into action at G2 and try to steal a victory on the road, we will wait and see!