The 76ers' Eastern Conference semifinals against the Heat are currently showing a one-sided trend. The 76ers, who are missing Embiid, are not the Heat opponents at all. After the first two games, they are already behind 0-2. Harden, who traded in the middle of the season, performed disappointingly in the playoffs. He scored 16 points in this series G1 and 20 points in G2, and he can no longer find the feeling of "rocket boarding".
Harden played crotch in the face of the Heat, one is the decline in his own strength, and the other is that the Heat have adopted a targeted defensive strategy. In the absence of Embiid, the Heat can attack Harden unscrupulously. In this case, Harden has shot only 11 of the 28 shots in the past 2 games, shooting less than 40% of the way.
According to Five Reasons Sports Heat reporter Brady Hawke, in this series, Harden played worse on the offensive end when facing Oladipo and Strus defensively. Under Oladipo's defense, Harden shot just 2-of-7. Under Strus' defense, Harden shot just 1-of-7.
Don't forget, the Heat also have Harden's veteran player PJ Tucker, who is also a defensive player and knows Harden's habits very well. Under the siege of these people, Harden's crotch in the playoffs has become not unusual. The Heat's defensive strategy is very clear, that is, to pinch Harden and not let him have an easy opportunity to attack.