"Given your efficiency on the defensive end, isn't it fair to say you're going to philadelphia and you're going to win games three and four and then get to the Eastern Conference Finals?" A reporter asked this question at the post-game press conference of the second game of the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Miami Heat starting center Bam Adebayo couldn't hide his smile and answered the reporter's question with a smile: "Yes. That's our plan, to take out our defense on the road, to defend the opponent and then play well to switch offenses and try to go there and win two games. "Adeba has this confidence, especially against the 76ers who are missing inside pillar Joel Embiid.
On May 5, the Heat again beat the 76ers 119-103 at home to give them a 2-0 overall series lead. In this campaign, Heat forward Jimmy Butler had 22 points, six rebounds and 12 assists, Victor Oladipo came off the bench with 19 points and 6 rebounds, and Taylor Hiro had 18 points and 7 rebounds; without Embiid, the 76ers were in trouble, and the 76ers only had three players on the team to score in double figures. Teres Maximiquet scored a game-high 34 points, Tobias Harris scored 21 points and James Harden had 20 points and nine assists on 6-of-15 shooting.
Adebayor performed bravely, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, 9-of-11 from the free throw line, contributing 23 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, with a plus-minus +15 game-high. Led by Adebayor, the Heat controlled the interior. They grabbed 44 rebounds and 10 more than the 76ers, taking advantage of the second offense to score 21 points, while the 76ers only had 12 points.
Embiid is absent, with the 76ers losing two games in a row under Harden's solo lead. In these two games, we didn't see any difference between the 76ers. The same cold outside touch, the same loss of rebounds, the same Harden only scored four points in the second half.
The First Heat won by 14 points and the Second Heat with 16 points.
While losing the inside line, the 76ers also lost clean on the outside line. The 76ers missed another three-pointer in game two, and the 76ers hit just eight of their 30-point shots from outside the three-point line, giving them a low three-point shooting percentage of just 21.9 percent (14-of-64) in the first two games of the series.
76ers head coach Doug Rivers said: "I love shooting tonight. I mean, we have quite a few big slots. ”
Sometimes, the statistics table may be a little deceptive. Sometimes just look at the three-point gap and chalk it up to probability, maybe elsewhere this can be used as an excuse to lose, but this loss can't be blamed on not scoring goals. The second game 76ers improved a lot compared to the first. The 76ers made just eight turnovers in the game, keeping the Heat's offensive rebounding rate at 21.6. Maxi scored 34 points, breaking through during the conversion process, cutting the Heat's interior defense. Harden created many opportunities for his teammates, and Harris contributed 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, continuing to be efficient on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends.
On Maxi's performance, Harden praised: "He played aggressively, the opponent limited me, they focused on me. Maxi saw the opportunity, he was fast, he could attack the basket. He plays the right way, he does a great job and we need him to continue to have that performance. ”
Many people are saying that the main reason for the 76ers' defeat is that Harden has slipped and has not desperately sought to win. There are all kinds of data that can support this view. For example, Harden has played in 29 games since joining the 76ers, but has never made more than 20 shots in a single game. Once the leading scorer who averaged 30+ per game, he now needs to shoot and score, but he does not dare to shoot. Is this not spelling? If you had faced the Heat in these two games, it might have been all right, but it would have been a bit inappropriate to use them in these two games.
"Build a wall of people, I'm going to make Harden's eyes full of walls of people!" During the timeout, Coach Spoo shouted at the players, and the Heat's defensive strategy spread to every audience along the livestream. Harden's dribble breaks through every time will hit the Heat's layered defense, but people will only say that Harden is not good, but they are unwilling to admit that the Heat's defense is too good.
In this round, for example, Harden dribbled from the backcourt and was closely guarded by P.J. Tucker and had to use cover to pass through the half. Only to see Harden suddenly accelerate to the penalty area, the Heat players immediately pounced on the three-person combination.
The Heat poured more attention into Harden on the defensive end than Trae Young in the previous round. Under such a defense, Harden quickly played the ball to Give Georges Niang the most reasonable choice. Does Harden choose to shoot himself instead of passing the ball to his teammates? This is an unreasonable choice.
'The other side arranged a double bag for the ball carrier and did a good job, they tried to stop me all over the pitch. Harden said, "So if they're going to stop me at any point on the court, then that gives our players more room to attack." ”
When Harden was targeted by P.J. Tucker, Danny Green (1-of-10 in the game) couldn't convert the bottom corner three-pointer into a 3-pointer on the scoreboard, and no matter how many beautiful chances Harden created, the 76ers couldn't catch up.
The 76ers have done a lot, but the overall team's offense is too monotonous due to Embiid's absence. The overly monotonous offense is more like the main reason the 76ers lost. The Heat know that the 76ers without Embiid but Harden can't make any changes anyway. Maxi is indeed the biggest beneficiary of this round of matches - Embiid is absent, Harden is wrapped up, and Maxi is the team's number one attacker, but Maxi's scores are not enough to make the Heat change their defensive strategy.
Harden has declined compared to the Rockets, which is an indisputable fact. His explosiveness has probably disappeared completely with last season's hamstring strain, and if you let him let go, he'll just wave his hand at you — with a weak heart.
There's only one 76er player who can now take the Heat's attention off Harden: Embiid. Can he make his debut in the third game? Rivers said: "I really don't know. Embiid did not come to Miami due to a fractured brow bone and a concussion and has remained in Philadelphia for treatment. Rivers also revealed that Embiid looks good, but he still needs to go through a lot of procedures to make a comeback. "I don't think he's passing any of them right now, so we'll just have to wait and see."
While Rivers didn't say whether Embiid would return in game three, the Heat were ready to face Embiid in game three. Adebayor said: "They are now in a situation where they are 2-0 behind. I do think he's going to play. ”
Asked what Embiid's return means for the entire series, Heat coach Eric Spoolstra said: "Things are going to change dramatically. You're talking about this guy with most valuable player-level talent, you know? So we'll just have to wait and see. ”