In the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals, James Harden played two playoff career masterpieces. One was when Joel Embiid didn't play, and Harden scored 45 points. One was Embiid's blind fight, and Harden scored 42 points.
In the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals, Harden's performance is again in great contrast. Between these two 40+ performances, Harden scored just 12 points on 2-of-14 shooting and 16 points on 3-of-14 shooting.
For Harden, it seems that there is no median, only two patterns, best and worst.
What is the difference between two 40+ points Harden and two 10+ points Harden?
The best Harden and the worst Harden have been interpreted before. Harden's G1 explosion relied on unlimited singles, scoring points on the heads of Smart and Derrick White, who were shorter than him, and playing Horford's misplaced offense. G2 and G3 Harden muted because Jaylen Brown, who is taller than him, began to take on the main defensive role, and with the 76ers crowded space, Harden was difficult to stand out, and this is when he relied too much on dry three-point feeling.
G4, Harden switched back to "the best Harden" mode, but this time it was different from the G1, and the G4 version of Harden was partly back to the G1 version, partly thanks to the team's improvement of the space problems exposed by the G2 and G3.
G4's first break came early, when Harden's Brown, who defended Harden, received his second foul at 8:37 in the first quarter. Both of Brown's fouls were very unnecessary, one was a 10:24 Smartt pass error, the 76ers played a counterattack, and Brown fouled. Another time was when Brown misplaced his defense at the basket and accidentally paid for a foul.
Brown received a second foul early and forced the Celtics to change their defensive position, and although Mazura boldly allowed Brown to stay on the court, after that, the Celtics switched to Smart (or Brogdon) to defend Harden in an attempt to relieve the pressure on Brown's defense. This change is not yet obvious in the first quarter, but it is very obvious from the second quarter.
Harden blocked Brogdon, at this time Brown defended in the bottom corner, facing Brogdon, who is 3 centimeters shorter than himself, Harden's retreat step shot naturally has room to play, this kind of ball is essentially different from the taller, better athletic, longer arm span Brown's shot.
Including this mid-range shot, Harden is playing Brogdon.
This is a bonus to Harden from changing the counterpoint, but just changing the alignment will not allow Harden to burst into such a powerful firepower, and another key factor is space.
From G2, G3 to G4, the biggest change Harden can feel is that the space is open. During yesterday's video analysis session, Riverster highlighted the problem of space, and they looked at how to force opponents to make it difficult to assist and create more space for ball carriers to attack inside. The change in 76 people can be seen today.
The 76ers have increased the playing time of their core players, even if not counting overtime, Harden, Maxi, Embiid and Harris have played 40+ minutes today. The 76ers used their main force to arrange shooters (Maxi or Niang) on the strong side of Harden's block, reducing Harden's proportion on Tucker's side to avoid being pinched.
Looking at this cooperation, Harden and Embiid arc top blocking, Maxi strong side bottom corner, Harris and Tucker are in the weak side bottom corner. Although Smart and Tatum contracted, Brown was afraid of Embiid's follow-up and did not go after Harden, White did not even "swipe" the defense because he was afraid of Maxi, and Harden singled out Horford to win.
With space, Harden is handy in attacking the inside, and it is useless for Gwee to change to defend, Harden only needs to rush in, and there is no solution for small throws.
This round, Harden blocked with shooter Niang, the Celtics naturally chose to change defense, they did not dare to put Niang's three points, Harden entered the familiar small play rhythm of G1. As we mentioned earlier, Harden's skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and he still scores more than 1.1 points per round in singles this season, making him the league's top single-picker, and letting him play one-on-one singles is equivalent to seeking his own death.
This round is simply a copy of G1 Harden's singles Horford.
At a critical moment in the fourth quarter, Harden completed a throw, and the Celtics who did not have a long memory once again replaced Horford in front of Harden, this time Harden did not dry three-pointers, the space inside the three-point line was so open, Harden burst out.
As for Harden's final bottom-corner catch-and-shoot three-pointer, with a two-point lead, the Celtics didn't have to pinch Embiid. However, the Celtics chose to test Embiid's ability to play the ball and Harden's catch-and-shoot ability. In the end, Harden, who shot nearly 42 percent from three-point range from the field in the regular season, responded to the Celtics' challenge, with a playoff 54.5 percent hit-of-season percentage.
It's a game where Embiid is as soft as cotton (referring to the crucial fourth quarter and overtime), and Tucker's roar at Embiid represents his dissatisfaction with Embiid. It was Harden's hard gouging again and again, and Tucker and Harris' key offensive rebounds were exchanged for the 76ers' narrow victory.
What kind of shape will Harden look like in the battle of Tianwang Mountain? Considering Harden's resume of pulling his crotch after one game, Harden's performance in the next game away from home is still quite worrying. However, after regaining confidence through this game, Harden may at least be able to play an intermediate pattern between the best version and the worst version.
However, Harden in the middle may not be able to help the 76ers win, and the 76ers will have to count on Embiid and other role players to contribute more. Harden found form, can Harris and Maxi?