The 76ers lost 92-106 to the Heat on the road, trailing 0-1 by a big score! Trailing by double digits early in the opening, he came back 51-50 in the second quarter with a wave of offensive flow.
But in the third quarter, the Heat took advantage of the weakness of Philadelphia's weak line, constantly chased their loopholes, regained the lead, and directly destroyed the opponent at the beginning of the fourth quarter, leading by 21 points at most, so that the elder Rivers had to withdraw the main force in advance and surrender.
In fact, the 76ers' loss on the road after the lack of Embiid is not a surprise, and the only thing that makes the outside world expect them is whether Harden will step forward in embiid's absence after the struggle of the first round, but obviously, the result is in front of them, Harden is not.
In this game, Harden played 34 minutes and 35 seconds, and finally shot 5 of 13, 2 of 7 from three points, 4 of 4 from the free throw line, had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and also had 5 turnovers, plus or minus of -8!
After the game, Harden could not avoid being angrily rebuked by the media and fans, after all, as a superstar, even if he has been a fan this season, he always rarely can rest assured in the games that need him to stand up, except for the first round of G6. Many fans are even more angry that Harden is too soft, disappointing.
And in fact, is Harden really soft in this game? From the data alone, it is indeed soft, but if you look back at the game process, Harden is not as bad as the data shows. No blowing, no black, no whitewashing, let's analyze it objectively!
First of all, Harden's plus-minus is -8, the second highest in the starting lineup, Danny Green-2 is the best starter, Maxie and Harris are both -25, the team is the first to last, and Jordan Jr. is -22! Therefore, Harden's role on the court is still very important.
Secondly, compared with the data of the Heat star Butler, Harden is inseparable from him.
Butler shot 5-of-16 from the field, 1 of 4 from three-point range, 4-of-4 from the free throw line, had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, scored the same as rebounds, 2 assists less than Harden, but 2 more steals, and shot slightly less efficiently than Harden.
If the Heat eventually lose this game, there is no doubt that Butler will be sprayed by the media and fans, but they just won, so even if Butler performs worse, no one will blame. For example, if it was the 76ers who won, no one would accuse Harden of being soft.
Butler had been facing the defense of Harris and Sable in this game, almost locked up by the other side, so the shooting was not good, but the other teammates stepped forward, Adebayo 24 points, Hiro 25 points, and even Tucker scored in double figures.
Harden, on the other hand, has been haunted by his old teammate PJ Tucker in this game, and when Tucker goes off the field, or harden throws Tucker off through the block, he will be double-packed by the opponent, and when his offense is limited, his teammates have not been able to stand out as well as Butler's teammates, except for T Harris.
In the absence of Embiid, the Heat's defensive strategy is clear. At any cost, harden Harden, do not let him easily score, do not let him find a good opportunity to play the ball, each time is an early pinch to force Harden passive pass, and can not find an empty teammate to form an assist. The Heat's overall defensive superiority is vividly reflected at this time.
It can even be said that so many backcourt stars in the league can play a normal performance under the heat's high-intensity and highly targeted defense, I am afraid that there are very few, unless they have other star teammates on the team who can form a huge pull, but this game, the 76ers obviously did not, because Embiid is not there.
Harden is soft or not, everyone has their own standards in their hearts, but his state is difficult to recover at that time, it is an indisputable fact. The previous many key battles to pull the crotch, and now the tiger fell in Pingyang, naturally deepened the image of "soft", but if you do not consider the situation of the team, and the opponents it faces, it is inevitable to use data to blame, it is inevitable to be biased.
In this game, Harden failed to play the performance of the super scorer of the year, which is naturally one of the reasons why the 76ers lost, but there are two key points:
First, the lack of Embiid, the inside line was completely exploded, Adebayor 8 of 10 bombed 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, almost sideways on the inside. The offensive climax at the beginning of the fourth quarter, escorted by Adebayor, the Heat defenders continued to impact the basket to create damage, directly destroying the 76ers, and it is estimated that Embiid, who is watching the ball, is eager to make a comeback immediately.
Second, the lack of a stable shooter, less Embiid, the 76ers need to stand out better on the outside, but this game, their 3 points are only a pitiful 34-of-6.
Niang was 0 of 7, Maxi was 1 of 6, Green was 1 of 5, Harris was 1 of 4 and Harden was 7 of 2. Such a terrible 3-point shot, with a complete disadvantage on the inside, if they can still win, how bad and humiliating will the Heat need to play before they can see the 76ers take the victory from home?
So, to say that Harden is soft, from the data alone, seems to be understandable, but if you consider the actual situation of this game, will the loss be completely blamed on Harden, is it unfair?