Tobias Harris would usually have something to say, but he was trying to calm his trachea after inadvertently swallowing Bam Adebayo’s elbow in the neck in the second half of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 116-108 win over the Miami Heat in Sunday’s 4 of their best matches. best of the seven semi-final series of the Eastern Conference.
Harris had just gotten to the heart of the matter when asked about James Harden’s 31-point night, including 16 of the Sixers’ 27 points in the decisive quarter.
“What he has to do every night is what he does,” Harris said hoarsely. “Just be firm on us and raise the defense of how they play with him.”
This is the new vision for James Harden.
He doesn’t need to repeat his 2018 MVP form to win the Sixers.
He must not fill in the score in the box or make keystrokes to end the game. He doesn’t even need to fire 20 shots, which used to be too little for him.
Harden made just 18 shots in Game 4, but that was enough because he scored or assisted on 54 of the 98 points (55%) that the Sixers scored while on the court.
This version of James Harden, the 32-year-old who was replaced by the Sixers in February with the idea of building a long-term partnership, just needs to be solid and organize the team’s attack based on how the defense plays with him.
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Joel Embiid (24 points, 11 rebounds) can do the rest. Harris (13 points, four assists) and Tyris Maxi (18 points, four assists) can fill in the gaps in the score and the playmaker. Danny Green can split the floor (11 points when shooting 3 against 4 out of 3).
But Harden must be a quarterback.
“He does a great job of evaluating the game,” Harris said. “From the place where he can play, where he can make his shots. He left tonight. You could see the confidence in him that he would go down first, and then the 3-ball opened it for him.
“He sees so many protective coatings there. Many times they also build up the court area, so it is sometimes difficult for him to be extremely aggressive on the offensive end. But when in groove like [Sunday night]we just take the ball from him and we’ll move on. “
The Heat put pressure on Harden throughout the series, denying him a place to act, especially when Embiid is not on the court.
In the first two games Embiid missed with a concussion and a broken orbital bone, Miami crowded Harden with multiple defenders or threw a zone at him to crush the Sixers’ attack.
According to Second Spectrum, the average closest defender to Harden in Game 1 was 3.7 feet. Game 2 was down to 3.1 feet, the closest in any game he has played in the last three seasons.
In Game 3, when Embiid returned to the squad, the difference was even more pronounced. With Embiid on the court, Miami gave Harden 3.7 feet, but only 2.6 feet when Embiid was out.
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Taking up space from Harden is like depriving a fire of oxygen. Former Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni and former and current general manager Daryl Mori have tried to build an empire in Houston around the radical, flawless creation of a space for Harden – and almost succeeded, except for the dynastic Golden State Warriors of the same era. Chris Paul.
Morrie, now president of Philadelphia basketball operations, had almost the same vision for the Sixers when he began trying to trade for Harden essentially from the moment he took office in the fall of 2020.
If he could make a list to spread the floor around Harden, but with Embiid as a star around the world, there was no way to say what kind of offensive juggernaut they could become.
But the reality of Harden’s age and current abilities was glaring during his brief time in Philadelphia. Whether he has lost a step – or three – it is clear that he cannot oppose time and space in the same way as he once did.
The Heat took advantage of Harden’s inability to deal with defenders, as they did throughout the series. But in Game 4, he reversed the script.
He began draining threes to pull the defenders away from the basket. He attacked the zone defense and the Miami double teams rushed at him. All this has created a space where there was very little before.
According to Second Spectrum tracking data, Harden created a 3.6-foot split with Embiid on Sunday on the court and 5.1-foot with Embiid off the floor.
Four of Harden’s five shots with Embiid from the floor were 3 points, which is partly why he had so much space. He also hit six of the 10 3 points he took in the night after battling behind the arc in the first three games, shooting 21% of the 3.
So some of it is just punches instead of missing them. But for Harden, it’s always about space. When he has it – whether he creates the space or the team’s offensive system does – he can find his rhythm and control the game. When he doesn’t, he looks lost and frustrated.
Sunday was the version of the Harden Sixers they had been waiting for, even if it wasn’t the old Harden. Because when he reads the floor and adjusts the game, as he did in Game 4, the Sixers look like a team that can beat anyone.
“Since he came here, he’s been adjusting to what we need,” Embid said. “Whether it’s playmaking or tonight, I just go and get the bucket based on how everyone else is guarded. Makes hard punches. He has been doing this throughout his career.
Harden downplayed his contribution to Sunday’s victory over the series.
“Nothing has really changed,” Harden shrugged. “I just took some pictures.”
But then he said something that put his entire trip with the Sixers – and middle age in the NBA – into perspective.
“We’re still a relatively new team,” Harden said. “It’s only been two months … We’re finally settling into the show. We’ve found some great things that will work tonight.”
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