#Harden stts series#
#Harden stts free#

The magnificent pairing of Harden and Joel Embiid will be on display on Friday night as the 76ers look to begin their final stretch of the season with a win. Although they have seen him teach Embiid his famed stepback moves, he will influence their campaign on a bigger scale when he steps on the hardwood. The team also made him sit out of the All-Star Game for the same reason.įinally, Philly fans will experience firsthand the impact the former MVP will have on their team. Harden has been sidelined more as a precautionary move to avoid reaggravating his hamstring injury. The Sixers will square up against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, and fans would like to know if their new acquisition will play. And who better than one of the most lethal scorers and creators in the league. However, they need to provide him with adequate support to make a deep playoff run. The Cameroonian big man is having his best season and is the favorite to win the MVP award as things stand. The Sixers have done well for themselves with Joel Embiid leading the charge.

#Harden stts series#

The Sixers almost have to sign him unless they're prepared to have nothing to show for trading Simmons other than a second-round defeat, but man, if Harden lays a dud for the remainder of this series the way he did in Game 1, that is going to be one brutal decision to make.James Harden: Suspension| Postgame interview| Playoff stats But if he doesn't, if he proves yet again that he simply is no longer the player that Daryl Morey wanted to believe he was when he traded Ben Simmons to get him, then it's not just about this series - it's about the max contract Harden will be seeking this offseason. Harden still has a chance to give Philadelphia that one big showing and prove he still has at least some of that player left in him, even if it can't be depended on as regularly.

There was a time when Harden belonged in the same air as those guys. How many times have you watched Damian Lillard drag an otherwise unspectacular Blazers team to a playoff victory? Or Luka Doncic with the Mavericks? Kevin Durant nearly won an entire second-round series by himself against the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks last season. That's not asking the world if a guy is indeed a legit superstar. Spacing wasn't exactly going to be optimal in Philly either. The Sixers sent out their only elite shooter, Seth Curry, in the deal to get Harden. The Sixers convinced themselves that was more situational, lack of spacing and all that, but look at the spacing above. I'm not sure what numbers those are, but whatever they are, Philadelphia is fooling itself to put stock in them.įor starters, Brooklyn Harden wasn't exactly blowing by people.

And he's never been a good enough shooter to adequately feed himself, or his team, on that kind of diet.īut what's the alternative? I heard on a broadcast the other night, I think it was Game 6 against the Raptors, that the Sixers are seeing the same 'numbers' that Harden was putting up in Brooklyn in terms of his burst and speed. Those 3-pointers aren't gravy anymore if Harden's not drawing fouls, they are his lifeblood.

#Harden stts free#

But no longer is he a lock to pile up free throws (his baits aren't rewarded the same) and paint points. On a given night, if his step-back 3 is going, he can still put up scoring numbers. If you can't find a way into the paint against a weak defender, or at least establish some downhill leverage, just because there happens to be a second defender hovering in your general vicinity, then you better get real comfortable as a 3-point settler.Īnd that's the point. The bottom line is all superstar scorers are seeing this defense nowadays. It wasn't that long ago that Harden would've cooked Herro, or at least drawn a foul, Oladipo's help be damned. It's not the first time Harden has seen a crowd in his vision. One could even argue, in Harden's case, this was the right shot to take, even with the weakest defensive link in Herro in front of him, given the floor layout.īut there is a seam there. When a Pokmon is holding Normalium Z and uses its Z-Power, Harden turns into Z-Harden and raises Defense one stage, in addition to its usual effect as above. Stats can be raised to a maximum of +6 stages each. The Heat just put Trae Young through this torture chamber of indecision, showing bodies everywhere he looked, deterring drives to the paint before they even happened, and Young, too, settled for 3-pointers all series. Harden raises the user's Defense by one stage. Oladipo is ready to pounce if Harden puts the ball on the floor to his strong hand, which would force a kickout pass to Thybulle for a low-percentage 3 against a dwindling shot clock. Take a look at Victor Oladipo showing himself near the elbow to Harden's left while his man, Matisse Thybulle, stands uncovered in the corner. Understand, there's nuance to consider here.