James Harden is one of the transcendental offensive scorers and playmakers of this generation. He has established a legacy just with his pure scoring abilities and crafty footwork. He spent the majority of his prime with the Houston Rockets. Harden then requested a trade to the Brooklyn Nets.
However, within a season, he decided there was no championship culture in Brooklyn. He also had issues with Kyrie Irving and other nets. Therefore, Harden requested a trade and moved to the Philadelphia 76ers. Here he would be paired with Joel Embiid, who was on an MVP caliber season and have a chance to win a championship.
James Harden is now alone against the Miami Heat
James Harden, Joel Embiid, and the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. Joel Embiid suffered an Orbital fracture and mild concussion upon taking an elbow to the face from Pascal Siakkam. This incident occurred towards the end of game 6.
This spells a world of trouble for James Harden. The 76ers rely greatly on Embiid’s offensive abilities and defensive pressure. Losing him means that James now controls more of the offensive load for the 76ers. He will be largely responsible for the offensive void that Embiid will leave
All the pressure is on James Harden now https://t.co/9J1V70cnLx pic.twitter.com/aaNlJWh4N9
— New York Post (@nypost) May 2, 2022
The 76ers face the Miami Heat. They have had an incredible season finishing as the first seed with a 53 win and 29 loss regular season. The Heat also play rough defense as witnessed in the Heat- Hawks series.
Miami also has excellent players at the guard position with Butler, Herro, Lowry, Oladipo, and many others. The best matchup for the 76ers would have been Embiid vs Heat center Bam Adebayo. However, due to this injury, the tables have turned and Bam could prove to be a threat they have no answer to.
Harden is now under extreme pressure. He carried the Houston Rockets to a game 6 and 7 against the Golden State Warriors Dynasty with Kevin Durant. He needs to reactivate prime Harden for this series. The 76ers roleplayers will have to step up as well. This is the only way Harden can carry the 76ers past the Miami Heat.