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The Philadelphia 76ers suffered another tough loss to the Miami Heat Wednesday night. They are now 0-2 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals series. There were a few positives that came out of the loss, including the heart and effort from Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. However, the negatives outweighed the positives, one main negative being the poor performance of James Harden.
Although he put up 20 points, four rebounds, and nine assists, Harden isn't doing enough for the Sixers at this point in the playoffs. Stephen A Smith sounded off on his unmet expectations for the veteran guard.
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“James Harden is not a max player anymore…We respect James Harden. We know that James Harden has been great for years.”
He then said that Harden's decline is because of his weight gain in Houston and the hamstring injury he suffered while getting back into shape. “He's never looked the same since he put on that weight because he was trying to get out of Houston.”
“We are talking about a guy that went like 6 or 7 straight years averaging a minimum of 29 points a game,” Stephen A said, emphasizing the high standard that Harden set for himself. “One of the most prolific scorers we have ever seen in the history of the NBA has not even attempted 20 shots since he has arrived in Philly…He can't get open. He can't create separation.”
This is nothing but bad news for Philadelphia. For one, the team is suffering in the postseason without Joel Embiid. Peak Harden would be a huge boost for the shorthanded team. Also, the Sixers went through a lot to acquire Harden, losing three players and draft picks in the process.
Harden, the Sixers, and potentially Embiid, will attempt to lessen the Heat's series lead with a Game 3 win Friday night.
