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Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers are still in command of their 3-2 series against the Toronto Raptors. But with the series shifting back north for Game 6, what looks like a wrapped series at 3-0 has gotten a little too close for comfort.
The expectation was for the Sixers to have a world-conquering duo of MVP-caliber stars. But so far, Joel Embiid has been the team's clear focal point while James Harden has become a relatively afterthought compared to his past iterations.
Joel Embiid was asked about Harden seemingly taking a backseat in the offense, taking just 11 shots in their Game 5 loss at home. The Sixers center spoke out candidly that it was not his job to jumpstart his co-star.
Via Sixers reporter Kyle Neubeck:
“I mean, I've been saying all season since he got here, he needs to be aggressive and he needs to be himself. That's not really my job, that's probably on coach to talk to him and tell him to take more shots. Especially if they're going to be guarding me the way they've been guarding me. But that's really not my job.
It's not the first time he's been vocal about James Harden needing to be aggressive. But it's clear that the Beard has yet to heed his advice, or perhaps he's hampered by injuries keeping him from doing just that.
James Harden has averaged just 18.4 points throughout the playoffs thus far. That's the lowest he's totaled since leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder back in 2012.
The Sixers are still in good shape to advance past the first-round despite the scare thus far. But if they want to reach their full potential, they need James Harden to resemble the former MVP that we've all seen in the past.
