PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid lived up to the expectations of an MVP as he received the trophy prior to the Philadelphia 76ers' Game 3 matchup with the Boston Celtics. His co-stars, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey, folded under the pressure as the Sixers lost Game 3 by a final score of 114-102.
While Embiid bounced back in a major way with 30 points, Harden and Maxey were flat-out bad. The former was reckless with the ball and shot horribly from the field while the latter looked unsure of when to attack and had his own cold shooting night. They combined to shoot 7-30.
Now, Embiid has to help them both get their grooves back in addition to taking care of his knee. What can he do to help Harden bounce back from two rough games in a row?
“You just talk to him,” he said. “You just keep telling them to keep shooting, be aggressive. That's why you can't get too high and you can't get too low. Some nights you're gonna make a lot of shots, a lot of tough ones. Some days, you're not gonna make them. So it's about finding other ways to impact the game.”
While Harden did register 11 assists, it wasn't nearly enough to overcome his struggles overall. Embiid said that on nights when he can't buy a shot, he looks to pick up his defense. He did just that in his return in Game 2, blocking five shots on a night where he had only 15 points. That's not necessarily in the cards for Harden, though. His counter, Embiid said, is something he has to figure out.
Embiid said his message to help the Sixers' other star guard is similar. He has been in Maxey's ear all season about how he has to stay aggressive and how important he is to the team. With their season potentially on the brink, now is the time he must respond.
“He's just got to obviously be aggressive and still pick his spots,” Embiid said of Maxey. The Sixers guard often looked gun-shy from deep on several instances, which is the opposite of what the big fella wants from him. “I tell them every game he's got to shoot, got to find a way to take 12 to 14 threes a game. That’s how good of a shooter I think he is. He knows how good of a shooter he is, too, so he just needs to keep being confident,” he said.
The Sixers now trail the Celtics 2-1. With a shot to even up the series before heading back to Boston, everyone has to step up. When asked about playoff adjustments vs. players simply playing better, Embiid made it clear that it's up to the five guys on the court to make it happen.
“I think players have to show up. I gotta do my job. Other guys, everybody knows their role, they have to do their job,” Embiid said. “Players have to show up, obviously, you can make any adjustments. But if the players don't execute, and they don't show up and we don't make shots, that's on us. So I just think that's on us. I got to be better, we all got to be better.”
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