The Philadelphia 76ers are really starting to miss James Harden. After two straight losses, both in which their offense suffered mightily, the Sixers are starting to show how much they depend on him.
Harden's playmaking, shot-creating and overall leadership are huge for the Sixers. His skills have helped unlock the best version of Embiid, whose shooting and driving abilities look way better with Harden creating openings for him. Since he's still good enough to generate his own offense with Harden out, he isn't the main piece of the team that misses the Beard.
When asked about the Sixers missing Harden after losing to the Phoenix Suns, Doc Rivers pointed to the bench. The veteran floor general usually plays with the backups while Embiid rests at the start of the second and fourth quarters. Without him, they can hardly do anything.
“I think James, usually he plays with our second unit and our second unit guys starting usually play with James, that’s why I’m not overreacting to our second unit’s poor play,” Rivers said. “We don’t have some key guys not playing with that group, but I do overreact when we do move the ball, we are really hard to play, like Chicago. When we don’t move the ball, we have to have great individual efforts and we’ve gotten away with that on certain nights. But you’re not going to win playing that way consistently.”
Rivers pointed out the bench's abysmal performance against the Suns. Although the Sixers surprisingly tore the Chicago Bulls to shreds without Harden, better teams have exposed Philly's vulnerabilities with its lead playmaker sidelined. Without Harden to lead the second unit, the minutes where Embiid sits look woeful for the Sixers. The importance of getting him healthy enough to play again has been underscored by two straight losses in very winnable games.
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