Getty James Harden converses with the ref during Brooklyn's loss to Philly.
The Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers ran James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets out of the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday. The final score was 108-124 as Joel Embiid had 15 first-quarter points and never looked back. Embiid, who is seen by many as the favorite to win the Most Valuable Player award finished with 33 points. The Sixers’ starting center also shot 14 free throws. Harden was asked by Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News his opinion on the officiating and let’s just say that “The Beard” had an answer that was short and sweet.
Harden Won’t Talk About Refs
“Yeah, I don’t want to talk about that,” Harden told Winfield with a big smile on his face. “Next question.” Harden’s silence was no surprise as players can be fined up to $25,000 for publicly criticizing officials.
I asked James Harden if certain interactions with officials can have a lasting effect in a game, and he said, laughing: “I don’t want to talk about that. Next question.”
Both the Sixers and Nets were frustrated with officiating throughout the course of tonight’s game.
James Harden is asked about the officiating tonight.
“I don’t want to talk about that” 😂
Despite Harden’s silence, the Sixers did shoot 22 free throws to the Nets 17, but sometimes that’s just how the cards fall. Meanwhile, the Nets have taken a step in the wrong direction as they have lost their second straight game. According to Winfield, Steve Nash says Kyrie is listed as day-to-day but expects him to be back in the lineup on Tuesday. Kevin Durant will have to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols and undergo a six-game quarantine.
Even though the Nets shot fewer free throws than the Sixers they did not make life any easier for themselves. The score was tied late in the third quarter, but turnovers and lackluster defense continue to cripple this team. Landry Shamet was the Nets’ second-leading scorer on the night as he finished the game with 22 points and spoke on what the Nets need to do to regroup after dropping two straight games.
Landry Shamet Details How Nets Can Improve
“I think we’ve shown that we have some stretches where I mean it’s basketball, you’re going to turn the ball over,” Shamet told reporters over Zoom via SNY. “But I think there’s just stretches where we can cut out and eliminate a lot of a couple of the kind of careless ones like I had the one dribbling up the floor and the guy back tapped me. Just kind of mindless turnovers where you’re not really all the way thinking I guess.”
Were the Nets’ turnovers a result of Brooklyn’s carelessness or the 76ers’ defense?
Landry Shamet: “A little bit of both”
The Nets are third to last in the NBA in defensive ratings according to Lineups. They are ahead of only the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards in points allowed. The Nets are allowing opponents to score 118.2 points per game. That is not the defensive mark of a team that plans on competing for a championship this season. Shamet knows the Nets must clean up the silly mistakes that they make because those are the ones that end up costing you the most.
“So, if we eliminate some stuff like that throwing it and giving the ball to them, you’ll live with the five or six that you’re going have every night that are just basketball plays and turnovers,” he said via SNY. “If we cut those out you know I think we put ourselves in a better situation for sure.”
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