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The Philadelphia 76ers want to see a more aggressive James Harden at point guard.
The former league MVP has leaned into a new role this year, taking a strong emphasis on facilitating the ball to his teammates and becoming the league leader in assists. But Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said he wants to see Harden being even more aggressive in breaking down defenses to create opportunities for himself and his teammates.
Doc Rivers Shares Plan for Harden
Harden played a key role in Philadelphia’s 133-130 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 4, scoring 28 of his 38 points after halftime including 19 in the fourth quarter as the Sixers erased an 18-point deficit.
After the game, Rivers said Harden was at his best when he looked to attack the Milwaukee defense rather than just score.
“I thought he was aggressive,” said Rivers, via USA Today’s Sixers Wire. “In the first half, I thought he was aggressive more trying to score. In the second half, he scored, but he was aggressive playing like an aggressive point guard. I thought the second half was better because he not only scored, but he assisted as well. I thought the pick-and-roll switch back switch with Georges (Niang) was absolutely wonderful.”
Rivers has praised Harden this season for his willingness to create shots for his teammates, even when it comes at the expense of his own scoring. Harden is averaging a league-best 10.6 assists per game this season while scoring 22.1 points per game.
Rivers’ remarks hint at a more permanent change for Harden, especially as the Sixers face a difficult stretch with 12 of 15 games on the road including four back-to-backs.
Harden just wants to take it one game at a time.
“Hopefully, we can use this and just keep going,” Harden said after Saturday’s win over Milwaukee. “We keep talking about we got the tougher schedule remaining left for the season so for us, it’s just about every game. Every game, every quarter, every possession, just making sure we’re doing it all together and tonight (Saturday) was huge for us.”
Different Look for Sixers Down the Stretch
Rivers hinted that it wouldn’t just be Harden taking on a new approach on offense. After the team’s 133-126 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on March 2, the Sixers coach said the team needed others to step up even when Harden and Joel Embiid have the pick-and-roll game working well.
“Being able to score or create scoring for someone else, that’s the next level where both of them [are] scoring and both of them are passing at the same time,” Rivers said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. Being able to space the floor and get the ball to the other side of the floor, and we score on that side as well. We haven’t done that yet.”
Harden appears bought in, saying he realizes that the Sixers are at their best when teams can’t just focus in on stopping two players.
“Of course, I want to get our shooters more shots. It’s going to make our team a lot better,” he said.
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