Getty James Harden struggled mightily from the field against Gary Trent Jr. and Toronto in Game 5 of the Raptors-Sixers playoff series.
James Harden only attempted 11 shots on Monday night in a 103-88 loss to Toronto. It marked his lowest output from the field since putting up nine shots in Game 2. The Sixers didn’t need Harden to wear the cape in that one since Joel Embiid came dressed in full superhero attire.
But things have changed since then, namely in the form of Embiid’s sprained right thumb. He can’t do it alone. He needs Harden. The Sixers need Harden. And Embiid wasn’t afraid to say what everyone else was thinking.
“I’ve been saying it all season, since he got here, he just needs to be aggressive, and he just needs be himself,” Embiid said of Harden after Game 5. “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 guard me the way they’ve been guarding [me]. But that’s not really my job. But we all need to be better offensively. We missed a bunch of wide-open shots.”
Doc Rivers knows the assignment. And Harden needs to find himself before it’s too late. Game 6 is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday back in Toronto. Philadelphia still leads their best-of-seven playoff series 3-2.
It does not appear the natives are loving the James Harden experience
Harden endured arguably his worst performance in a Sixers’ uniform in Game 5. He heard hearty boos when one of his patented step-back triples hit iron and missed to end the first half. Then, Harden received some mock cheers in the third quarter when he finally connected from deep. It was that kind of night for the future Hall of Famer who looked sluggish and restrained. He finished with 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
“I took 11 shots,” Harden said. “They played extremely hard, they rotated, they scrambled. They were all over the place.”
James Harden says it’s as simple as making shots. They missed a ton of open shots tonight. He went 4-for-11 from the field, 2-of-6 from three. #Sixers #Raptors #NBAPlayoffs #HereTheyCome
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Tyrese Maxey Struggles from the Field, Too
Harden was taking the brunt of the blame in Game 5, and deservedly so, since he was brought to Philadelphia to be the last piece of the championship puzzle. He needs to assert himself more as Embiid continues to labor with a bad hand.
But Harden wasn’t the only one bricking shots. Tyrese Maxey went ice cold, too. The second-year guard had 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting with four assists for a -16. Maxey looked uncomfortable going into attack mode, preferring to make the extra pass on ball swings instead of firing away or getting downhill. The Sixers need both he and Harden to be more aggressive.
“Give Toronto credit,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. “I thought they defended both guys pretty well, you know, we got to get James going downhill in some actions that he likes, and more comfortable. I just keep saying with Tyrese, we just need to get the ball in his hands more.”
Embiid: ‘I Was Terrible Defensively’
Embiid’s thumb was clearly bothering him at both ends of the floor, especially on the defensive glass and in the paint. There was one stretch late in the third quarter where Precious Achiuwa just outmuscled him on every possession. Achiuwa rattled off six straight points as the Raptors lead climbed to 13 points.
“I was terrible defensively today, especially in that third quarter,” Embiid said, “so there is really no explanation I guess. I need to play with more energy and move my feet better but I just have to be better.”
Precious Achiuwa taking Joel Embiid off the dribble with a L -> R crossover