The Philadelphia 76ers were without MVP candidate Joel Embiid in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Miami Heat on Monday. And when they desperately needed veteran superstar James Harden to step up his game and carry the load, he couldn't. The 32-year-old guard scored 16 points on 13 total shots in the Sixers' 106-92 loss, signaling the uphill battle he faces in one-on-one situations against an elite defense.
Harden, who was acquired in a mammoth trade with the Brooklyn Nets at the league deadline in February, hasn't been able to exorcise old playoff demons. With just five-made buckets in Game 1 against the Heat, Harden extended his running streak of being held under 25 points to 11 straight postseason games. To make matters worse, it's still unclear whether Embiid will play in this series, as he suffered an orbital fracture and a concussion during the first round.
"James Harden has been terrible. He hasn't been a difference-maker," Maggie Gray said during the Maggie and Perloff show on Tuesday. "Embiid's out with a broken face and a bad thumb, and Harden took only four shots in the second half... This is, you know, when you're supposed to pick up the slack, because Embiid is out. He's completely wilting from the moment... This has been one of the most disappointing developments in the NBA since the deadline..."
"This is who he is now -- he's not that 30-point scorer," Perloff said. "There's two problems with Harden. At his best, he needs to play a style of basketball that takes the entire team sort of out of it. He'll make 13 assists per game but it's always going through him. So, the defense can adjust. And you just don't win a playoff series like that. Just a little falloff, and it works even less... It's a total nightmare without Embiid. The slightest hint of a trap, Harden's useless."
Maggie and Perloff's complete thoughts on Harden and the Sixers' struggles can be accessed in the audio player above (begins at 4:00 p.m. ET mark).
You can follow the Maggie and Perloff Show on Twitter @MaggieandPerl and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.