The Philadelphia 76ers saw Joel Embiid return and James Harden’s performance decline in games 2 and 3.
While Harden was great in Game 1, he struggled in the next two matches, barely scoring 28 points.
This situation has the Sixers concerned because they will need them both at their highest level to have a chance against the Celtics.
That’s why Joel Embiid made sure to send a message to his teammate about the adjustments he must make to be more effective.
“I mean, you just talk to him and you keep telling him to keep shooting,” Embiid said. “Be aggressive. Can’t get too high, can’t get too low. Some nights you’re going to make lots of other shots, a lot of tough ones, and some nights you’re not going to make them. So it’s about finding other ways to impact the game.”
New ESPN story: After James Harden followed up his best-ever playoff game with the worst two-game shooting stretch of his career in Games 2 and 3, Joel Embiid had a simple message for him: continue to be aggressive. “You keep telling him to keep shooting.” https://t.co/LBomjIYGqf
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 6, 2023
Harden put up a vintage show in Game 1 of this series, scoring 45 points to give the Sixers the first win of the series.
However, things have gone south for him and the Sixers, who are now down 1-2 against the Celtics.
Game 4 will be key for this series, as the Sixers cannot return to Boston down 3-1.
Philadelphia still has high expectations for this season, but without their second-best player atop of his game, they will be out of the playoffs soon enough.
Harden is rumored to have an interest in returning to the Houston Rockets and another early playoff exit could accelerate that process.
NEXT:
James Harden Has An Alarming Stat Since Game 1 Against Celtics
