NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in familiar territory after their first-round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets to open up the 2023 NBA Playoffs. The 76ers have always made good there, it’s what happens in the second round that has fans and the team perplexed. Will this season be different? It all comes down to James Harden. With Joel Embiid expected not to be 100% against the Boston Celtics, Harden will need to show the Houston Rockets version if the 76ers are to finally break that second-round curse.
Despite what happens between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, many are predicting this to be the Eastern Conference Finals matchup here, 76ers vs Celtics. Their sweep of the Nets was due to great ball movement, solid defense, and all-around play where individual numbers were not that important. Doc Rivers had his team ready to go from Game 1 but will that be enough to beat their rivals? No.
The Celtics will throw everything at the 76ers and we should expect Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to leave it all on the floor. Embiid will be doubled in the post, and Marcus Smart will have his hands full guarding Tyrese Maxey and Harden but it’s still Harden that will need to do the heavy lifting if the 76ers are to make it to the next round.
On the season, Harden put up averages of 21.0 points, 10.7 assists, and 6.7 rebounds. However, against the Celtics in 4 games, James Harden averaged 25.5 points, 9.0 assists, and 5.5 rebounds but the Celtics still managed to take 3 of 4 from Philly. Now is not the time to dwell on that failure, they must block that and focus on the task at hand.
Can The Philadelphia 76ers Beat The Celtics?
Harden, when he wants to, is still unstoppable. The issue that he has faced since leaving Houston is that he wants to be considered more of a facilitator than a scorer. He wants the game to come to him instead of snatching it as he did in Houston. Well, that has to change.
But the drawback of that will be taking shots away from Embiid and Maxey. This is where Rivers has to tell his team that winning is all that matters. The Celtics are a solid defensive team but there is no way they can contain the Philadelphia 76ers if they’re clicking on all cylinders. Smart is great at locking down guards but Harden is not your typical PG. He will need to look for his shot early and often and do what he can to get Smart in foul trouble early.
With Smart out, the Celtics will be forced to switch Brown on Harden, thus forcing them to single Embiid or leave Tobias Harris open to either penetrate to the basket or for an open perimeter shot. And with Harris’ confidence booming after the Nets series, this will cause issues for Boston.
But it all starts with James Harden. He has to be aggressive and not worry about getting Embiid his looks. Embiid is a player who can make an impact on both ends of the floor and at this stage of his career, there time is now for him to see the bigger picture. Winning an MVP is nice but winning it and taking home that Larry O’Brien Trophy in the same season is what legends are made of.
