3 things the Philadelphia 76ers can learn from loss to Nets: James Harden can’t force his offense
This was easily the worst game that Harden has had in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform. There’s no sugarcoating the fact Irving was able to effectively shut down Harden when he was defending the Sixers’ All-Star.
Harden finished the outing with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while going 3-17 on field goal attempts and 3-7 on 3-pointers. He also only had two foul shots. This game was not a representation of how Harden has played for the 76ers this season.
With Philly, Harden has averaged 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 11.2 assists while converting 45.7 percent of his field goals and 44.4 percent of his 3-pointers. The difference between this game and his other games with the Sixers is that he was pushing his offense too much.
In this game, he was looking for his shot first versus looking to playmaker for others. That shows with is five assists and three turnovers. The Nets were able to swarm him when he drove to the basket because he was looking to score too much. He needs to look to create for others and then try to get his shot moving forward without forcing it.