NEW YORK–The Philadelphia 76ers were able to finish off the Brooklyn Nets in a sweep on Saturday afternoon as they were able to step up and take care of business. It was important to get it done considering the knee injury to Joel Embiid and allow him time to rest.
If there is any concern for the Sixers coming out of this series, it’s James Harden’s struggles finishing at the rim. Overall in the series, Harden averaged 17.3 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.5 rebounds, but he shot only 34.3% from the floor overall. He shot 42.4% from deep, but his inability to finish layups was strange.
Per Cleaning the Glass, Harden shot only 24% at the rim in this series with the Nets. That’s not what you expect from such an elite offensive player like Harden and as Philadelphia prepares for Round 2, he is going to have to finish those opportunities at the rim as the competition rises.
“Just playing different styles and then tonight (Saturday) having way more opportunities,” Harden said after Game 4. “Like opportunities I don’t really get. I’m usually just setting people up and things like that. So it’s a lot more attacks, attacks, attacks throughout the course of a 48-minute game. I had plenty of opportunities, I just didn’t make them, but all in all, great series. Gotta move forward.”
Harden does have a point. Normally, the Sixers just continue to feed Joel Embiid because he is the team’s best scorer and the team’s leader, but Harden had to do more because of his absence.
Despite having some struggles finishing at the rim against the Nets, The Beard is feeling confident in his abilities as the Sixers continue to move forward on their title quest.
“I know my role,” he said succinctly. “I know what Doc (Rivers) wants me to do and no matter what people expect me to do or want me to do, like whether it’s media or fans or—the coaching staff and organization has a role for me. I go out there and do it to the best of my ability and have confidence in doing it.”
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Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire