James Harden Plans to Get More Aggressive vs. Heat With Joel Embiid Missing

When the Philadelphia 76ers take the floor in Miami on Monday night for the first of a possible seven-game series against the Miami Heat, the Sixers will miss the most significant piece of their team.

After Joel Embiid took an elbow to the face during Philadelphia’s Game 6 victory over the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs, he was diagnosed with an orbital fracture and a concussion.

Embiid will miss the first two matchups of the series with his status beyond that still in question. Regardless of whether Embiid returns later on in the series or not, the Sixers have to focus and work on stealing a victory or two on the road to get a shorthanded advantage in the second-round series.

With Embiid out of the picture, for now, all eyes are on the Sixers’ ten-time All-Star, James Harden. As Philadelphia’s blockbuster trade acquisition, Harden was expected to heighten the Sixers’ chances of making a long postseason run.

Although Harden won’t have the help of Embiid for now, the veteran guard’s been in this situation before. So, as the 76ers prepare for Game 1, Harden notes that he’ll have to turn his aggressiveness on the offensive end up a few notches to give his team a better chance of stealing a win on Monday.

“[I just have to] be more aggressive,” said Harden on Sunday. “I’ve been doing this — I’m comfortable and have been doing this for a long time. Just taking what the defense gives me and being aggressive, and making the right decision once I get to that point. More floor spacing and more attacks to the basket. We just have to play free — free and with the ultimate confidence as a group.” 

Back when Harden was a member of the Houston Rockets, he was recognized as an aggressive scorer on the offensive end. But ever since getting traded to the Brooklyn Nets and now the 76ers, Harden has mostly shifted into a playmaker role.

In the second round, Harden doesn’t plan to flip the switch and go from playmaker to aggressive scorer. Instead, he’ll look for a healthy balance as he believes sacrificing his scoring will still be the right move at times since he’s confident in the guys around him.

“I had opportunities to score [this year],” Harden explained. “I’m still averaging 20 something points in the regular season and 18-19 [in the playoffs]. At this point, man, it’s a sacrifice. I can score 30 something, and we could lose, and score 19, and we win. At this point, I just do whatever it takes to win the game. Sacrificing, I’m the ultimate team player. Now that Jo’s out, I gotta be more aggressive scoring the basketball, and I got to get to the basket and make the right decisions.”

The Sixers and the Heat will begin their series on Monday night down in South Beach. Without Embiid around, the Sixers will run through Harden.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.