James Harden Preaches Playmaker Mindset After Game 1 vs. Raptors

There are two versions of James Harden. When you think about the guy who emerged on the Oklahoma City Thunder and thrived with the Houston Rockets, that Harden is remembered as a scorer who knew how to rack up points on his own.

When Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets last year to link up with other ball-dominant stars, he found ways to become more of a playmaker than anything. Now that Harden's with the Philadelphia 76ers, he's trying to find the balance between both versions of himself.

While the Sixers have called for the first version many times throughout the final stretch of the regular season, they got a solid mix of both in their Game 1 matchup against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.

Harden led his team in minutes on Saturday night. As he checked in for a 40-minute shift, the veteran guard collected 22 points as he drained six of his 17 shots and knocked down four three-pointers.

His 22 points were helpful, but Harden's 14 assists stood out the most for the Sixers. As other players around him had it going, Harden didn't attempt to take matters into his own hands when it came to scoring points. After the game, Harden made it clear that will be his mindset going forward in the playoffs.

"I'm just trying to make the right plays, man," said Harden after Saturday's game. "It's not about scoring. It’s about doing the little things and making the right plays."

Neither Harden nor Embiid needed to take matters into their own hands when it came to scoring on Saturday. As Sixers' guard Tyrese Maxey was clearly the hot hand, Harden prioritized feeding the second-year standout.

"You’ve got a guy like Tyrese, who got going, you gotta make sure he gets shots and try being aggressive," Harden explained. "He was helping. He was knocking down shots. I think it was a great game individually for guys and for the team. Things that we talked about this past week rebounding the basketball, not turning the basketball over, giving them opportunities. I think we did a good job of that tonight."

Maxey finished the night with a playoff career-high of 38 points, which led the charge for the Sixers as they wrapped up Game 1 with a 131-111 victory. Now, Harden, Maxey, and the Sixers look forward to their next challenge on Monday night.

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