Doc Rivers Dishes Thoughts on James Harden's Effort in Game 7

To say that James Harden struggled throughout the 2022-23 postseason would be a reach, as the 33-year-old averaged 20 points per game while dishing out eight assists, as well as dropping two 40-point performances in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

While overall Harden performed well in the postseason, the final two games of the series against the Boston Celtics were the subjects of criticism, as he only managed to score 22 points while shooting a less-than-ideal nine percent from beyond the arc in two games where the Philadelphia 76ers could've booked their tickets to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2001.

Following Sunday's 88-112 loss, Sixers' head coach Doc Rivers spoke on Harden's efforts in the final game of the season, where he played 40 minutes, scoring nine points and dishing out seven assists, explaining that he thought he had the right intentions, but the plays just failed to go their way.

"I thought James came to play, I really did." said Rivers, "I thought he was trying to see the game, I thought he played downhill a lot, where he passed the ball were the right decisions tonight, we didn't get anything out of it."

Even with the 33-year-old's scoring numbers down in the back end of the series, Rivers doesn't feel that Harden is to blame for their elimination.

"I get it, James, Jo [Embiid], me, we got to point somewhere, right?" stated Rivers, "I just thought James, in particular, was trying to do the right things tonight. I really did."

Declan Harris contributes to All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @DecIanH.

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