76ers vs. Celtics: James Harden’s Thoughts on Game 3

Coming off of a 45-point masterclass in Game 1 against the Boston Celtics earlier this week, Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden struggled to mirror his 2023 second-round debut performance in Game 2.

With Philadelphia’s star center Joel Embiid getting back in the mix, the Sixers had to tweak their offense a bit, which typically caters to the big man as he was the NBA’s scoring champion for the second-straight season.

Following a lackluster Game 2, where Harden shot just 2-14 from the field, the star guard pointed to a lack of spacing as a reason why the Sixers could match Boston’s offensive attack.

“Our spacing wasn’t right,” Harden claimed on Wednesday.

“The ball can move around, but our spacing didn’t give each other opportunities to drive and put pressure on the rim to be able to generate a lot of open shots,” he added. “We’ll watch film, we’ll get better, and we’re ready for Game 3. As much as we wanted to win two games here, we won a game. Like I said a couple of days ago, even keel. Never want to get too high, never want to get too low. Lose a game by 30 tonight, it all counts as one win and one loss. We got to be ready for Game 3.”

The Sixers didn’t roll over following a 30-plus-point loss on the road against the Celtics, but they didn’t have the right response for a team that wants to maintain the upper hand in a potential seven-game series. And once again, the offense was a concern.

The Celtics didn’t have a great shooting night themselves, knocking down just 44 percent of their 86 shots from the field and going 36 percent from three. However, the Sixers hit on just 40 percent of their field goals on eight fewer attempts.

After Game 3, Harden blamed a lack of scoring for his team’s shortcomings.

“Scoring,” said Harden. “We didn’t score the basketball. We didn’t play well offensively. Simple.”

Joel Embiid was the only player on the Sixers to score over 20 points on Friday night. He produced a game-high of 30 points in 39 minutes of action.

Meanwhile, Harden came second in scoring for the Sixers, putting up 16 points in 40 minutes, draining just three of his 14 attempts shots from the field.

“I got to watch the game,” said Harden when asked about passing up some more shooting opportunities in Game 3. “I’m pretty good on basketball instincts. Like, I know when to score, and I know when to pass, but I’m pretty sure a lot of them was the right play.”

Harden wasn’t the only player to struggle from the field on Friday night. Between The Beard and the rest of the starting lineup excluding Embiid, the starting five drained just nine shots from the field. PJ Tucker had an efficient outing on low volume, draining all but one of his four shots.

Meanwhile, Tobias Harris took just six attempts in 25 minutes of action, as he had to manage foul trouble throughout the game. Following the loss, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers made it known the Sixers have to get Tyrese Maxey more involved on offense so he can establish a better rhythm, to which Harden noted the Sixers would “love that.”

A lot of work needs to be done between Friday night and Sunday afternoon. With the Sixers falling into a 1-2 hole after coming up short with a 12-point loss at home in Game 3, Sunday’s game suddenly becomes a must-win scenario for the Sixers, who want to avoid dropping to 1-3 before heading back to Boston.