The Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors went back and forth in a hard-fought series and James Harden finally found his chance to settle it.
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Coming into the series against the Raptors, the Sixers were considered heavy favourites. They played that way too, taking a 3-0 series lead and were on the verge of completing a series sweep.
The Raptors wouldn’t go down without a fight and defeated the Sixers in Game 4 to force a Game 5 back in Philadelphia.
The Sixers once again missed a golden opportunity to close the series after the Raptors won Game 5 by a big margin on the road.
Tonight had to be a James Harden Game. But he’s never there when you really need him.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 26, 2022
With Game 6 back in Toronto, all the momentum was with the Raptors and the Sixers were looking for answers, not just from their best player, but from ‘The Beard’ James Harden.
All eyes were on James Harden who was struggling to make an impact for the Sixers in the series
Harden is a terrific basketball player, there is no doubt about that. He’s a former MVP, scoring champion and an all-star. With that being said, he’s not quite looking like himself lately. His offensive inefficiencies have lead to coach Doc Rivers scratching his head.
While Harden continues to be a great playmaker, putting the ball through the basket has been a mighty struggle. With Joel Embiid playing through a thumb injury, one would have expected Harden to take on the scoring load but that hadn’t been the case heading into Game 6.
He struggled in Games 4 and 5 in which he shot 5-for-17 and just 4-for-11 respectively. In Game 5 specifically, he had more turnovers than made baskets.
Joel Embiid says James Harden needs to be more “aggressive” after taking just 11 shots in Game 5.
“That’s not really my job, that’s probably on coach to talk to him and tell him to take more shots” pic.twitter.com/srqquKfnVH
— (@sportingnews) April 26, 2022
ESPN Analyst and former NBA player Kendrick Perkins said that Game 6 was an opportunity for Harden to redeem himself and “come through when it matters the most on the road and help the 76ers win this game”.
The receipts never lie, and what do you know? James Harden with a 22 piece, 15 biscuits and 6 small fries to send the Raptors to Cancun with Drake in 6, just like I said! Carry the hell on… pic.twitter.com/jAEx4pDfnp
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 29, 2022
Harden was finally able to put some of his demons behind him and had a 22-15-6 game to close out the series against the Raptors.
Jame Harden is looking a little like the guy who used to be James Harden.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 29, 2022
The Sixers will now face the Miami Heat in round 2, a mouth-watering series that will see James Harden go up against one of the toughest defenders in the league, Jimmy Butler.
For the Sixers to come out victorious in that series, the onus will be on Harden to be a better scorer and if he can do that, the Sixers might just win it all.
