The Miami Heat head into Game 1 of their second-round NBA Playoff Series against the Philadelphia 76ers with most things going in their favor. Though you hate to have injury so heavily impact the outcomes of your sports, they are also a big part of sports.
With Joel Embiid out for, at least, the first two games, the Miami Heat go into those contests with an extreme upper hand.
Picked by many to win the series before the Embiid news even broke though, the Miami Heat would have likely been the better of the two teams even if he were available for Games 1 and 2.
A ton of that has to do with the 76ers’ second-best player though. A mere shell of himself since arriving in Philadelphia, he’s scoring the ball at the lowest clip that he has since he was traded to Houston from Oklahoma City after his third season in the league.
Miami Heat Playoffs: Can James Harden Still Be The Best Player On The Floor?
Though he has begun to become more well-rounded in his statistical output since leaving Houston, there are certain situations where his teams might still need him to be the James Harden that he has shown he can be on offense in the past.
What are a few of those situations, might one ask?
Namely, somewhere in that Toronto series would have been nice, perhaps saving Embiid from injury in the first place had they taken care of their business, but especially with him now out for their first two games against Miami.
They’ll need him to be Houston James Harden in order to stand a chance without Embiid. That’s the question though.
Can he still be that?
Yes, the Miami Heat have Tyrese Maxey to deal with, averaging 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists across four games versus the Miami Heat this season, but that leans right into why you ask if James Harden can still beat them alone.
Can he still be the best player on the floor when it all breaks down. Here’s what that means.
Miami Heat Playoffs: Tyrese Maxey Helps, But It Won’t Be Enough For Harden.
Here’s how Maxey’s success against Miami this season plays into things. The Miami Heat can throw the scheme at Maxey to take him completely out of the game, while they can go with a classic man-switch on James Harden with the ancillary defenders.
They could elect to run some form of Trae Young treatment on whichever of the two seems to have it going on a given night, in a given moment, or some form where they both see it in general.
Who knows? The point of it all is this though.
With only those two and so heavily relying on the perimeter to paint drive that requires space, not necessarily creating it like a Joel Embiid or classic three-point shooting does for a team, the Miami Heat can find a way to take, at least, one of them out of the game while sustaining a good effort on the other.
Now, could Harden decide to come out and look like his old self? He could.
Don’t bet your money on it though. Because not only has he not shown you that he still has that in his game, the Miami Heat won’t make it easy for him to show it.