"Harden needs to figure this out quickly, otherwise we're gonna have some very disgruntled people in Sixer nation" - Shae Cornette on Doc Rivers' comments on James Harden
James Harden an the Philadelphia 76ers visited the Detroit Pistons on Thursday and suffered an ugly 102-94 loss. In doing so, they blew a perfect opportunity to get back on track after dropping back-to-back games to the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks.
Following the loss, Doc Rivers made some interesting comments regarding All-Star guard James Harden. When the lack of production from the second unit was mentioned, he cited Harden as the key factor in them getting few shots. Thursday was a rough night for Philly's newest addition as he shot 4-for-15 en route to 18 points.
Doc addresses the media after the Sixers' loss in Detroit: https://t.co/p0dmYKe46p
Rivers' comments sparked a debate on ESPN's "First Take." When asked if the coach was being too hard on his superstar guard, Jordan Cornette strongly disagreed:
"Absolutely not, this is all on James Harden."
When the Sixers acquired Harden at the trade deadline, growing pains were to be expected. Inserting an elite-level player on the fly is not easy and has resulted in up-and-down play for the Sixers.
"James has to be a star just a click below Joel Embiid, who is in that MVP conversation, doing things we've never seen from a big," Cornette said.
James Harden still trying to find balance with Sixers
Since departing from the Houston Rockets in January 2021, James Harden took a step back in the scoring department. Playing alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with the Brooklyn Nets, he embraced his point guard nature and became more of a facilitator. This resulted in him being near the top of the league in assists per game for the second straight season.
Now in Philadelphia, the Sixers need Harden to find a proper balance on the floor. While his facilitation has done wonders for guys like Georges Niang and Matisse Thybulle, there are times when they need him to be a scorer. That's evident primarily during stretches when Joel Embiid is off the floor.
Over the past few weeks, Rivers has said he wants Harden to be more aggressive. He attempted to do so for stretches against the Pistons but couldn't get shots to fall.
Simple 1-5 pick-and-roll and the Pistons switched. James Harden had a lot of trouble separating against Isaiah Stewart and while Joel Embiid had a huge night, he had seven turnovers and the offense was stagnant.
On the Sixers' offensive woes (sub for $1): theathletic.com/3223106/2022/0… https://t.co/38rZsZCG5i
When the Sixers made the blockbuster deal in February, they were instantly considered title contenders. While they have the superstar talent to make a deep run, time has not been on their side. Embiid and company had just 24 regular-season games to intergrate their new addition before the playoffs.
With only a handful of games to go, the Sixers are not trending in the right direction. They have a lot to figure out in these final two weeks if they hope to fulfill their championship aspirations.