Watch: James Harden shimmies, then hilariously bricks his shot in opening night fixture against Boston Celtics
Philadelphia 76ers superstar James Harden put on a show in the team's season-opener against the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately, Harden went viral for all the wrong reasons as he bricked on a potential highlight play.
NBA action returned on Tuesday night with a double-header. The first matchup featured the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers as both teams took the stage at the TD Garden.
The 76ers are considered potential title contenders this season. With the duo of James Harden and Joel Embiid leading the side, Philadelphia are also served by some impressive talent on their roster.
They had their work cut out for them as they came up against last season's finalists in their season opener. However, the team looked ready to go as Harden appeared to be in top condition alongside Embiid.
The game saw several highlights from both ends. However, James Harden went viral for two plays. While one play can certainly be considered a highlight, the other would be one the superstar would prefer to forget.
Harden is known for his vicious crossovers and stepback combos. In this play, the 76ers superstar put the moves on reigning DPOY Marcus Smart.
With Smart sliding away after a nasty cutback crossover, Harden had an abundance of space to get a three-pointer off. To add some flair to the play, Harden opted to do a little shimmy before taking the shot.
Much to the fans' excitement, however, James Harden bricked the shot off the side of the rim. What could have been an all-time disrespectful play resulted in Harden being featured on Shaqtin' A Fool for the lowlight.
While Harden garnered a lot of attention for the failed highlight reel play, he was truly spectacular on the floor. Showing signs of playing like his former self, Harden controlled the pace of the game masterfully.
Unfortunately, his efforts would be insufficient in securing a win for the 76ers on opening night as they suffered a 117-126 loss.
James Harden saw little support from Joel Embiid
As mentioned earlier, James Harden was one of the top performers for the Philadelphia 76ers in their season-opener. Having recorded 35 points along with eight rebounds and seven assists, Harden had a pretty impressive game.
Paired with Joel Embiid's 26 points and 15 rebounds, the Philadelphia 76ers actually saw a fairly solid performance from their duo on paper.
Embiid shot 9-18 from the field while going for 1-6 from the three-point line. Shooting 7-9 FT's in the process, Embiid was pretty solid offensively.
However, the +/- is indicative of the flaws in Embiid's stats. With a +\- of -13 along with six turnovers, it was evident that Embiid wasn't playing at his best.
Embiid's numbers look impressive on the statsheet. However, they did little to support Philadelphia's winning efforts. With very little contribution from the bench as well, the 76ers had little chance of getting a win against the Boston Celtics.
Harden's return to form will be a promising sight for the organization. But the 76ers will hope to see their duo collaborate their efforts to produce favorable results soon.