3 Things We Learned From 76ers-Heat Game 2 On Wednesday

The Miami Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 119-103 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series on Wednesday to take a 2-0 series lead heading to Philadelphia.

After playing well in the first-half of Game 1 against the Miami Heat, the Philadelphia 76ers were unable to put anything together in the second-half. Game 2 was almost identical to the first game of this series, as Miami cruised to yet another double-digit victory over the 76ers to take a 2-0 series lead.

Miami is now outscoring Philadelphia by 30 points through the first two games of this semifinals series and Game 2 proved exactly why the Heat are a championship favorite this year.

Their All-Stars in Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined for 45 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists, but the Heat’s bench, primarily Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo, got the job done.

Herro and Oladipo combined for 27 points, as the Heat’s bench outscored that of the 76ers’ by 33 points! In fact, Philadelphia got almost no production from their bench, as Furkan Korkmaz was their only real contributor with 8 points on 3-8 shooting.

The Sixers are struggling to find their rhythm right now without Joel Embiid on the floor and who can really blame them? Embiid is an MVP-caliber player and contributed to about 25% of the team’s total scoring output this season.

Without him, the 76ers have really struggled and they lose a large chunk of production not only on offense, but on defense as well given that Embiid has really improved as a rim-protector.

This series seems to be heavily in control by the Miami Heat right now and heading into Game 3, the 76ers may be facing a “must-win scenario,” especially if Joel Embiid is ruled out yet again like he is trending towards.

Here are the biggest takeaways from Wednesday’s Game 2 and what exactly we learned from the Heat’s lopsided victory.

James Harden Is Not The Leader Of The Sixers With Embiid Out

Philadelphia fans started hanging up “WANTED” posters for Ben Simmons after his lackluster performances near the end of last season and in the playoffs, effectively running him out of town.

They may want to get started on printing some of these fliers for James Harden, because the former league MVP and ten-time All-Star seems to have gone missing.

A guy named “James Harden” is still playing for the Sixers, but he is not the “James Harden” we are accustomed to seeing.

Since the start of the playoffs, Harden is averaging just 18.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 3.6 turnovers and is shooting just 34.8% from three-point range.

Wednesday night marked the 12th straight playoff game that the former league MVP has been held under 25 points scoring, his longest postseason scoring drought since entering the league, and Harden just does not have any sense of urgency to him whatsoever.

The 76ers gave up a ton of assets to acquire the All-Star guard at the trade deadline with the mindset of not only having him as the No. 2 option next to Joel Embiid, but having him as their leader in case something was to happen to their All-Star center.

Well, through two games in this series, James Harden looks like a guy that does not want to go back to Philadelphia and play two basketball games, but instead, stay in Miami, hang out on the beach and go enjoy the nightlife surrounding him.

Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey have stepped up to be the leaders of this team, as James Harden continues to be stuck in his own world.

20 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds is not a “bad” night per se, but Harden struggled to find his shot yet again, he was not aggressive and he turned the ball over 3 times in Game 2.

If we do not see a different version of James Harden in Game 3 on Friday night, then the 76ers may really have to evaluate his long-term future in this league during the offseason.

Philadelphia Must Shorten Their Bench

With Joel Embiid out, it seems crazy to think that Doc Rivers and the 76ers’ coaching staff should cut their rotations down, but it is pretty clear after Game 2 that this needs to occur.

During the regular season, Philadelphia ranked just 28th in the league in bench points per game and this lack of depth is showing in the playoffs, as their bench hardly did anything against the Toronto Raptors in the first-round of the playoffs and they have given them close to zero production against the Heat.

In Game 2, Furkan Kormaz, Georges Niang, and Matisse Thybulle all played at least 18 minutes, but the three only combined for 17 points off-the-bench. While this is not terrible, it is not really good either, and none of these three have been reliable in terms of shooting. The 76ers really do not have any scoring threats outside of Maxey, Harris and Harden right now.

Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and James Harden should all be playing at least 40 minutes per game with Joel Embiid out and while this is a lot for them to handle, the 76ers really do not have any other options since the Miami Heat play 10, sometimes 11 players deep at times.

The Sixers just do not have the firepower and personnel to be able to play deep into their bench, which is why these three starters, and even Danny Green, will have to be counted on to play close to the entire game for the rest of this series, assuming Joel Embiid is out indefinitely.

Victor Oladipo Is The Heat’s X-Factor

Changing course and evaluating the Miami Heat, you can pinpoint a lot of things that have gone right for them in this series.

From their defense to their ability to switch things up offensively quickly, the Heat have made all the little adjustments they have needed to in order to be successful, but the key thing for them that sticks out in this series is the play of Victor Oladipo.

The former All-Star guard has dealt with a ton of injuries and trauma the last several years, but he is finally healthy and has shown flashes of his former self, primarily in this series against the 76ers.

In the postseason, Oladipo is averaging 13.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and is shooting 42.2% from the floor. In Game 2 against the Sixers, he scored 19 points and had 6 rebounds in 29 minutes off-the-bench.

Starting to be able to play starter-like minutes, Victor Oladipo continues to work his way back from all of the injuries he has suffered throughout the years and he truly is emerging as the key to the Heat possibly having a chance to win a championship.

Having the Sixth Man of the Year in Tyler Herro definitely helps Miami and their depth, but having a former All-Star like Oladipo come off-the-bench and deliver is extremely meaningful, especially since All-Star Kyle Lowry has been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Everyone is talking about the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and the other series in the Eastern Conference featuring the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, but nobody wants to give credit to the Miami Heat for what they have accomplished.

They are one of the best defensive teams in the league, they have arguably the best depth in the league and they really have not faced any competition thus far in the playoffs. Do not be shocked if the Miami Heat cruise past the 76ers and go on to make the NBA Finals this year. 

Related stories on NBA basketball

• Here's What Tyler Herro Said After The Heat Won Game 2: Tyler Herro met with the media after the Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2. CLICK HERE.
• Here's What Jimmy Butler Said After The Heat Won Game 2: Jimmy Butler met with the media after the Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2. CLICK HERE.