James Harden Reached Rare Zone and Made a Statement vs. Celtics

James Harden wasn't out to prove anybody wrong in Game 1 vs. the Celtics, but he silenced his critics while reaching a rare zone.

Whenever the Philadelphia 76ers lose a key player, their ability to utilize the next-man-up mentality is nothing short of impressive. We saw it nearly two weeks ago when the Sixers defeated the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4 of the first round in the absence of the six-time center, Joel Embiid.

Monday’s Game 1 matchup between the Sixers and the Boston Celtics was a similar scenario. Considering Embiid has been battling a sprained knee, the big man was doubtful heading into Game 1 on the road in Boston.

Everybody knew they had to step up with their role, but James Harden was taking on the most responsibility, considering he’s a ten-time All-Star who runs the offense with or without Joel Embiid.

All season long, Harden focused on being a playmaker first, passing the scoring torch to Joel Embiid, who was crowned the NBA’s scoring champion for the second season in a row.

Heading into Monday's game, Harden acknowledged he needed to flip a switch.

“Be more aggressive for sure,” Harden said on Sunday. “Be more aggressive. We got to generate points. So, just get to the basket, shoot my shot, and just be more aggressive.”

Although Harden knew the pressure was placed on him to generate more scoring on Monday, he didn’t enter the game looking to force anything. By taking what the defense offered, Harden capitalized with efficient shooting.

“I was just taking the best available shot,” Harden told reporters. “Whatever they gave me, I just rose up and took the shot, whether it's a three, whether it's a floater, whether it's a mid-range jumper — it’s something that I've been working on throughout the course of the year.”

This season, Harden shot around his career average from the field, knocking down 44 percent of his attempts. From three, he was much more efficient in his second run with the Sixers, knocking down 39 percent of his shots from deep, up six percent from last season.

During Game 1 in Boston, Harden leveled up. After averaging 34 percent from the field in the first round against Brooklyn, the ten-time All-Star drilled 57 percent of his shots on Monday and hit on seven of his 14 attempted threes. 

The final make from deep ended up becoming the shot that gave the Sixers the go-ahead lead during the final seconds, allowing them to snag Game 1 on the road.

JAMES HARDEN ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

He has a playoff career-high 45 PTS pic.twitter.com/QHOJviHtEt

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 2, 2023

“I think PJ set the screen, and I came off the screen, and I was wondering if they were going to put two on the ball,” Harden explained, detailing the final play. “When I pulled the ball back, it was just like stay home. It’s one-on-one. I’m looking up, and I’m just like, ‘Alright, this is what I work on every day. Just get the best available shot no matter what it is.’ You know, raise up and shoot it.”

Harden finished Game 1 by tying his playoff career-high of 45 points. Coming off of two-straight playoff runs where he heard the critics downplay his value at this point in his career, it seemed Harden was out to send a message to his doubters on Monday. 

However, that wasn’t the case.

“I don't need to make a statement,” Harden said. “What happens internally with the 76ers’ organization, coaches, my teammates what they expect me to do all throughout the course of the year was be a facilitator and get Jo the basketball, and score when necessary. Jo wasn’t here tonight. We knew that going into the series, and now it’s like open the floor for James, you got to be aggressive. Tonight, I was aggressive. It’s not that I’m not capable of doing it. It’s just this is my role for the team. If you want me to do this tonight, I can do that as well. I don’t think a lot of players can do that.”

While Harden summed up his performance to simply playing his role and expanding it in the absence of the league’s scoring champion, the veteran guard admitted that he hasn’t felt that sharp in the scoring department in quite some time.

“I haven't felt one of those zones in a minute, and it felt really good,” Harden continued. “You know, I mean, just to be aggressive and shoot the basketball and do what I want, like that felt really good. I’m very capable of doing it, you know what I mean? It felt good. It felt good to make shots to give ourselves a chance to be on the road in Game 1 and be aggressive. We won, and that’s all that matters. I’m happy.” 

Harden led the Sixers to a 119-115 victory over Boston on Monday. After a short-lived celebration, Harden made it clear that there was no time to get caught up in the success of Game 1. The Sixers are focused on Game 2, which takes place on Wednesday night.