(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
On Monday night, the Philadelphia 76ers silenced the second-seeded Boston Celtics with a strong 119-115 victory.
Most people excepted the Celtics to win the game, especially because Joel Embiid of the Sixers was out with an injury.
But apparently, most people didn’t count on James Harden.
Harden scored a gigantic 45 points and was seemingly unstoppable throughout the game.
On Tuesday morning, Brian Windhorst talked about Harden’s mindset and Philly’s plan going into Game 1.
“He had to go back to Houston James Harden,” Windhorst said.
“He had to go back to Houston James Harden.”
@WindhorstESPN on Harden in Game 1 vs. Celtics pic.twitter.com/VeZ5dinrbL
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 2, 2023
Windhorst revealed that the 76ers knew for the last week that they’d be without Embiid in the first game of the second round.
Therefore, head coach Doc Rivers and his staff made some alterations to the team’s approach.
They tweaked their plans and focused heavily on Harden’s involvement.
That is why we were seeing flashes of Houston Harden.
According to Windhorst, this type of role attracts Harden; this is the sort of player he wants to be.
For most games, Harden has performed as Robin to Embiid’s Batman, as most offensive plays run through the new MVP.
But on Monday night, it was all Harden, all the time.
The superstar was ready to take on that challenge and step up for his team.
It is unclear how much longer Embiid will be out and he might miss more games in this series.
There is fear that Harden cannot score like this again, especially since the Celtics will be wise to Philadelphia’s focus on him.
But even if he never has another night like this, Harden led his team to a crucial win and it could end up leading them to the Eastern Conference Finals.
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