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Former NBA MVP James Harden remained optimistic despite the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers' crushing defeat against the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals.
Embiid has been sidelined for the first two games of the series due to a facial injury and concussion protocols.
Harden spoke to reporters after the game, saying that he believes the Sixers will settle into this series better with each game. He added that the team misses Embiid's presence but will continue to put up a fight.
He said (via NBC Sports):
"We’ll get better. We will settle into the series,. Obviously, we are missing Joel. It’s something that’s out of our control, but we’ve got to go out there and man up and be great. I know we will because we are resilient."
The Philadelphia 76ers were up by a one-point margin heading into the halftime break. However, they failed to replicate their first-half heroics in the second half of the tie, eventually losing the match 92-106.
The Sixers sorely missed Embiid's scoring on the night. They made 34 shots on 79 attempts, including just six threes on the night.
Philadelphia also suffered in the rebounding department. Miami dominated the game in that department, gaining a 47-37 advantage, including 15 on the offensive end of the floor.
James Harden needs to step up in Joel Embiid's absence
The Philadelphia 76ers proved in the first half of Game 1 that they can be resilient in the absence of Joel Embiid. The key reason behind that was James Harden's aggressive approach during that stretch.
Harden had 12 points on nine attempts to go along with six rebounds and three assists during that period.
However, the 'Beard' failed to maintain the momentum in the second half of the match. The outcome may have been different or it would have at least been a close encounter had Harden been aggressive as a primary-scoring option. However, he only scored four points on four attempts across the last two quarters.
Harden eventually finished with 16 points, while Tobias Harris led the scoring for the Sixers with 27 points.
