Good Morning It’s Basketball - James Harden put on his big boy pants
Here’s a free preview of today’s subscriber-only post. Become a GMIB subscriber to see the whole thing and all of our other daily posts. James Harden put on his big boy pantsPLUS: Nikola Jokic is the best player in the Suns vs. Nuggets series, in case you were wondering.Good morning. Let’s basketball. James Harden before the Sixers’ Game 1 in Boston against the Celtics, knowing he wasn’t going to have Joel Embiid to help: James Harden during the game: 45 points on 17/30 shooting (7/14 from three), including this go-ahead basket in the closing seconds. He got the switch he wanted (one that will make Sixers fans smile), he didn’t try to force or finagle contact. He just hit his signature stepback on him for the win. Incredible. Harden scored 45, tying a career playoff high, on only four free throws. That was Harden’s 10th career 40-point playoff game, and his lowest FTA total in any of them. In fact, he’s only ever scored 30 in a playoff game with fewer than five free throws once before in 45 such games. He’s always been a player whose scoring output relied on getting to the line. He didn’t get to the line on Monday, and still dominated. Is this an aberration for Harden, who wasn’t actually very good in the Sixers’ sweep of Brooklyn? In that series, Harden failed to get to the line much (14 FTAs over four games) and was abysmal shooting inside the arc. Is this big Game 1 a function of rest that Harden’s been able to rack up since April 22? Or is he just once again comfortable getting to his spots, knowing that he’ll have the Big Fella coming back at some point in this series? The Celtics lost this game in a few spots, to me. The first was closing the opening half. Boston took a 12-point lead with 3:31 left in the second quarter after a Jayson Tatum three. He was on absolute fire with 24 points. De’Anthony Melton answered with a three on a feed from Harden, Marcus Smart turned over the ball and after a timeout the Sixers got themselves all the way back into the game with a Harden-BBall Paul pick-and-roll, another Melton three, a Melton-BBall Paul pick-and-roll, a Tobias Harris three and a bunch of misses on tough shots by Boston. The Celtics had a window to put their feet on the Sixers’ necks going into halftime, and instead it was a 3-point game... Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to Good Morning It's Basketball to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. A subscription gets you:
|
Key phrases
Older messages
Bucked around, found out
Thursday, April 27, 2023
Miami vanquishes the East favorite in five. PLUS: The Warriors conjure up a victory, the Knicks advance and the Grizzlies survive another day.
The Clippers' superteam goes missing again
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
PLUS: It's getting cold in Boston and a rant about the NBA's cowardly scheduling.
We need to shut down the 76ers until we figure out what's going on
Friday, April 21, 2023
PLUS: Local beam remains unlit and LA almost survives without Kawhi.
Another gut punch for the Timberwolves
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
PLUS: Maybe Miami is just not very good?
A play-in adjustment idea that leads to a playoff adjustment idea
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
PLUS: DeMar DeRozan's daughter exacts revenge on the Raptors for making her move to Texas. Also, Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyle Kuzma escalate their beef.
You Might Also Like
Pick-6: Round 1 QB History
Friday, April 26, 2024
QB History in the NFL Draft. Embiid's 50-Ball. NHL Sweep Alerts. MLB Power Rankings & More...
The Matchday Preview
Friday, April 26, 2024
All season long premium subscribers will receive exclusive previews for the upcoming round of Bundesliga fixtures. Today, game week 31 kicks off! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
What if Heat Culture is just rippin' an ungodly amount of threes?
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Miami did it. The hardest working, best conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA beat Boston in Boston. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Bears On The Clock ⏱️
Thursday, April 25, 2024
NFL Draft Day Primer. Reggie Bush Gets His Heisman Back. Herro's Heat Stroke & King Kopitar...
Hugfest, incoming
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Scoville level spice
Draft Week Mock Locks 🔒
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
BY JEFF YODER APR. 24, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB
All of Manchester United's Signings Under Erik ten Hag, Ranked
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Sunday's FA Cup semifinal “win” over Coventry City really felt like the end of an era at Manchester United. So, I decided to look back at all 16 players who joined the club during that era. Erik
Heist night
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The Nuggets and Knicks rob their opponents in instant classics. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Double Drama: What Just Happened?
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Two Thrilling NBA Finishes. Scheffler Keeps Cooking. An Umpire's Error & The QB Newsroom...
Anthony Edwards was built for this
Monday, April 22, 2024
Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns are pretty good passengers, too. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏