Why were Joel Embiid and James Harden so bad today?

[Street Hunger]

I can't tell why they struggled so badly today. Was it mostly their own fault, or do the Celtics deserve the real credit?

[SouBeachTalents]

Surprising to see them come up short in a critical playoff game, esp Harden.

[SaltyMeatballs]

They fold under pressure. Harden has a strong reputation for that

[Lebron23]

Pressure

[Prometheus]

As a fan I tend towards optimism. But games like this bring clarity to certain things. After enough iterations of the same kinds of moments, you begin to see deeper into the intangibles of competition.

High-level competition is primarily about talent and skill. Players have hot nights and cold nights, and a certain degree of luck is involved in the timing of such. But there is also something deeper within individual competitors. Some have an indomitable warrior spirit, and others do not. Of course there is gray area... but sometimes it is obvious.

Some competitors make it clear that they thrive on do-or-die moments. Their track records, given enough chances, wind up speaking for themselves. But with a keen eye for the intangible elements of human nature, one can see these things long before the moments of truth come to pass.

Growing up, I always knew Donovan McNabb would never win a Super Bowl. I couldn't rationalize or explain it, but I knew it. Even when we went to the big game against New England in 2005, there was no doubt in my mind that the Eagles would lose.

As a youth, I felt precisely the opposite way about Michael Jordan. Even as a small child in the early '90s, when I watched him compete, I could see his warrior spirit clear as day. He wanted to win, and would exhaust everything in his power to do so.

Unfortunately, the team I love is built around centerpieces that lean away from this warrior spirit. Embiid is a generational talent who is simply not an elite competitor, only an elite athlete. I'm not saying he doesn't want to win, but there is something missing which separates the truly great ones from their peers.

His co-star and coach both have the same problem. When the moments of truth arrive, their focus tends to falter, and they can rarely conjure their best selves.

It hurts to see it. I love the Sixers, and Philly sports in general, but I am committed to calling out the truth as I see it. It is what it is. Embiid, Harden, and Rivers (in spite of his one ring) each lack the heart of a champion.

[Axe]

[ImKobe]

Harden was shook from the start (passing up layups) and it looked like Embiid tweaked his knee during the game. Also have to give a lot of credit to the Cs for taking away the easy ft line jumpers from Joel.

[coin24]

Apart from 2 good games hardon was completely MIA the rest of the series..

Game 6 and 7 were disastrous. He was just dribbling around too scared to shoot or drive. He was offloading to maxey every chance he got, dribbled off his own feet and passed straight out of bounds. Biggest mental midget in the league..

Embeta never wants the ball in crunch time, never calls for it. If he does, he won’t even make a layup. Big shrivel indeed

[HighFlyer23]

Hardens age is showing now

He’s lost athleticism and he looks confused at times

Embiid settled instead of going to work inside

Harden still won them two games … Embiid needed to show up as MVP but didn’t

[Phoenix]

As a fan I tend towards optimism. But games like this bring clarity to certain things. After enough iterations of the same kinds of moments, you begin to see deeper into the intangibles of competition.

High-level competition is primarily about talent and skill. Players have hot nights and cold nights, and a certain degree of luck is involved in the timing of such. But there is also something deeper within individual competitors. Some have an indomitable warrior spirit, and others do not. Of course there is gray area... but sometimes it is obvious.

Some competitors make it clear that they thrive on do-or-die moments. Their track records, given enough chances, wind up speaking for themselves. But with a keen eye for the intangible elements of human nature, one can see these things long before the moments of truth come to pass.

Growing up, I always knew Donovan McNabb would never win a Super Bowl. I couldn't rationalize or explain it, but I knew it. Even when we went to the big game against New England in 2005, there was no doubt in my mind that the Eagles would lose.

As a youth, I felt precisely the opposite way about Michael Jordan. Even as a small child in the early '90s, when I watched him compete, I could see his warrior spirit clear as day. He wanted to win, and would exhaust everything in his power to do so.

Unfortunately, the team I love is built around centerpieces that lean away from this warrior spirit. Embiid is a generational talent who is simply not an elite competitor, only an elite athlete. I'm not saying he doesn't want to win, but there is something missing which separates the truly great ones from their peers.

His co-star and coach both have the same problem. When the moments of truth arrive, their focus tends to falter, and they can rarely conjure their best selves.

It hurts to see it. I love the Sixers, and Philly sports in general, but I am committed to calling out the truth as I see it. It is what it is. Embiid, Harden, and Rivers (in spite of his one ring) each lack the heart of a champion.

By contrast you can see that intangible 'warrior spirit' in Tatum (and Brown to an extent).I feel like this duo is nearing into '91 MJ/Pip' territory where they've been through enough wars at this point and it's aligning perfectly with their talents and skills. They're right on the cusp...especially when Tatum can pull out a game like yesterday under the bright lights( or even the game before when he started off like complete shit and came through in the end). Some of his points were clearly 'pouring it on' when the game was clearly not in doubt, but he still shone the brightest on the floor even if you lopped off 10-12 points. I'm hoping Brown doesn't bounce for 'his own team' and end up in a worse situation as far as proximity to winning a title.

[PP34Deuce]

Harden is older and always been a choker in huge games.

Embiid looked bad but also looked as if he knew "we both winning this game"

Maxey has shown at 22 you don't need harden fir 2 more years. Get another 3 and D guy and another big and retool.

[90sgoat]

They are just too limited and easy to predict when teams get 7 games to gameplan for them.

They both suffer from the same issue, that no teams go all out gameplanning for you in 82 games pre-season, so you base your game on a style that is statistically effective in the regular season, but too limited, too predictable in the playoffs.

Embiid plays like a guard, but way too slow. Harden is still too reliant on flopping arms around.

They're just not the real deal.

[Jasper]

media thinks that 6'ers should go forward with Harden....
excuse me , biggest game of his career , and doesn't bust it to get a win with Joel ??

I'd trade him.