Butanmok: Joel Embiid has a message for James Harden before Game 4 vs. Celtics

PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers will go as far as Joel Embiid takes them, but he does need some help. As he always mentions, this is a team game and the MVP is going to need his teammates to step up in order to knock off a team like the Boston Celtics.

Specifically, James Harden has got to play better. After going 3-for-14 in the Game 3 loss at home, he has now combined to shoot 5-for-28 in Games 2 and 3 combined. This was after a Game 1 masterpiece where he scored 45 points on 17-for-30 shooting.

This is a make-or-miss game so nights like these will happen. However, the Sixers will need him to get back to who he was in Game 1. He has to be that dominant perimeter scorer out on the floor.

“I mean, you just talk to him and you just keep telling him to keep shooting, be aggressive,” said Embiid. “That’s why you can’t get too high. You can’t get too low. Some nights, you’re gonna make a lot a lot of shots, a lot of tough ones, and some nights, you’re not gonna make them. So it’s about finding all the ways to impact the game.”

Now, Harden did have 11 assists and six rebounds so the Sixers will take that. When Embiid isn’t having a good game shooting the ball, he finds other ways to impact the game.

“For example, for myself, if I’m not making shots, I know that I got to take another step defensively,” he said. “I got to become Bill Russell, defensively, to kinda have a bigger impact. In those situations, that’s the way I see it. I gotta get my teammates more involved and that’s for me.”

While Embiid looks to take his game to another level on the defensive end, it’s up to Harden to find other ways to be impactful for this team when his shot isn’t falling.

“As s for him, obviously, it’s up to him to figure it out how to best help us, but I think like I said, it’s fine,” Embiid finished. “Sometimes you make them. Sometimes you miss them. We made a lot of shots in Game 1. The last few games, it hasn’t been going in. I have the trust in him to just turn him to keep being aggressive and keep shooting.”

A critical Game 4 is looming for the Sixers on Sunday afternoon from the Wells Fargo Center.