James Harden might have had the best playoff performance of his career in Game 1 against the Celtics.
With Joel Embiid sidelined due to a knee injury, Harden carried the 76ers to a win in Boston with 45 points. The Celtics had no answer for him all night long. Even with Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum spending time on him, he shot 17-for-30 from the field and 7-for-14 from 3-point range.
Harden said afterward that he got into a zone that he hasn't felt in a while, but his 45 points weren't simply the result of him catching fire. There was one particular way he got going against the Celtics that could bode well for Embiid when he returns.
Let's take a closer look.
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How James Harden broke the Celtics in Game 1
Harden picked the Celtics apart with a steady diet of pick-and-rolls.
According to InStat, Harden took 18 of his 30 shots in Game 1 out of the pick-and-roll. Sounds like a lot, right? It's the second-most he has attempted as the ball handler in those situations in a single game in his NBA career.
Al Horford and Robert Williams III were the targets of most of those pick-and-rolls. They were in a drop most of the game, meaning they hung back in the paint to protect the basket rather than extend themselves out to the 3-point line, like so:
The problem? That gave Harden a long runway to attack.
Sometimes he punished them by walking into a 3-pointer:
Other times he punished them with drives:
The scoring inside the 3-point line was the biggest surprise of Harden's performance.
Put it this way: Harden shot 7-for-30 in the paint and 2-for-4 from midrange over four games against the Nets in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. (That's a shocking 26.5 percent on 2s.) In Game 1 against the Celtics, he went 5-for-8 in the paint and 5-for-8 from midrange.
After how much he struggled against the Nets, the Celtics probably weren't expecting Harden to make more 2-point field goals in one game than he did in an entire series. Also, those are the types of shots Harden has spent a good chunk of his career avoiding. He developed a mean floater near the end of his time with the Rockets, but he has almost entirely abandoned the midrange.
Harden, of course, also cooked Boston a few times in isolation in Game 1. The Celtics were reluctant to switch Horford or Williams onto him. He might not isolate as much as he used to — this is your reminder that peak Harden scored more in isolation than every team in the league — but he's still pretty dang good at it.
Only three players outscored Harden in isolation during the regular season and he ranked in the 84th percentile in efficiency.
One of the few times the Celtics did switch led to the biggest shot of the game.
What James Harden's performance means for Joel Embiid's injury return
Embiid missed Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals with an LCL sprain in his right knee. His status for Game 2 is unknown, but there is "optimism" that he could be cleared for Game 2. Whether or not he can be the same player who might win MVP upon return remains to be seen, but Harden taking his game to another level would certainly take some pressure off of him to be that player.
What's interesting about Harden's performance in Game 1 is that his pick-and-roll prowess has played a big role in Embiid reaching even greater heights as a scorer. Embiid generated very little of his scoring as a roll man prior to the 76ers acquiring Harden. This season, almost a quarter of his scoring came on those plays.
Embiid isn't a traditional big man who feasts on dump-off passes or alley-oops. He instead pops more than he rolls, and he's particularly dangerous pulling up from the elbows.
This type of look has become automatic for Embiid:
Harden is known best for his scoring, but he's become one of the best passers in the league. He earned the second assist title of his career this season with 10.7 dimes per game, many of which went to Embiid. He set Embiid up for 244 baskets during the regular season, the most anyone assisted a teammate by a mile.
Shade even slightly towards Harden, and it opens the door to these sorts of pocket passes:
The Celtics will be even more reluctant to switch pick-and-rolls with Harden if Embiid is involved because of the mismatch it would give perhaps the most dominant post-up scorer in the NBA today.
With how much trouble Harden gave them in Game 1 and how much trouble it could give them when Embiid returns, it's safe to assume figuring out Philadelphia's pick-and-roll game will be a priority for the Celtics heading into Game 2.
