Tyler Herro scored 25 points with seven assists to lead the Heat to a 106-92 win over the 76ers. 1:45 Time and space are some of the most precious things in the NBA. Four years ago, the Philadelphia 76ers faced off with the Miami Heat in a first-round playoff series, and it seemed like they had both. It felt like the young duo had a decade in front of them to figure out how to pay off "The Process" when Ben Simmons was their running mate. The Heat were short on time and space and trying to squeeze one last playoff run with an aging Dwyane Wade before rebuilding around a young player named Bam Adebayo. A lot has changed in four years. The 106-92 win against Philadelphia on Monday at FTX Arena was just a glimpse of how far the top-seeded Heat have come in their reboot, but it also showed how little time and space the 76ers have left to figure out how to become. Simmons is still dealing with the effects of being a face of the Process-era Philadelphia 76ers, now that he is with the Brooklyn Nets. While trying to pick up the slack for the injured Embiid, James Harden was suffocated by a lack of space and his teammates missed more than half of their 3-point attempts. Much will be made of Harden's lack of impact in the first game. He finished with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, and his streak of being held under 25 points to 11 straight playoff games, his longest since he was coming off the bench to start his career. The NBA playoffs run through June, when the league will crown a champion for its 75th season. Experts' picks for the second round.
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Harden has had trouble getting past defenders during his time in Philadelphia, and it has prompted questions around the league: Has he lost a step? Is his injury still a problem? Can he get his burst back in time to justify a max contract extension worth $223 million this summer?
The time pressure on those questions swirling around Harden sped up once Embiid was lost indefinitely with a concussion and orbital fracture.
The dismal showing on Monday night was a referendum on the state of the Philadelphia 76ers, who are without Embiid, as much as it is on Harden's current abilities.
12 of Harden's 13 field goal attempts were not successful. He was double-teamed nine times.
The smallest amount of separation in a game for Harden this season and the smallest amount in a playoff game for Harden in two years was the average defender's distance from Harden.
Friday, May 6
Heat at 76ers, Game 3 (7 p.m.)
On Saturday, May 7.
Celtics at Bucks, Game 3 (3:30 p.m., ABC)
All times Eastern.
Harden needs space to operate, and if you have followed his career a little bit, you know why. Even without the burst he used to have, he can create some of it himself, but not when the defense has no reason to respect his teammates shooting.
Harden said that he could be a little bit more aggressive going forward.
I think the shot-making opens up the floor for our entire team.
The order in which Harden diagnosed what went wrong for Philadelphia in the first game was more important than the way Harden delivered that assessment.
He put some of the blame on himself. He gave credit to the defense of the Heat. He said that the part that really mattered was not throwing his teammates under the bus.
Harden will need to show accountability and leadership to have any chance of getting back into this series.
"It's one game, but things can turn fast," said Harden, who was trying to sound optimistic in a relatively young locker room he has been thrust into leading with Embiid out.
James Harden throws the ball to DeAndre Jordan for a dunk.
There is some hope that he will return at some point in this series, but that is mostly because he has been so determined to play through injuries and pain this season.
According to sources, the Philadelphia center was still dealing with concussion symptoms on Monday. To think about playing again, he will have to progress through the NBA's concussion protocols and then get a good report back on a right orbital bone fracture at his appointment on Wednesday, the day of Game 2 in Miami.
Sources said there is a chance that he could play in Philadelphia in the third or fourth game if everything goes well. When he came back in the third game of the series, he dubbed himself the Phantom of the Process, as the Pacers went on to win the series.
The circumstances are the same, but the feeling is different.
Everything was open in front of Philadelphia. Their two superstars were young and growing up together.
There is a sense of desperation now that Harden is in his prime and Embiid is in his prime. There is a weight that was not there before, because of all that has happened along the way.
There is time to figure it out. There is still room to grow. There is less of it now.
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