PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers looked listless in Thursday’s 129-101 loss to the Miami Heat. They were not sharp. They didn’t play with much intensity. The result was a predictable loss.
It was understandable when watching the contest why the game went the way it did. The Heat had a lot to play for; they are fighting for the sixth seed in the playoffs, which would keep them out of the play-in tournament. The Sixers have nothing to play for. They are locked into the No. 3 seed.
Despite the circumstances, James Harden still wants the Sixers to build good habits for the postseason. After scoring 14 points with four assists in 27:35 of playing time, he expressed frustration.
“Tonight (Thursday) was difficult, man,” he said. “We still got to work on our good habits, still gotta build good habits, work on our details and things like that. So a little bit of frustration in the sense that we didn’t come out with a sense of urgency or the preparation or whatever you want to call it that we needed to come out with, but it is what it is.”
The Sixers have two games left to prepare for the playoffs, but time will tell if Harden will even play in those games. He has been dealing with left Achilles soreness so it will be interesting to see if The Beard will be out on the court to lead Philadelphia in the final games.
“Briefly, but not too much in detail,” Harden said when asked if he has been told about any plan Philadelphia has for his minutes.
The Sixers will take on the Atlanta Hawks on the road on Friday to continue with the final games of the 2022-23 season.
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