The Philadelphia 76ers have two of the best offensive players in the league, James Harden and Joel Embiid. The two are elite scorers who do an excellent job of drawing fouls.
Embiid is averaging 29.9 points per game while taking 11.8 free throws per game, and Harden averages 22.5 points while taking 8.4 free throws per game. The two have done an excellent job manipulating defenders to foul them every time down the floor.
However, some of those foul calls go away in the playoffs, which coach Doc Rivers wants his team to be aware of down the stretch. That was especially true after Harden shott 2-for-11 and 0-for-6 on 2s in Sunday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns.
“I thought some of those were fouls; some of them were not,” said Rivers. “I think we as a team effort have to adjust to — they may call some now in the regular season, but as it gets closer, you know those fouls are going away anyway, and so we have to go to score every time.”
Harden also has to get more aggressive as he even admitted 11 shots are not enough for him in a game. Philadelphia needs Harden to be the aggressive scorer he was during his time with the Houston Rockets. That would help Embiid and the Sixers down the stretch and in the postseason.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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