Sports
James Harden explains his lack of aggression in Game 6 loss to Heat
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers made a big trade back in February to acquire James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Ben Simmons. Harden was expected to come in and help Joel Embiid contend for a championship and help the Sixers go deep in the playoffs.
When the team needed him most in Game 6 with the Miami Heat on Thursday, he vanished.
Harden had 11 points in the first half on Thursday and he looked like he was in a groove. However, his aggressiveness went away in the second half as he took only two shots in the second half in a 99-90 loss to end their season. He only took nine shots for the game.
After it was all over, Harden was asked what the Heat did to stymie him and bother him.
“Nothing,” he said. “Nothing.”
If it was just “nothing”, then why did he only take two shots in the second half in the biggest game of the year.
“We ran our offense,” Harden added. “I felt like the ball moved and it just didn’t get back to me.”
How does the ball not get to him? He is the point guard. He has also been an incredible scorer in his entire career. How does that happen?
“I don’t know,” said Embiid. “That’s his answer. You just gotta believe what he told you. I believe him. I don’t know.”
With that being said, coach Doc Rivers isn’t going to blame Harden for losing to the Heat in this series.
“I’m not gonna make this a referendum on James, OK?” Rivers added. “We just could’ve played better. The ball could’ve moved more. Did we have enough time to get our stuff in? I thought we did, honestly. I thought we really did, but clearly, we didn’t.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
List
Doc Rivers, Sixers try to explain poor effort in blowout loss to Heat
Related
Joel Embiid is still confused how the Sixers let Jimmy Butler go after loss
Sixers guard Danny Green out for rest of Game 6 vs. Heat due to knee injury
Charles Barkley believes Sixers star James Harden is on the decline
Continue Reading
Four-star 2023 defensive lineman and tight end Jaxon Howard has named the Miami football program as one of four finalists with LSU, Michigan and Minnesota. The Minneapolis Robbinsdale Cooper prospect tweeted his finalists on Monday afternoon with his visits that will include Coral Gables from June 24 through 26.
Minnesota is the favorite to sign Howard with a 21.6 percent chance to 18.6 for Miami according to On3 Sports. LSU is at seven percent with Michigan less than a one percent chance. Wisconsin which is not a finalist is listed ahead of LSU. Notre Dame and Oklahoma who are also not finalists are tied with the Tigers.
Howard previously took an unofficial visit to Miami in January. Miami also hosted Howard during their spring game in April. Howard reportedly additionally attended LSU and Minnesota’s spring games last month and is expected to commit in July. Howard is the son of former Stanford star Willie Howard.
As expected, defensive line coach Joe Salave’a and tight ends coach Stephen Field are leading the recruitment for Howard. Howard seems more likely to play DL in college than TE. At 6’4, 245 pounds, Allen Trieu of 247 Sports said of Howard “more of a rarer specimen on defense…he can be a combo inside-outside player on the defensive line.”
FINAL 4
The past 3 years I have been blessed to be offered by over 60 amazing colleges. I built genuine relationships with so many coaches & value all the time they have spent with me. After 41 Unofficial Visits & much Prayer I have Narrowed my Top 4 and will take my Officials pic.twitter.com/3QXdA9Fbx1
— Jaxon Howard (@11JaxonHoward) May 16, 2022
The Miami football program has five commits for 2023 with only three-star linebacker Bobby Washington on defense. Mario Cristobal has made the DL a priority in just over five months since being hired. Miami has added eight DL in the Class of 2022 and through the transfer portal since Cristobal was hired in December.
The addition of Howard to 2022 signees Nyjalik Kelly and Cyrus Moss would provide Miami with a bright future at edge rusher. Cristobal and Salave’a coached Kayvon Thibodeau at Oregon who was the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. Howard is the 87th ranked player in the Class of 2023.
MIAMI, FLORIDA – AUGUST 15: Elieser Hernandez #57 of the Miami Marlins delivers a pitch in the third inning against the Chicago Cubs at loanDepot park on August 15, 2021 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Elieser Hernandez seems to be an unpopular member of the Miami marlins rotation, with many calling for his replacement. We even suggested it ourselves. Should Elieser really be pushed out of the rotation though? Is there potential? Let’s find out…
Elieser Hernandez is somehow still in the Miami Marlins rotation.
Elieser Hernandez has so far started 7 games and pitched 33.2 innings. He has a 6.15 ERA/6.52 FIP. He has 8.02 K/9 and 3.21 BB/9. Yeah this isn’t good to say the least. The bright sides are his 4.46 xERA and 4.96 xFIP. Well bright as in better than his ERA and FIP.
He doesn’t have a track record of better results either. Elieser’s best ERA has been 3.16 in 2020 and his best ever FIP has been his 3.89 that same season. Unfortunately both came in a very short sample of 25.2 innings. These are promising results, but the short sample size is a major red flag.
Is there promise when looking at his Minor League statistics? Let’s take a look… he did well in AAA in in 2018, starting 9 games and delivering 48 innings of 1.12 ERA ball. He also had 12.9 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. Those are impressive numbers, but so far they haven’t translated to the Majors.
What about Elieser Hernandez’s fastball velocity? He sits at 91.3 MPH. That’s not very promising either. Unfortunately the more I look at his stats, the more I feel that he just needs to be replaced at this point. I just don’t see a reason for giving him more starts.
Max Meyer? Edward Cabrera? Why not just give one of them a chance already? Find out what we really have with them? I think that at this point Elieser Hernandez is best as a swingman type, filling in when there’s an injury. I just don’t see much point in continuing to give him starts and there’s just no obvious upside to keep hoping for.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JULY 24: A. J. Burnett #34 of the Florida Marlins pitches against the San Francisco Giants during an Major League Baseball game July 24, 2005 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. Burnett played for the Marlins in 1999-05. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Do you remember A.J. Burnett? I recently wrote a career retrospective on his more famous Miami Marlins (then Florida Marlins teammate). Burnett was once a highly touted prospect who was supposed to be an ace of the future. He was officially a part of the 2002 World Series winning team, though he didn’t actually pitch during the playoffs. Let’s take a look at his Miami Marlins career.
A.J. Burnett was drafted in the eighth round of the 1995 draft by the New York Mets. On February 6, 1998 he was traded to the Miami Marlins in the Al Leiter trade along with Minor League OF Rob Stratton and Minor League LHP Jesus Sanchez (yes he has the same name as our current CF). The Fish traded Leiter and Minor League 2B Ralph Milliard in the trade. If you’re interested to know who won that trade using Wins Above Replacement, the Miami Marlins ended up with 12.5 WAR and the New York Mets with 28.1 WAR, so the New York Mets won by 15.6 WAR.
A.J. Burnett rose up the prospect rankings and finally got the call in 1999. He started 7 games and pitched for 41.1 innings, delivering a 3.48 ERA/4.30 FIP. The following season he received 13 starts and delivered 82.2 innings of 4.79 ERA/4.68 FIP ball. In 2001 he started 27 games and delivered 173.1 innings of 4.05 ERA/4.63 FIP. At this point he appeared as perhaps best a mid-rotation arm , however he was going to improve.
In 2002, A.J. Burnett broke out with a 3.30 ERA/3.19 FIP in 31 games (29 starts) and 204.1 innings pitched. Unfortunately the newly crowned ace then got injured and only started in 4 games in 2003, with a 4.70 ERA/4.94 FIP. Coming off a World Championship the previous season, the Miami Marlins welcomed Burnett back in 2004 for 20 games (19 starts) and 120 innings of 3.68 ERA/3.19 FIP ball. Burnett was back as an ace, but needed to work his way back to a full workload.
2005 turned out to be the final season for A.J. Burnett in a Miami Marlins uniform, as he left after the season as a free agent. In that season, Burnett capped off his tenure with The Fish with a 3.44 ERA/3.11 FIP in 32 games and 209 innings pitched. It was a great platform season and led to him leaving for Toronto. A.J. Burnett had a couple very good seasons for The Fish, but he was never an integral part of a pennant or a World Series winning team and didn’t provide longevity, thus not having a memorable career in the end unfortunately.
Empty Talk51 mins ago
Summer Entertaining on a Budget: 17 Deals on All Things You Need
Uncategorized51 mins ago
See Kristin Cavallari Embrace “Shenanigans” With Lauren Conrad’s Exes Jason Wahler and Stephen Colletti
Empty Talk51 mins ago
Penn Badgley’s Next Project Will Bring You Back to Middle School Awkwardness
Politics2 months ago
Proposed law in Maryland would allow mothers to kill their babies up to 28 days after birth
Politics2 months ago
California introduces new bill that would allow mothers to kill their babies up to 7 days after birth
News2 months ago
100+ nations have global agreement now being deployed called ‘Project Sandman’ to drop and end dominance of U.S. dollar and petrodollar
Sports5 days ago
AEW Dynamite: Owen Hart Tournaments begin, FTW title match, MJF/Wardlow contract signing for Double Or Nothing
Sports5 days ago
Comeback Cats do it again, rally to top Capitals 5-3 in Game 5 to take 3-2 series lead
News5 days ago
WANTED: Authorities search for men who illegally disposed of balloons in Biscayne Bay
-
Sports16 hours agoJayson Tatum, Mac Jones hug it out after Celtics’ Game 7 win
-
Empty Talk24 hours agoKourtney Kardashian & Travis Barker Married (For Real) in Santa Barbara
-
Sports23 hours agoJayson Tatum’s son, Deuce, has big plans for his trip to Miami
-
High Life8 hours agoSouth Dakota Medical Cannabis Recommendations Jump After Mass Registration Event
-
Empty Talk24 hours agoAmber Heard, Elon Musk, and A Multimillion-Dollar Mystery
-
Sports21 hours agoSuns offseason preview: Devin Booker’s extension, Deandre Ayton’s free agency and more
-
Sports8 hours agoPat Beverley defends James Harden, calls playing for Doc Rivers ‘hard’
-
News15 hours agoMiami Air Traffic Controller Narciso Torres Identified As Person Who Died In Haulover Plane Crash