Raptors’ history of stopping James Harden will be key in playoffs

For Toronto Raptors fans, Saturday’s Game 1 of their series against the Philadelphia 76ers will mark the eighth time in the last nine seasons that they will be in the postseason. With MVP candidate Joel Embiid and James Harden on the other side of the ball, the Raptors have their work cut out for them.

The 76ers have a home-court advantage against the Raptors, which will give them an edge in addition to having two superstars like Embiid and Harden. Though the Raptors have typically handled Embiid fairly well, it remains a mystery as to what sort of Harden they are getting.

While Harden is capable of leading both teams in scoring on any given night, he has taken a major dip downwards over the last few games with Philadelphia. He failed to impress Toronto in the multiple matchups he has had against them this season with Philly and Brooklyn.

Toronto also has a general advantage in this series in the form of their swarming defense. When the 76ers and the Raptors face each other in the regular season, Toronto’s defense was always the difference-maker. Stopping Harden will be key in this series.

Can the Toronto Raptors slow down James Harden?

Harden can single-handedly win a couple of games if he plays well. When he faced Toronto this season, he averaged 19.3 points per game. Even though it’s only three games, Nick Nurse has typically done a great job keeping Harden in check when he became the head coach of the Raptors.

Harden has averaged a paltry (by his standards) 18.8 points per game against the Raptors since he left the Rockets. Harden is no longer the same guy who averaged more than 30 points per game in three of the last five seasons, and that could be a deciding factor in this very close series.

Last year in the playoffs, he averaged 20.2 points per game. In the last four games in the playoffs, he averaged 10.7 points while fighting through a major injury. While I don’t think the squad will hold Harden under 10 points during the first round, limiting him to under 20 points is now ridiculous at all.

Toronto’s defense won’t make it easy for Philly. If any defense can slow down EMbiid and Harden, it’s this one. While Embiid is the obvious defensive priority, stopping Harden will be key for the Raptors to go to the second round. If Harden looks like the Mike D’Antoni Harden from Houston, Toronto will have a problem.