Another James Harden is keeping the Sixers ‘organized’

He’s deep into NBA history, the James Harden so many had come to appreciate. He’s a memory, a story, a legend. He’s gone. He’s not coming back.

There will be no more 60-point nights, or monthslong strings of 30-point games. There will be fewer step-back three-point attempts. There will be no more greedy assaults on the boxscore. There will be none of that.

Instead, there will be a point guard, and a good one, blessed with vision and an ability to score inside. Instead, there will be a good shooter and not a mystical one, capable enough to create gravity, but not to wow the gawkers.

There will be good ballhandling, awareness of when to find an open teammate and the status in the room that comes from being a presumptive Hall of Famer. There will be the exact kind of presence the Sixers needed Ben Simmons to be, yet instead were big-timed and insulted and dismissed from playoff tournaments on a regular basis. James Harden, superstar? No. James Harden, championship-level point guard?

That answer came through clear Friday night, when the Sixers effectively saved a season with a 99-79 suppression of the Miami Heat. That’s when Harden went for 17 points, eight

rebounds and six assists to keep the second-round series on serve after three games.

“That’s the point I have been making with him,” Doc Rivers said. “It’s funny. We obviously love his points. But more than anything else, what James does for us is he organizes. He gets the ball to the right spots. That’s so valuable, especially in the playoffs.”

To suggest that Rivers has been satisfied since the February trade deadline with Harden’s lead-guard stylings would be inaccurate. No, Rivers must have said a dozen times how he would have loved to have had Harden be more aggressive, or more like the player who once regularly led the NBA in scoring. But with the way the Sixers are constructed, and specifically how they became whole again Friday with the return of Joel Embiid from a face battering, Rivers’ latest opinion is reasonable.

With Embiid in the mix, with Tyrese Maxey continuing to bloom as an All-Star-elect, with Tobias Harris bouncy and willing and even with Danny Green turning warm, the last thing the Sixers needed Friday was for Harden to do nothing but shoot from 7 o’clock until 9:30. All that would have done was demoralize his teammates, likely reduce the energy that they used to dominate the game and create long rebounds and Miami runouts.

“I’ll take what the defense gives me,” Harden said. “It’s pretty simple.”

And there it was, a two-sentence summary of why the Sixers are better than the last time they were in a second-round struggle: Their point guard takes what the defense allows. An unselfish point guard is a blessing, but that didn’t mean Simmons had to elevate selflessness to high comedy, refusing to attempt any shot of modest length.

Harden has every one of Simmons’ offensive skills yet is willing to attempt an open three-pointer. Even though he no longer does that with long-distance-shootout-level skill, he is successful enough from behind the arc to broaden the Sixers’ scoring options.

Give or take a tweak — Maxey in the lineup, Seth Curry gone, less depth at center, Harden at the point — the Sixers are not much different than the team that lost in Round 2 last year. Harden, though, makes them different enough that this time they should have the opportunity to survive Round 3. Just having a full-service point guard with enough muscle memory to remain a dangerous scorer is a gift. So Harden will do what he can, and make sure his teammates do what they can, too.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m here for,” he said. “I’ve always been the communicator, the organizer trying to get guys in the right positions, and I think now more than ever. But when you’ve got guys that want to win and compete, it makes my job a lot easier. So we have four or five guys in double figures. That’s a balanced offense.”

There are times for a balanced offense. There are times, too, when a $44 million player must score a little more. With Embiid out and the Sixers looking for help, Harden should have tried to provide more offense in the twin losses in Miami. Apparently, though, he is no longer capable.

Should Embiid be injured again, or should his face shield down-size him from threat able to lead the league in scoring to the 18-point scorer he was Friday, the Sixers will need more scoring from Harden. But if they remain reasonably healthy, then they have the ideal veteran lead-guard presence.

“It was,” Harden said Friday, “a great team win.”

And those begin with the kind of point guard the Sixers found when they were looking for something else.