PHILADELPHIA—Responding to questions about his on-court struggles during his team’s playoff series against the Miami Heat, a diminished Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden admitted Friday that he isn’t flopping with the same agility he used to. “After 13 seasons in the NBA, I’d be lying if I said I could pretend to get fouled with the same quickness that I once did,” said Harden, adding that he found it increasingly difficult to recover from flopping several times in one game so he could be ready to flop at his best in the next one. “When I was younger, I could flop 10, 15 times and be fine, but now I’ll flop once or twice and feel sore for days afterward. I definitely notice that I’ve lost about a half-step after pretending to take a charge, and in this game, you can’t afford to lose even a split second before making an exaggerated overreaction at minimal contact. But ultimately, flopping is a key part of my success in the NBA, so even if my body is on the decline, I’ve just got to figure out a way to flop smarter, not harder.” Harden added that he was hoping to conserve his energy and potentially reduce his playing time in the first half so he could stay fresh should he need to perform a game-winning flop with the series on the line.