An Honest Look At The Harden-Embiid Combo, And The Sixers Playoff Chances
Those first six games after Harden’s debut looked unbelievable. The combo of our best players was as big of a threat as a lot of people predicted. When Harden and Embiid are at their best, they may be the best all star combo in the league.
As for Harden individually, bro was drawing comparisons to Allen Iverson, dishing the ball, averaging career highs in assists.
Then that Thursday night game against Brooklyn came and lets be real, the veil has kind of been lifted on our team’s limitations.
We followed that with an absolute comical ending in the Monday night game against the Denver Nuggets, involving Georges Niang.
You got that right, the Sixers are drawing up plays for Georges Niang at the end of games when we need a three to tie the game. The result was as bad as you can imagine. Bro missed the 3, grabs his own miss and instead of kicking it out to a wide open Tyrese Maxey, he attempts a floater, that misses but still wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
All that would be okay if it wasn’t for the kind of nonsense we’re witnessing as far as James Harden’s nightlife and I warned you this was going to happen, that it would be only a matter of time until he was seen galivanting the night scene as a Sixer and if I’m going to blame someone for this, it’s your guy, Darryl Morey.
Here we have and NBA General Manager that just refuses to learn his lesson.
In an era where high level sports executive positions are a rare and valued commodity, here we have a man that still feels content to make the same mistake twice.
No matter how familiar Morey is or was with James Harden and his late night exploits, Morey didn’t care, and effectively sought to saddle the Philadelphia fans with a potentially very embarrassing side show.
None of this matter when you ball out, it kind of hits different when you shoot 3-17 against the Nets, and then follow that with 5-19 in an overtime win over the Orlando Magic, and then 6-11 and just 24 points against the Denver Nuggets.
The Playoff, The Playoffs, The Playoffs, The Playoffs:
We’re a good month and a half away from the post season but I think there are several issues that need to be cleared up if the Sixers are to compete.
The upside, is that for the 3rd year in a row, the Eastern Conference is as close as it gets. 2 wins separates 3rd place and 6th. The Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks have stepped ahead but that’s a very recent trend and there is no telling how long they’ll keep that lead.
That said there are a couple of things this team needs to get right and iron out ahead of time, so let’s run that list.
END OF GAME SITUATIONS:
It’s absolutely insane to me that we’re drawing up plays for Georges Niang, in end-of-game situations.
So on a team with James Harden, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey on it, Doc RIvers figures that a Georges Niang 3, is a better look, than any of those guys?
The play he drew up predictably ended with the shot coming off the side of the backboard, no matter how open Niang was.
Why aren’t we giving the ball to Harden in those situations? Does James want the ball in those situations?
It’s beyond perplexing to me, get it together, Rivers.
TOBIAS HARRIS IS AN ISSUE, A CONCERN AND A BURDEN:
A big part of the upside of bringing Doc Rivers in as head coach, was that he was supposed to be able to get the best out of Tobias Harris.
It hasn’t happened. Harris’ performances have dipped a little bit every year since he got that max deal and he becomes a forgotten man when he’s on the court with Harden and Embiid, and that’s not what you pay max dollars for.
Harris is among a small group of players that avoided criticism for some poor play in last year’s Eastern Conference Semi Finals, and the issue for Harris this years, is that without Ben Simmons, we are not a defensive powerhouse, so Harris isn’t getting the same easy transition looks that he would have gotten last year, so he’s not in rhythm anymore.
That’s had a big effect on his scoring, and won’t be helped by him standing in the corner and watching Harden or Embiid pound the ball for 15 seconds every possession.
Doc needs to draw up plays for this guy and get a handle on knowing when to call those plays. Harris on his end need to be way more aggressive in looking for his shot.
TRUST TYRESE MAXEY:
This guy here, has been the best and most encouraging story of the 2021/22 season.
Maxey has more than mad good on the faith that Doc Rivers has shown him
Bottom line, get the best out of Tyrese Maxey and more and more, it’s starting to look like Rivers, should do so in big spots.
Maxey’s continued growth and improvement definitely justifies it, the guy went from averaging 8 points and 2 assists, to averaging 17.4 points and 4.3 assists this season, coupled with a big statistical jump in every category.
Before Harden joined the team, Maxey was leading our offense and he’s definitely cementing himself as our third best player.
If you trust no one else, trust Maxey.
A THIN FRONT COURT:
I hate the fact that we let go of Andre Drummond in that Harden trade, because it appears the Sixers front office have no learned their lesson about this team absolutely, always needing a capable backup for Joel Embiid.
That’s not a knock on Joel, never, but this roster, is better of knowing we don’t have to run Embiid in to the ground every night and it annoys me so much when teams make good decisions or signings just to undo them later, especially in positions of need.
It’s also a big part of the reason we’re relying more on Georges Niang to plug the gap in out rotations but worse still than that, is having to put Deandre Jordan in the lineups, which is an option that will be forced on Rivers, more and more often.
JOEL COULD STILL WIN MVP:
So staying on issues regarding our front court because individually, Joel Embidd has been absolutely crazy this year, and he’d definitely in the hunt to win MVP.
However I can’t help the feeling that the MVP award is just a kind of substitute motivator to get through the regular season, because with the playoffs looming, it is far more important for his legacy and for the future of the franchise, for Embiid to put up those points when it matters the most and that’s in the post season.
The sign are good, he’s averaging a staggering 29.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists, but the reality is that this is what happened last year, and while some of it was due to his health waning in the final stretch of the season, Joel’s performances in the 2nd round against the Atlanta Hawks, left a lot to be desired.
It can’t happen again.
THE FINAL VERDICT ON JAMES HARDEN AND THE NETS TRADE:
So it all looked good in his debut game against Minnesota and then in the back-to-back that followed against the Knicks.
The the performances dipped
The other thing I am not happy with, is the amount of games that Harden misses.
Of course, bro didn’t play in Miami on Monday night, because why would he? Biggest party city in America? Why the hell would Harden play in that game right?
The problem is that he’s sitting out games selectively, being seen clubbing and putting up a 3-17 night from the field.
The losses to Brooklyn and Denver in particular were some very ugly stuff.
On the bright side we are 9-3 since Harden joined, and he has had a very real effect on our offense, and in particular, in those pick’n’roll situations with Embiid setting the screen. It just gives us easy offense and an easy path to a good shot for either of out 2 best players.
The verdict has got to be that I am not happy, I am not satisfied and I am not contented by what I have seen up to now. It really does feel as though someone (Darryl Morey) gambled their career to make this happen.
Time will tell, but I’m going to warn James Harden to “stay out the streets, stay out the clubs, stay out the traps, stay out the nightspots”.
