Beijing time on February 26, 76ers away to meet the Timberwolves, facing this dark horse team that just cut the Grizzlies under the horse yesterday, the 76ers naturally want to give a big gift to Harden, who has just ushered in the debut of the new owner, the whole game, the 76ers have been firmly suppressing the Timberwolves, and finally they played the hall successfully 133-102, and Harden also ushered in the first victory of joining the 76ers.
Harden started 35 minutes, shot 7 of 12, 5 of 7 three-pointers, 8 of 9 free throws, 27 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists of quasi-triple-doubles, +35 plus-minus is also the highest on the team, the first game to join the new owner will reproduce the "bearded" style of the Rockets, which is definitely good news for the 76ers who aspire to impact the championship. Although it is a newcomer, harden and the 76ers teammates are very tacit, the emperor Embiid got plenty of opportunities to eat pie, easily scored 34 points in 10 of 18 shots, and role players such as Sebel and Maxi also ushered in the opportunity to score in double figures. It has to be said that Harden's arrival has indeed activated the super aggressiveness of the 76ers on the offensive end.
After switching from the Rockets to the Nets last season, Harden also played a quasi-triple-double of 24.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 10.9 assists, but suffered a hamstring injury in the playoffs, and Irving also suffered an ankle sprain, and the Nets regrettably stopped in the semifinals. And hardened this season's hamstring injury has not healed, but also has been playing with injuries, coupled with the Nets' lineup is not stable, Nash has changed a number of starting lineups, the state of Harden is not ideal, but also suffered a certain downturn, this season for the Nets in those 44 games, it is true that Harden can still get 22.5 points, 8 rebounds and 10.2 assists, but 41.4% shooting rate and 33.2% three-point shooting rate are far below the average career.
And this time to join the 76ers such a team that attaches great importance to defense, there is Embiid as a barrier on the inside line, plus there are also defensive gates such as Danny Green and Sebel on the outside to help Deng Ge share the defensive pressure, which also makes Harden's debut with the new owner today particularly amazing, playing the MVP performance in the Rockets period before. And in an interview after the game, 76ers core Embiid also talked about the situation with Harden: "He created opportunities for all of us, and this is probably the first time in my career that I have such a big vacancy opportunity." ”
It is true that the Nets' lineup is indeed stronger than the 76ers, but Durant and Irving, the two cores have never been able to play completely, the big three can not be completely integrated, but also let Harden reveal his intentions, and this time to the 76ers such a new team, even if only he and Embiid can be called all-star stars, but such as Harris, Maxi, Milton, Danny Green, Sebel these role players, can make corresponding contributions in both ends of the attack and defense. With Harden, a backcourt commander with top passing ability, the 76ers really have a chance to play a lot of team basketball.
The perfect debut stat sheet of the 76ers also hopes to give Harden a good start, and the next 76ers will usher in the challenges of the Cavaliers, Heat, Bulls, Nets, etc. If Harden can maintain this momentum, it is not impossible for the 76ers to attack the championship this season.