On February 26, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, Philadelphia beat the Timberwolves 133-102, Harden cut down a comprehensive data of 27 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists, and made a perfect debut with a net win of 35 points, Embiid and Maxi also played very well, it can be said that this big victory made Philadelphia fans more optimistic about the prospect of impacting the championship.
It must be admitted that Philadelphia can get Harden, it is indeed a huge reinforcement, and their championship hopes should also be the highest year of embiid's era. But behind this 31-point victory, Philadelphia still exposed two hidden dangers, they want to compete for the championship, but also should still find a way. Seek reinforcement in the buyout market.
Philadelphia's first problem, I believe many fans are difficult to intuitively feel, that is, Embiid lacks qualified substitutes. At present, Rivers chose to let Millsap replace the No. 5 position, but the former All-Star player is already 37 years old, the height of 2 meters 01 is short, coupled with the decline in athletic quality, his top No. 5 position is a short board both offensive and defensive. In particular, Millsap's three-point shooting rate this season is only 25.8%, and the space-type interior line is also unqualified.
And Cauley-Stein, who Philadelphia signed on a 10-day contract, didn't have a very bright performance in the 4-minute playing time. Although his physical fitness is very good, his mind and hard work are questionable, and he is by no means a qualified substitute for the championship team. So if there is a chance, Philadelphia still needs to sign a better No. 5 position in the buyout market as much as possible, otherwise this point is likely to become a fatal injury in the playoffs.
Philadelphia's second problem is that Harris is a bit lost on the offensive end. He scored just six points on 2-of-9 shooting, six of which were just outside the three-point line. Harris does shoot three-pointers, but this season he's only 34.5 percent from three-point range and averages just 3.4 three-pointers per game, in the early 20 percent. But in this game, Harris had 2/3 of the shots being three-pointers.
Before Harden arrived on the team, Harris had a lot of singles tactics in Rivers' tactical system, and could attack more under the basket and shoot. But now, after Harden's arrival, due to the ball problem, Harris is bound to transform into a wing pitcher and shoot more three-point shots. His long-range shooting ability is not stable enough, and at the same time, he has to play more without the ball, which is a big test for Harris.
However, Harris is one of the few forwards in Philadelphia today who is tall and tonnage-high, and considering his high salary of $33.5 million, if he can't find the status at this point, the impact on Philadelphia is still not small. Rivers also had to redesign Harris' tactics to fit him into the new system hardened and Embiid had built. And if you have the opportunity, it is also important to find a 3D forward to play as a substitute for Harris.
From the current situation, Philadelphia's first problem is more fatal, and if it cannot be reinforced, it will be a huge hidden danger. The second problem has a relatively small impact and leaves room for internal improvement. If better substitutes can be found for Embiid and Harris by buying out the market' reinforcements, Then Philadelphia's shortcomings will be further reduced and the hopes for the championship will become even greater.