The Timberwolves aren't too good a team, so beating the Timberwolves isn't anything to celebrate for Philadelphia. But the game meant a lot for Philadelphia because it was the first time Joel Embiid and James Harden had played side by side. Philadelphia once established a huge lead of 35 points, Embiid had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists on 7 of 12 three-pointers, including 5 three-pointers, 13 free throws, 11 of 13 free throws, and Harden had 27 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists on 7 of 12 three-pointers.
It was a happy game for Philadelphia, with the team winning and embiid and Harden showing good form. Victory will mask all problems, embiid and Harden's first time together helped Philadelphia take down the Timberwolves with ease, and the whole team was naturally full of spirits. But Philadelphia's goal is not just to beat teams at the level of the Timberwolves, they have a higher goal, which is to break through in the playoffs. So, Philadelphia still has to be down-to-earth.
After Philadelphia completed the trade with the Nets, there were different voices about the prospects for Embiid and Harden to work together, and a considerable part of it was a bearish voice, because Both Embiid and Harden need players with the ball in hand, especially Harden, who has been used to holding the ball in the past few seasons, can he and Embiid get along well? Now this concern seems to be self-defeating, Philadelphia has found the answer in just one game, and the fusion of Embiid and Harden is not a problem at all.
In fact, hastily reducing Harden's ball may not be able to achieve the desired effect, after all, Harden is one of the few players in NBA history who can get both the scoring king and the assist king. Getting the scoring king means Harden's scoring ability, and getting the assist king means Harden's assist ability. Therefore, Philadelphia should not hastily cut Harden's ball, from the Philadelphia debut, Harden sent 12 assists but only 2 mistakes, and his control of Philadelphia's ball is not bad.
Since Harden doesn't have too many problems with the ball, let Embiid make some changes. Embiid, as the leader of the league's interior line, has an extremely good performance, whether it is an interior single or an outside shot. He made some adjustments, and it was not impossible. Embiid received a total of 19 passes from Harden in the game against the Timberwolves, and he shot 6 of 11 from 6 of 11 from three-point range, making him very efficient.
Five of Harden's 12 assists were given to Embiid, which may be the way forward. Harden controls the ball and combs through the team's offense, but he focuses on tandem teams and supplements individual scores. Embiid is mainly responsible for scoring, with Harden's tandem, Embiid's offensive pressure will be released, can get more opportunities to shoot in the open position, he is mainly individual scorers, the main no ball.
This season, Embiid has 50.1% of his goals scored by assists, and in the first game with Harden, he has 80% of his goals from assists, which may be the model of Embiid and Harden. More often than not, Harden controls the ball, Embiid plays the role of Pie Eater and Space Pitcher, and at the moment of glue, Philadelphia has two more hands, one is Embiid's inside singles and the other is Harden's outside singles. Only then will Philadelphia have the hope of becoming a true spoiler.
Text/Duncan's laugh