On March 8, Beijing time, in a strong eastern dialogue that ended earlier today, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Chicago Bulls 121-106 at home.
In this game, 76ers core center Joel Embiid played well, he played 36 minutes, 15 of 27 shooting, including 1 of 3 three-pointers, and cut 43 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks.
In today's game, Embiid changed his previous bad performance, and there was no one on the inside. This is also his 10th personal 40+10 this season, and the last player to get at least 10 40+10 in a single season was his current teammate James Harden.
Harden also performed very well in today's game, he played 38 minutes, although the feel was not good, only 5 of 15 shots, including 1 of 5 three-pointers, 16 points and 8 rebounds, but he delivered 14 assists. He managed to revitalize his teammates in terms of organizing the attack, helping Embiid attract a large portion of his defensive attention as long as he stood on the field.
Harden has continued to play efficiently since coming to the 76ers, and so far he has averaged 24.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 12.4 assists in five games for the 76ers, shooting 53% from the field and 45% from three-point range, and the 76ers have all won in these five games.
For now, the 76ers' deal with Harden is clearly earned, and the team's record is now second in the East. In addition to Embiid and Harden, there are many good players in the team, such as Harris, Maxi, Niang, Milton, etc. are good instant combat, and they have the hope of competing for the final championship this season.
And their opponents today, the Chicago Bulls, although the performance of the team's two core cores, Zach Lavin and DeMar DeRozan, is still reasonable, but it is difficult to stop the decline of the team's loss. DeRozan played 39 minutes, shooting 6-of-17 and scoring 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. LaVine played 37 minutes, shooting 9-of-20, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, and had 26 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
The Bulls' recent situation has been very unoptimistic, and after losing this game, they have suffered a wave of 5 consecutive losses and have slipped all the way to fourth in the East. It is worth mentioning that all of their opponents during the 5-game losing streak are teams that are ranked in the playoffs. The Bulls, meanwhile, have a record of 0-14 against the top three teams in the East and West so far this season.
This situation also casts a haze on the team's playoff journey, and although they have a good record this season, they always feel almost something against a really strong team. And these teams are also their potential opponents in the playoffs, and the Bulls are now in an awkward situation where it is easy to play the weak team and the strong team cannot win.
Ball and Caruso are now out with injuries, both of whom are important parts of the Bulls' defensive system. Ball, in particular, has averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals this season, and his three-point shooting percentage can reach 42.3%. His role for the team, both offensively and defensively, is important.