On March 8, Beijing time, the NBA regular season 76ers sat at home to meet the Bulls, and this strong dialogue in the east was highly anticipated. The 76ers desperately need a win to get back in shape to stabilize the rankings after the last fiasco against the Heat, and the Bulls, who have already suffered four consecutive defeats, also need to win to stop the decline. In the end, after a lot of fighting, the 76ers took the Bulls 121-106 at home, solidifying the second place in the East.
This game once again made us feel the importance of Harden to Philadelphia, and he really achieved the silky slippery of all!
In the last game against the Heat, Harden was absent, the 76ers did not have a single person on the team who assisted more than 3 times, the offensive end was extremely sluggish, and could only rely on Embiid to drive the attack, but the effect was very unsatisfactory, because Embiid suffered a crazy pinch from the Heat, the whole game was in a slump, and he scored 22 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 mistakes in 4 of 15 shots. Embiid's performance was a barometer for the team, with the 76ers scoring just 82 points. To know that harden's first 4 games, the 76ers averaged 126.5 points per game, winning all four games.
Today Harden returned, the 76ers took the initiative early, played half of the third quarter, has led by as many as 17 points, Harden assisted in the third quarter double-figures, the whole game has 16 points, 14 assists and 8 rebounds. Embiid, who no longer has to face endless pockets, regained the feeling of playing, scoring 43 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks on 15-of-27 shooting to dominate the inside line.
That's what Harden does, as the best two-legged defender in the league today, Harden can easily tear apart the opponent's defenses, while his big picture view and court vision can also deliver the ball to the best shooting point.
During the Rockets period, Harden led the team with a single core, and the one-star and four-shot mode has already made the opponent lose one or the other, full of loopholes. Now with a super all-round center like Embiid around, it is even more like a fish, the two reduce each other's burden, echo inside and outside, so that the opponent is invincible! When Harden and Embiid launch a block, multiple threats can evolve, and you have no other way but to pray that the ball does not go to the basket.
Considering Harden's breakthrough threat, when he calls for blocking, the best option is to pinch the attack, not let him start, force him to play the ball, and test the offensive efficiency of others. But when the people who block harden from Capela and Clarkston to Embiid, it will be a very different situation, if you still pinch Harden at this time, then Embiid, whose offensive range covers the whole field, will be in an absolute vacancy.
Harden has a variety of options at this time, the wisest choice is to pass the ball to the outer bullet or down Embiid, almost the choice can pass the ball to the shooter who is ambushed on both wings! Embiid also has multiple choices after receiving the ball, as the new era of the inside line, Embiid can not only shoot from the outside, but also can go down the emergency stop jump shot, break through the basket, back singles, and do secondary passing.
To sum up, it will take at least 4 people to limit Embiid and Harden's blocking, and the 76ers' outside line will be all empty at this time. Harden's arrival really made the 76ers' game smooth and silky, not only Embiid alone benefited, Maxi and Niang also benefited a lot, and Deng ge really brought silky slippage to everyone.
In an interview after the game, Embiid also praised the diversity that the blocking with Harden brought to the team's offense.
In a way, Harden is like a bankrupt version of Kobe Bryant, while Embiid is like a combination of O'Neill and Gasol, rigid and soft, both inside and outside. So, no matter how harden + Embiid can bring the 76ers to the height of the finals, it is not impossible to win the championship this season.