"No, not at all, I've had eight years at the dominant level with Kobe, we've won three of the four NBA Finals, no, it's not comparable at all, not even close at all, stop saying that, listen, absolutely can't TM say that." When O'Neal heard many people compare the combination of Harden and Embiid to the "OK combination", he seemed very angry, as if he was insulting the "OK combination" by saying so.
It is undeniable that after Harden joined the 76ers, he did have a good chemical reaction with Embiid, just entered the honeymoon period, played a wonderful combination, and helped the team win several victories. At this time, many people compare the combination of Harden and Embiid with the "OK combination". Some people even say that "the Harden + Embiid duo will be the most dominant duo since the OK combination." But after the 76ers vs. Nets, the combination of Harden and Embiid is far from reaching the height of the OK combination.
Harden is not Kobe, and Embiid is not O'Neal
To be more than a combination, first to be more than an individual. In my opinion, Harden is not Kobe, and Embiid is not O'Neal. The two pairs, personally, neither Harden nor Embiid, have the same dominance as Kobe and O'Neal. Needless to say, Harden is one of the league's top players in the league today, but he doesn't have Kobe's dominance. Embiid is even more incomparable to O'Neal, and although Embiid himself says he can switch between Kobe Bryant and O'Neal at will, even if he can, he is just imitating.
So, since neither Harden nor Embiid can compare to Kobe and O'Neal alone, it's even more impossible to compare them together.
Harden and Embiid have only been combined for a short time
The second reason Harden and Embiid can't compare to the OK combination is that they have just played a few games together, and judging them as the most dominant combination since the OK combination is a bit of a problem. We also saw that although Harden immediately sparked a spark with Embiid into "hot love" as soon as he joined the 76ers, once he encountered a hard battle like playing the Nets, the problems of the pair were exposed.
In the 76ers game against the Nets, the connection between Harden and Embiid is very small, and it is more of a single fight between the two of them. And they are facing Durant and Irving, who also have excellent singles ability, plus there is still cooperation between Durant and Irving, so that after this battle, the combination of Harden and Embiid is back in shape, Harden only scored 11 points in 3 of 17 shooting, Embiid is not bad to get a double-double of 27 points and 12 points, but the 76ers lost 100:129 to the Nets by 29 points.
So the combination of Harden and Embiid is now on a par with the OK combination, and it's really too early to discuss.
OK combinations do not shrink back in the face of challenges
"Faced with the Nets' physical confrontation, we backed off." 76ers head coach Rivers said this when summing up the fiasco. Yes, the Nets are the more scrappy team to fight in this game, the Nets play tougher than the 76ers, and it's clear that the 76ers have backed down in their fighting spirit.
Of course, Harden didn't play tough enough in this game and flinched a bit. Criticism of Harden after the game was endless. Parkinson said: "Harden went to a boxing match and found out he forgot to wear gloves! O'Neill's criticism was even more pointed: "The last 5, 6, 7 years, maybe 10 years, this is a knock on Harden." Will he stand up in the key game? You haven't stood up in a key game in a long time. "Obviously, at least in this game, Harden really failed to stand up.
But in fact, Embiid is scrappy. Embiid said in a post-game interview: "I especially wanted to help Harden get back on the court with the Nets today, but I didn't do it, I have to be ashamed of it, and I also hope that Harden will show his fighting spirit, don't be discouraged, a regular season game win or loss is not so important." ”
Therefore, if someone in a group cannot stand up in a key game, or even back down, how can this combination be compared to the OK combination? It's no wonder O'Neill angrily warns everyone to stop comparing, because the OK group never backs down in the face of challenges.
In summary, after this fiasco in this battle, it can also be proved that the combination of Harden and Embiid is far from reaching the height of the OK combination, at least not yet.