Since James Harden joined the 76ers, Embiid has experienced career ups and downs in half a month. After Harden joined the seven games, with March 11 as the watershed, the 76ers can be described as a double day of ice and fire. As the team that knows Harden best in the world, the Nets took the lead in setting an example and showed everyone how to defend Harden perfectly. Sure enough, Harden's defensive strategy against the Nets is helpless, and Harden's poor performance may continue.
In the game against the Magic, Harden's performance was still not improving, with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, shooting only 26% from the field. In this campaign, Harden and Embiid combined to score 28 free throws, while the Magic only had 20 free throws. If it weren't for the referee's care, the 76ers would most likely suffer two consecutive defeats. We won't discuss the rationale for Harden and Embiid to get these free throws, but the truth is that they did win the game on free throws. The last two games have not only exposed Harden's problems, but Embiid can also be regarded as the original form. The sluggish performance of two consecutive games may directly lead to Embiid's exit in the MVP competition, burying the previous good situation. Not only that, but the competition for the scoring champion is also extremely fierce, LeBron has been in hot form recently, and if Embiid continues this offensive state, then he will end up with a two-handed end of the season.
A month ago, Embiid was one of the strong contenders for MVP and was highly likely to achieve the feat of leading scorer + regular season MVP. However, in the last two games, Embiid has undoubtedly used a poor performance to tell the world how much moisture his data contains. Jokic and Embiid are both giant centers, but Jokic's dominance on the offensive end is difficult for Embiid to match. However, Embiid also has the league's top offensive influence, and combined with his advantage on the defensive end, he and Jokic can also play a draw. Now it seems that Jokic's insoluble performance on the offensive end is not a star and a half away from Embidra. In the meantime, Embiid's excessive reliance on the referee's whistle has caused dissatisfaction among many players in the league, and for a player's offensive ability, too many free throws is also a major deduction point. In today's offensive era, it is clear that Jokic is more in line with the requirements of the MVP. At present, defensive data performance and record are embiid's only two remaining advantages. We shouldn't be surprised if, after the season, Embiid is not awarded in the individual honors.
Harden's poor personal performances in the last two games are also one of the reasons Embiid has been deeply troubled on the offensive end. In just 4 games, Harden and Embiid's blocking and dismantling cooperation has been dismantled to pieces. As you can see from today's game, the number of blocks between Harden and Embiid has decreased sharply in the second half, and the 76ers have lost confidence in it. As Harden's attacking abilities decline, opponents will not hesitate to shrink once Harden and Embiid launch a block, piling up defensive resources in the box while freeing up the 76ers' low-quality shooters. So this created a situation where Embiid was surrounded by multiple players on the inside, making the attack unsustainable.
Speaking of Harden's problem, if Harden's ball-holding offense does not have the desired effect, then Harden will be obsessed with winning free throws by creating fouls. Harden did get 15 free throws in this game, but apparently that didn't solve the 76ers' offensive problem, and the team still had a very hard time winning. You know, the Magic is a team competing for the title, 2 points of narrow victory is really not deserved, not because of how good the Magic's overall play, but the 76ers two offensive cores have problems. Just think, in the playoffs, will the referee still take such care of Harden, and harden's average score per game will not be in double figures. The strongest offense is always on your own, not on the subjective judgment of others. Over the years, Harden has relied on free throws to win the scoring king, and has also won the MVP, but he has also suffered losses in the playoffs, and Harden should not continue to obsess.
After the trade deadline, 76 people were completely exposed to the spotlight, and the league should give some care. After the dividend period, without the care of the referee whistle, how far can Harden and Embiid go? Compared with Embiid, Harden is more worrying, because Harden's problem is solved, and Embiid can naturally play comfortably and efficiently.