From the Nets to the 76ers
From the Brooklyn Nets to the Philadelphia 76ers, James Harden is once again on a championship-winning journey. It's not that there's no chance of winning the championship at the Nets, it's just that for a player of Harden's caliber, it's not enough to give up on himself and chase the championship. In other words, James Harden not only wants the championship, but also wants to win the championship as the core of the team. At the Nets, Harden is also the core, but it is clear that Harden did not play the basketball he wanted.
In the Houston Rockets, Harden is a big core of play with the ball, the ball needs to be given to his hands, and then the opponent is responsible for blocking and dismantling, thus deriving all the tactics. But when it comes to the Nets, Irving and Durant don't need Harden to feed the ball, they can solve all this with their personal ability. As a result, Harden has almost no tactical position at the Nets, just an organizational guard.
Coming to the Philadelphia 76ers, what's different about Harden? This team also has an offensive kaleidoscope, and that is the star of the house, Joel Embiid. As the no. 1 center in the East, Embiid is extremely dominant on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and naturally has the ability to solve problems. However, unlike Durant and Irving, Embiid can't turn on attack mode from any position on the court, he must have a teammate who is good at organizing, let him pick the ball in the right place, and then solve the problem one-on-one, James Harden is just right.
Get back to your familiar style of play
Although Embiid is still the best player of the 76ers, after Harden's arrival, the team's tactical starting point can only be him, which is also his favorite way.
Harden and Embiid's blocking can be said to be the killer of the team. Both Harden and Embiid have the league's top-notch finishing abilities, and no matter how you choose, they can make their opponents pay. Harden can also block with Harris, unlike Embiid, Embiid is down after blocking, and Harris is an external bomb, but no matter which one, the opponent cannot ignore it. In addition, Maxi also ushered in a qualitative change after Harden's arrival, thanks to Harden's attraction on the court.
The record does not lie, harden came to the 76ers, played in 9 games, achieved a record of 7 wins and 2 losses, such a record is absolutely outstanding. But even so, Harden has been questioned a lot, why?
Two bad defeats
Because the two games lost, one to the Brooklyn Nets and the other to the Denver Nuggets, both games were crucial battles. The first game against the Nets is Harden facing his old club, it is Simmons' homecoming battle, Embiid poured everything he had, again and again to create fouls, but Harden only had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists on 3-of-17 shooting, and all three goals were three-pointers. Opposite Irving and Durant, played a smooth attack, simply unstoppable. Arguably, this is the gap.
Then there is the game against the Nuggets, Embiid and Jokic, are vying for the position of the league's first center, and this season's MVP trophy, it is likely to be a choice between the two. In such an important game, although Harden had a quasi-triple-double of 24 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists, he only had 11 shots. This can't help but make many fans feel that at the critical moment, Harden is still as weak as ever, even if he is not weak, he will not stand up and take over the game. That's why people question the combination of Harden and Embiid.
Harden responded proactively
In an interview with reporters, James Harden took the initiative to respond to the feelings of this period after joining the 76ers. Harden said: "Apart from two defeats, I think things are going very well. I've talked to Embiid and I've talked to Coach Rivers and we just want to find the best position to create opportunities for myself and my teammates. The opportunity will arise and I just need to continue to be aggressive. I have to say that although there are two bad defeats, most of the time, we still see Harden's promotion and help for the team.
76ers head coach Rivers also publicly praised James Harden. I have to say that rivers do have a set: regarding Harden's passing, I would like to say that everyone knew that he would pass the ball before, but I did not expect his passing level to be so high. Obviously, today's Philadelphia 76ers really need Harden's passing, after all, their average number of assists per game is only in the seventh-to-last place in the league.