Recently, the Philadelphia 76ers have gained a fierce momentum, unknowingly winning three straight games, not only against the mighty Bucks, but also to play the performance that the team needs in the game. Embiid, the core of the team, is both offensive and defensive, averaging 35 points, contributing 33.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, and he was also selected for the 2022-2023 All-Star Team with his outstanding individual, and he has repeatedly played 60+ horror statistics. Earlier, head coach Douglievers couldn't help but praise the six-time All-Star in an interview with the media: Embiid is the most talented player I have ever coached, and although such remarks have caused a lot of controversy, his all-round and complete defeat of Garnett in the 08 season can make the championship coach fearlessly support.
Embiid's influence on and off the court is unprecedented, his jerseys are selling well, driving the economic development of the city of Philadelphia, and his rise has become the biggest obstacle to Jokic's three-time MVP, even if Embiid wants to compete for regular season MVP, but the current priority is to help the city, lift an O'Brien trophy, fulfill the fans' long-cherished wish, and at the same time regret Harden. The nearly 34-year-old Dengo still retains the possibility of rushing for the championship, but his role in any team has gradually decreased, and under Rivers' recent changes, the once flying Rockets have become a role player, becoming the biggest support on Philadelphia's road to the championship.
Replaying Philadelphia's win over the Bucks, Rivers rarely praised Harden: he has become an aggressive point guard, especially in the second half of the change, his blocking cooperation with George Niang is very exciting, successfully helping the team stabilize the situation, but in key moments, Harden was in a state of stealth throughout the process, using his vision and pass control technology to assist the output of the whole team, perhaps fans will praise Rivers' change of formation to achieve miraculous results, but against the Indiana Pacers, Harden contributed a famous scene and faced the defense with a three-pointer, But he was angrily sprayed by the head coach during the timeout, knowing that he had to endure a lot of criticism as the scoring champion of the NBA, and he scored 14 points on 3-of-11 shooting, plus 20 assists.
According to Keith Pompeo of the Philadelphia Inquirer, James Harden publicly questioned after the game: I don't know what they want from me, since I entered the league, I have been repeating this for a long time, trying to control what is about to happen, affecting the game as much as possible, and now I am one of the most consistent players in this league. The words between the lines reveal helplessness, his position in the team is too humble, if not for his initiative to reduce his salary in the offseason, Philadelphia would have easily acquired role players and enhanced bench depth.
General manager Morey in the offseason, brought in Harden's former teammates House, PJ Tucker and Harrell, the three of them did not perform satisfactorily in the new season, Tucker played a stable time, but the role on the offensive end was not obvious, Harrell and House became the rotation at the end of the team's bench, I have to admire Rivers' use of troops like a god, in the face of all kinds of unpleasantness, Harden did not complain to the media madly, but the small actions off the court made the management shudder. Since Christmas, Warshen broke the news that Harden will return to the Rockets in the offseason, and immediately the league rumors have been circulating, and then Dengo successfully hired former Adidas executive Troy Payne as his full-time agent, which is very clear.
Harden can also get a 4-year maximum salary contract in the offseason, he will seize the last chance of his career, the Houston Rockets are one of the few teams with more than 60 million salary space, and news broke that Harden is close to the Rockets community, his family lives there, perhaps, Harden's return to the Rockets in the offseason will be a foregone conclusion, but regardless of the outcome, it would be wise to leave Philadelphia, even if he misses the championship.