PHILADELPHIA — The honeymoon section between James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers remains to be going robust. After enjoying his first two video games for the franchise on the highway, Harden made his residence debut towards the New York Knicks on Wednesday night time, and the nice vibes surrounding the Sixers continued.
Harden was met with thunderous roars of applause upon his introduction, and that power carried over the course of the competition. Each basket that Harden transformed was handled like a buzzer-beater by the followers in Philly whereas the previous MVP was clearly able to reciprocate the power and placed on a present for his new, boisterous supporters. As he has since he placed on a Sixers uniform — and nearly his total profession — Harden scored the ball at a excessive charge, and he put his teammates able to do the identical.
In his 35 minutes of motion, Harden tallied 26 factors (on 8 of 13 capturing from the sphere), 9 rebounds, and 9 assists, and he helped the Sixers pull out their second straight win over the Knicks, 123-108. Joel Embiid had one other MVP-caliber efficiency and added 27 factors and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, whereas Tyrese Maxey had his third straight 20-point sport, scoring 25 factors to associate with 4 rebounds and three assists. Each of these guys have excelled enjoying alongside Harden early on, which is not tremendous stunning, as Harden’s sheer presence out on the ground has opened issues up for all of his new teammates.
Within the three video games he has performed with the Sixers thus far, Harden has amassed these totals:
- 82 factors
- 37 assists
- 27 rebounds
Within the course of, Harden grew to become the primary participant within the NBA to common 25 factors and 10 assists in his first three video games with a franchise since Allen Iverson — a man who Sixers followers are fairly aware of — did so with the Denver Nuggets in 2006. Mockingly sufficient, Iverson posted a message of assist for Harden hours earlier than tipoff on Monday night time.
Although he is properly often called an all-time elite offensive expertise, Harden hasn’t garnered the identical status in terms of protection. However, whereas his degree of engagement on the defensive finish of the ground has been questioned prior to now, he has put forth a noticeable effort on that finish since he began suiting up for the Sixers. The cost he drew on R.J. Barrett within the second quarter is an efficient instance of the hassle he has put in on that finish:
Clearly, the sort of exertion must be maintained, but when Harden’s early effort is indicative of his degree of dedication at this level in his profession, then that is an important signal for the Sixers. Along with his defensive dedication, what has been particularly spectacular about Harden’s early video games with the Sixers is how easily every little thing appears to be coming collectively.
Harden and Embiid had been best enhances for one another on paper, however there’s usually a studying curve when two gamers of their caliber hyperlink up for the primary time. That hasn’t been the case right here, as Embiid and Harden have instantly discovered a stable rhythm enjoying off of one another. They have not stepped on every others’ toes, however moderately have simply made life simpler for one another. Embiid hasn’t needed to shoulder as a lot of the offensive load as he has prior to now, and neither has Harden.
Harden is not forcing issues both. He is shot properly over 50 % from the sphere in all three video games, and he has been extraordinarily proactive in terms of transferring the ball. He additionally has a knack for understanding when the Sixers want him to be aggressive and search for his personal offense, and he has delivered in such conditions.
After the sport on Monday night time, the most recent Sixer mentioned what it was wish to play in Philadelphia as a member of the staff, moderately than as an opponent. “It was nice,” he mentioned. “The joy from the start of the sport. I felt the power, I felt the love.
“So I wished to only come on the market and present my love again. I simply wished to play properly on each ends of the ball and in the end get the win. We began off somewhat gradual particularly within the first half for no matter cause, however second half we picked it up. We had been extra aggressive on each ends of the ball and we performed our model of basketball.”
Whereas Harden is not accustomed to the Philly devoted having his again, Embiid is, and the large man left the night impressed with the ambiance that the followers generated to welcome Harden to his new basketball residence.
“It felt like a playoff ambiance,” Embiid mentioned. “I’ve given a variety of credit score to Philly followers over time they usually all the time come by way of. Win or lose, they present as much as assist, whether or not it is cheering for us or booing us. That is what you need. You need followers to be concerned, you need followers to know every little thing about their basketball staff and that is what we’ve in Philly.”
Three video games are far too small of a pattern dimension to leap to any sweeping conclusions about how good the Sixers really are (or who gained the commerce between them and the Nets). However we’ll be taught rather more in regards to the staff’s true mettle within the coming weeks. For now, the early returns with Harden within the lineup have been as promising as anybody within the Sixers group might have hoped for.
