Of course, Joel Embiid was the main architect of the Sixers’ victory against the Hornets, with his 53 points and 12 rebounds, but he was not the only one to stand out. Besides the Cameroonian, this is how James Harden who also did a lot of damage to Charlotte’s defense (131 points conceded…), both in scoring and creation.
Indeed, on the verge of a triple-double with his 19 points, 9 rebounds and 16 assists, the 2018 MVP undoubtedly delivered one of his best games of the season, forcing almost nothing offensively: 6/12 on shots , including 3/8 at 3-pts, 4/5 at throws and 4 lost balls.
” james [Harden] has been amazing. He was a leader, facilitator and scorer at the same time. This is exactly what we were talking about and it was phenomenal to see », judged after the fact his coach, Doc Rivers.
Already valuable against the Lakers on Friday night (28 points, including 9 in overtime, with also 12 assists), who had also conceded 133 points in Pennsylvania, James Harden gave the cover against the Hornets, unable to find any solution in front of all his offensive mastery.
” [Je prends] just the possessions one after the other “, told the main interested party, in a press conference. ” I saw that Joel [Embiid] was on a big night, so it was just legit to give him the ball. De’Anthony [Melton] also scored a few 3-point shots and tried to serve him. In fact, I simply tried to find the right mix, the right balance in terms of scoring. »
The key to Philadelphia’s success?
In addition to penalizing his defenders himself when they leave him too much space, James Harden takes pleasure in cutting up defenses with Joel Embiid, especially on pick and roll. On the pitch, the connection between the two men is becoming more and more natural, and all the danger they pose offers opportunities for other players to Philadelphiasuch as Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton or Shake Milton.
“ When Joel [Embiid] is in a big night, our shooters and our other players need opportunities, because if everyone is at their best, plays well and registers their shots, then it will be very difficult to beat us added the conductor from Philly. “ It gives us that confidence and that energy to push through defense and get some stops. [Le match d’hier soir] was the perfect example. »
This bodes well for the future, as the Sixers (14 wins – 12 losses, 5th in the East) are still trying to find their cruising speed collectively.
The good news is that their defense is in place (109.5 at Defensive Ratingthe 4th best in the league) and that they “just have to” get up to speed in attack (112.2 to theOffensive Rating, the 14th best in the league). But with the rise of James Harden and the imminent return of Tyrese Maxey, there is a good chance that Doc Rivers’ men will (finally) find the right formula…
| James Harden | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2009-10 | OKAY | 76 | 23 | 40.3 | 37.5 | 80.8 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 9.9 |
| 2010-11 | OKAY | 82 | 27 | 43.6 | 34.9 | 84.3 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 12.2 |
| 2011-12 | OKAY | 62 | 31 | 49.1 | 39.0 | 84.6 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 16.8 |
| 2012-13 | HOO | 78 | 38 | 43.8 | 36.8 | 85.1 | 0.8 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 25.9 |
| 2013-14 | HOO | 73 | 38 | 45.6 | 36.6 | 86.6 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 6.1 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 3.6 | 0.4 | 25.4 |
| 2014-15 | HOO | 81 | 37 | 44.0 | 37.5 | 86.8 | 0.9 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 27.4 |
| 2015-16 | HOO | 82 | 38 | 43.9 | 35.9 | 86.0 | 0.8 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 4.6 | 0.6 | 29.0 |
| 2016-17 | HOO | 81 | 36 | 44.0 | 34.7 | 84.7 | 1.2 | 7.0 | 8.1 | 11.2 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 5.7 | 0.5 | 29.1 |
| 2017-18 ★ | HOO | 72 | 35 | 44.9 | 36.7 | 85.8 | 0.6 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 8.8 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 4.4 | 0.7 | 30.4 |
| 2018-19 | HOO | 78 | 37 | 44.2 | 36.8 | 87.9 | 0.9 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 0.7 | 36.1 |
| 2019-20 | HOO | 68 | 37 | 44.4 | 35.5 | 86.5 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 0.9 | 34.3 |
| 2020-21 * | All Teams | 44 | 37 | 46.6 | 36.2 | 86.1 | 0.8 | 7.1 | 7.9 | 10.8 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 24.6 |
| 2020-21 * | BRK | 36 | 37 | 47.1 | 36.6 | 85.6 | 0.8 | 7.7 | 8.5 | 10.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 24.6 |
| 2020-21 * | HOO | 8 | 36 | 44.4 | 34.7 | 88.3 | 0.6 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 10.4 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 24.8 |
| 2021-22 * | All Teams | 65 | 37 | 41.0 | 33.0 | 87.7 | 0.9 | 6.9 | 7.7 | 10.3 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 4.4 | 0.6 | 22.0 |
| 2021-22 * | BRK | 44 | 37 | 41.4 | 33.2 | 86.9 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 10.2 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 22.5 |
| 2021-22 * | PHL | 21 | 38 | 40.2 | 32.6 | 89.2 | 0.6 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 10.5 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 21.1 |
| 2022-23 | PHL | 11 | 38 | 42.0 | 34.2 | 91.9 | 0.6 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 9.9 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 22.5 |
| Total | 953 | 35 | 44.2 | 36.1 | 86.0 | 0.8 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 6.8 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 24.9 | |
