The base and the pvot dazzled in their first three games together in the Sixers and triggered the illusions of the franchise to win a ring almost 40 years later
“We are unstoppable.” The NBA fashion couple will not lack verbiage or media focus. Joel Embiid y James Hardentwo of the most charismatic, controversial and dominating guys in world basketball have joined their destinies in the Sixers, in one of those movie market movements and, for now, everything indicates that, effectively, nobody is going to be able to stop them.
They are three victories in three games, but above all, they are the sensations, the illusion unleashed in a city that has not won a ring for almost 40 years (1983) and that has not stepped foot in a Final since 2001. Allen Iverson was the protagonist of the last golden age in Philadelphia, Julius Erving y Moses Malone they were of the long-awaited last success. Another resounding couple is what the Sixers are grabbing again.
His famous ‘Process’ has ended with a really bizarre transfer. From that tanking season (63 losses) that led to Embiid being picked at number three in the 2014 draft, to the subsequent arrival of Ben Simmons, the scorned and pointed base that has caused the earthquake. Because it was the Australian’s refusal to continue in the Sixers which meant that, after six months without playing, they found a way out for him. And the restless Harden took the opportunity to escape from the Nets and renew his ambitions.
“Philly was my first choice. I’ve known for a long time that this was my ideal place, along with the best center in the League and with Doc Rivers. I want to focus on winning the championship”, admits La Barba, impatiently with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, another project devised for the ring. His numbers in three games alongside the Cameroonian giant are extraordinary: 27.3 points, nine rebounds and 12.3 assists.
“He’s a great passer and attracts a lot of attention. I’m happy because I don’t have to post on every possession,” praises an Embiid who, far from the physical problems that never gave him the necessary continuity, praises him. he was already signing a season of scandal. A young sidekick seems to have gotten on the bandwagon with a lot to contribute as Tyrese Maxey (24.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists with them). The Sixers are third in the East, just two wins behind leader Miami, in contrast to depressed Brooklyn.
Harden’s arrival at the Sixers has an intra-story behind it, an office engineer who long ago fell in love with the ineffable point guard. When Daryl Morey said goodbye to the Rockets in 2020 after 13 years, he bought a page in the local papers to thank Harden for “changing his life.” “Not only did he transform my life, but he also revolutionized the game of basketball, and continues to do so, like almost no one has before. Basketball is played differently because of James and on every playing field in the world the next generation of talent is studying and imitating his game,” wrote the guy who made him the 2018 MVP when he was a sixth man on the Thunder.
In the pick and roll and in the spaces that both generate are the keys to understanding their chemistry. In addition, they have a difficult weapon to counter. They are two of the players who cause the most fouls on the rival and who go to the free throw line the most, with high percentages of success. In his first three games with the Sixers, Harden has thrown 29 (only missed three) and Embiid has thrown no less than 54 with 45 hits.
Morey and Harden meet again under the huge umbrella that Embiid represents and that ring that they could not achieve together in Houston -Harden never even disputed a Finals- seems, again, something tangible.
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