NBA (DR) / FOX (DR) / Pierre Haessig
By Guillaume K. | Sports journalist
If the divorce between Philadelphia and James Harden took place in stormy conditions, the franchise does not regret its choice after an excellent start to the campaign. Nicolas Batum is no stranger to this… By praising the Frenchman recently, the president of basketball operations Daryl Morey took the opportunity to tackle The Beard underwater.
Beyond the enormous performances of Joel Embiid, who averages 36 points per game, the Sixers have generally had a superb start to the season. With 29 victories for 13 defeats, Nick Nurse’s men are comfortably installed on the podium of the Eastern Conference, just behind the Celtics and the Bucks. Impressive as they suffered a major upheaval at the end of October, with the departure of James Harden.
The duo with the Cameroonian ultimately never worked, but we could fear a decline in performance after The Beard’s transfer to the Clippers. Instead, Philadelphia is doing very well thanks to Tyrese Maxey taking over, but also thanks to the newcomers who are doing the job. This concerns in particular a certain Nicolas Batum, ultra-precious as President Daryl Morey recently explained:
Daryl Morey raves about Embiid and Nico Batum
Last night Daryl Morey joined us from the Sixers gala and had a lot to say about how his team is playing this year. Here are some of the highlights. https://t.co/s1P62AKQqC
— 97.5 The Fanatic (@975TheFanatic) January 18, 2024
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The two guys you mentioned (Nicolas Batum and Marcus Morris). Both give more than we initially thought. Marcus is from Philadelphia. Yesterday he gave us a ton of good minutes. Nic may be Joel’s best partner for this type of player since Joel has been here. I know Joel feels this way.
It’s obviously great to hear about the legend of the Blues, but it’s impossible not to detect a slight dig at James Harden. To put it simply, Morey suggests that the understanding between Batman and Embiid is much better than could have been the case with the superstar. Especially since the manager went on to declare that he was demoting the 2018 MVP in favor of The Process:
I never thought I would have someone under me who would beat James Harden. I’ve had a lot of great players. Tracy McGrady, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard. But what Joel is doing right now is hard to understand. On both sides, attack and defense. The approach he brings every night and the leadership he has shown this group. I never thought this would happen, but it’s great.
Three months after the transfer of James Harden, it seems that the Sixers have won with an extremely solid team structure. No wonder Daryl Morey is so satisfied, he who is completely at odds with his former player.
2024-01-24 06:50:00
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