Embiid thinks it will be easy to build chemistry with Harden

If Team Durant had defeated Team LeBron Sunday night in Cleveland, Joel Embiid, who led Team Durant with 36 points and 10 rebounds, would have probably been named All-Star MVP.

However, Steph Curry had 50 points, and LeBron James made the game-winner as Team LeBron defeated Team Durant 163-160 in the 2022 NBA All-Star game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The 27-year-old Embiid is the leading candidate to win regular-season MVP. Embiid is leading the NBA in points per game as he’s averaging 29.6 points to go along with 11.2 RPG. 

Last season, the five-time All-Star was on the verge of winning the MVP award, but injuries derailed his chances.  After the All-Star break, Embiid injured his knee, which forced him to miss 10 games. He played in 51 of the team’s 72 games in 2020-21.  This season, Embiid has missed 12 games, nine due to COVID. 

According to Embiid, he’s not worried about getting injured and expects to stay healthy the rest of the way.

“The crazy thing about me is that, obviously, I haven’t gotten injured in a long time, and I haven’t missed a long period of time for a very long time,” he said after the game. “So, every single time — even when I came back from really the first three years that I missed, it never crossed my mind that I had to go easy, try to make sure that I didn’t get hurt.

“My mindset was always, like, just going on the court. Whatever happens, happens. I believe in God. I pray. I’m Catholic, so I was, like, I’m just going to do my thing. I’m going to try. I’m going to do my best. Whatever happens, happens. That’s always my mindset. Going back, obviously, I’ve done a better job taking care of myself, and this is where it’s really going to show, and this is where I even have got to do even more to make sure that the same thing doesn’t happen this year, but I’m excited. We’ve got a great team. I’ve got to play every single game, so we can all play together and really figure out how to play with each other, but it’s going to be fun.”

Before the trade deadline, Philadelphia acquired 10-time All-Star James Harden and Paul Millsap from Brooklyn for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and multiple first-round picks.

Embiid believes that building chemistry with Harden won’t be a problem.

“We got to get on the floor together and try to build chemistry,” Embiid said. “I think it’s going to be easy to build that chemistry. Everybody is on the same page. We all are trying to win a championship, so that’s the goal. I think it’s all about everybody just staying healthy and getting on the floor and us getting together and really playing together.”

The pressure is on Embiid and Harden to win an NBA title, and anything short of that, would be a disappointment.