This season, Joel Embiid and James Harden have been perfect together. Embiid is second in the NBA in points per game(33.1), and Harden leads the NBA in assists per game(10.8).
They way things are going, Embiid and Harden could be the first teammates in over 40 years to lead the league in points and assists per game.
More importantly, the 76ers are 38-19, third in the Eastern Conference.
Embiid and Harden have played well off each other, and according to Hoops Muse, Harden has assisted on 167 of Embiid’s 496 field goals this season. No duo in the NBA is better.
After the All-Star Game, where Embiid scored 32 points, he talked about his first full season with Harden.
“It’s been great. I mean, since last year, you know, we’ve been growing every single day,” Embiid said. “Obviously, it’s been, what, about a year since we’ve been playing together. It takes a lot of time to have a connection with somebody, but I feel like from the beginning, we already had that connection. The way we play off of each other, I think obviously you can always get better, but I think we’re on the right path.”
Embiid has yet to get past the second round of the playoffs, and based on the roster’s makeup, they have to win now. Embiid is 28 and will turn 29 next month, and Harden is 33 and can opt out of his contract at the season’s end. Another second-round exit would be a huge disappointment, and anything short of the NBA Finals would be disappointing.
At this point, are the 76ers better than the Bucks and Celtics? Probably not, but can they compete with those teams? For sure; however, competing is not enough; they need to win. For that to happen, Embiid, who has been battling a foot injury, must be at his best and healthy. Unfortunately, that has been a problem in the postseason, including last season when he missed the first two games of Philly’s second-round series against the Heat.
However, that was last season, and maybe Embiid will change that narrative in this year’s playoffs.
