Welcome James Harden!

[76ciology]

Him trying on defense has been a revelation. Hes strong as a ox , with long arms and with a little effort has been above average team defender in the playoffs so far.

Dont @ me. But he’s like SG version of Draymond Green in G2.

[LordCovington33]

Him trying on defense has been a revelation. Hes strong as a ox , with long arms and with a little effort has been above average team defender in the playoffs so far.

Dont @ me. But he’s like SG version of Draymond Green in G2.

He’s very focused right now. You can tell how badly he wants it. He’s not shooting great, but there’s definitely a lot of intensity in other parts on his game.

[Ferry Avenue]

Harden is definitely having a positive impact on the team and making a strong contribution, but against the likes of Brooklyn/Milwaukee/Boston/Miami the team may need "Houston Harden" and that doesn't look to be forthcoming. That could be the difference against teams of that caliber.

They have to continue to feature Maxey and set him up to be well-established in that role by the time those series come along. Last night they had a 20-2 scoring drought in which Maxey barely touched the ball. That can't happen.

[phillynative]

Harden is definitely having a positive impact on the team and making a strong contribution, but against the likes of Brooklyn/Milwaukee/Boston/Miami the team may need "Houston Harden" and that doesn't look to be forthcoming. That could be the difference against teams of that caliber.

They have to continue to feature Maxey and set him up to be well-established in that role by the time those series come along. Last night they had a 20-2 scoring drought in which Maxey barely touched the ball. That can't happen.

Looking at a team like the celtics they have a bunch of guys that can switch and stay on him. This is why its unfortunate Harden never developed a post game, with his size and skill just to not have his game be so telegraphed. Maxeys speed should still play a factor against elite defense but the celtics will make him be a decision maker. He had a bunch of straight line drives against the raptors because their "bigs" were afraid to leave Embiid under the basket. Celtics recover quickly and have enough size to stay on Embiid and have one of their wings come over to help defend, thats where Maxey has to make the decision to swing it to the open man. The best option against that team will be continuoulsly moving the ball and not letting them load up on you every time down.

[76ciology]

Right now the team is running this Maxey-Harden 2 man game. Looks funny, but because Maxey is super fast, teams put a small guy on him. So after the 2 man game, a smaller defender would then be on Harden (i.e. Malachi Flynn) where its easier for Harden to score.

[Ferry Avenue]

It would be nice if the Sixers can sweep the Raptors and the Hawks can win a couple games against Miami so the Sixers can get some rest between the two series.

[Ferry Avenue]

Harden is definitely having a positive impact on the team and making a strong contribution, but against the likes of Brooklyn/Milwaukee/Boston/Miami the team may need "Houston Harden" and that doesn't look to be forthcoming. That could be the difference against teams of that caliber.

They have to continue to feature Maxey and set him up to be well-established in that role by the time those series come along. Last night they had a 20-2 scoring drought in which Maxey barely touched the ball. That can't happen.

Looking at a team like the celtics they have a bunch of guys that can switch and stay on him. This is why its unfortunate Harden never developed a post game, with his size and skill just to not have his game be so telegraphed. Maxeys speed should still play a factor against elite defense but the celtics will make him be a decision maker. He had a bunch of straight line drives against the raptors because their "bigs" were afraid to leave Embiid under the basket. Celtics recover quickly and have enough size to stay on Embiid and have one of their wings come over to help defend, thats where Maxey has to make the decision to swing it to the open man. The best option against that team will be continuoulsly moving the ball and not letting them load up on you every time down.

I think all that will be moot because Brooklyn will beat the Celtics in the series. If I'm a Celtics fan I'm not feeling good about how it took a last-second basket to beat that team at home in game 1.

[SixthStreet]

It will be interesting to see how the Heat defend this new Maxey-Harden ball screening action. A lot has been said of how Harden makes the game easier for Maxey but Maxey's screening definitely makes the floor more exploitable for Harden. Both these guys are going to search and destroy Herro. It won't be pretty for them.

[the_process]

It will be interesting to see how the Heat defend this new Maxey-Harden ball screening action. A lot has been said of how Harden makes the game easier for Maxey but Maxey's screening definitely makes the floor more exploitable for Harden. Both these guys are going to search and destroy Herro. It won't be pretty for them.

Don't assume Miami wins. ATL shot horribly Game 1. That won't happen every game.

[the_process]

Harden has clearly lost a step even though he's not 100%. That being said, he has been trying to empower Maxey and Tobias since he got here. So far, so good. Those two continue on in the playoffs at their current level and the Sixers will be competitive against anyone.

They are in a really tough spot in the offseason though. Harden has to get a deal more in line with what CP3 just got, not some 50M abomination.

Be much easier if James just opts in for now.

[Jailblazers7]

Harden has been awesome outside of a couple rough moments last game. Good effort, great passing, a step back 3 here & there, and he’s breaking down his defender 1on1 pretty consistently. The way he makes passes is so brilliant. There was a moment where Tobias’ was drifting at the 3 point line and Harden threw a pass that forced him to cut leading to a Tobias drive & kick for an open 3. His passing really helps reinforce the need for Tobias to play quickly and we’re seeing the dividends there.

There will be moments when his lack of scoring becomes an issue (I’m a little nervous about PJ Tucker guarding him) but all the other parts of his game are clicking.

[Jaxon101]

Harden has been awesome outside of a couple rough moments last game. Good effort, great passing, a step back 3 here & there, and he’s breaking down his defender 1on1 pretty consistently. The way he makes passes is so brilliant. There was a moment where Tobias’ was drifting at the 3 point line and Harden threw a pass that forced him to cut leading to a Tobias drive & kick for an open 3. His passing really helps reinforce the need for Tobias to play quickly and we’re seeing the dividends there.

There will be moments when his lack of scoring becomes an issue (I’m a little nervous about PJ Tucker guarding him) but all the other parts of his game are clicking.

He’s a BB genius

Not worried about PJ he had too good of handles to have him bother him at all.

[76ciology]

I think Harden can blow past anyone right now.

The problem is his ability to score at the rim or off those drives.

The root of the problem is you see guys like Scottie Barnes or OG at him. And these guys are bigger than him that they can deflect his shot when they recover after Harden blow past them. Another issue is it negates the Harden-Embiid PnR where Raps are OK having OG or Barnes defending Embiid 1v1, off the switch.

The solution is for Harden to hunt the weak defender off the 2 man game as our primary action. In the Raps series, its the quick but small defender on Maxey. In the future series, it maybe the weak defender on Thybulle. Whereas Maxey, Thybulle or Harris can be the initial option of our offense off the 2 man game. The delay in switch allows Maxey to blow past the defense, Thybulle can slip off the screen and Harris can pop or do his thing.

And if the initial action is denied, the partner in the action can dump the ball to embiid or Harden with the weak defender just runs a 2 man game with Embiid Or Harden just breaks down the defense and kicks it to open shooter.

If we face the heat, expect Harden to hunt Herro, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson.

[M2J]

Harden has been awesome outside of a couple rough moments last game. Good effort, great passing, a step back 3 here & there, and he’s breaking down his defender 1on1 pretty consistently. The way he makes passes is so brilliant. There was a moment where Tobias’ was drifting at the 3 point line and Harden threw a pass that forced him to cut leading to a Tobias drive & kick for an open 3. His passing really helps reinforce the need for Tobias to play quickly and we’re seeing the dividends there.

There will be moments when his lack of scoring becomes an issue (I’m a little nervous about PJ Tucker guarding him) but all the other parts of his game are clicking.

That bounce pass to Tobi was so slick. Very Kidd like

[SixthStreet]

Hopefully close this out Saturday and get Harden some recovery time and maybe Atlanta can not get swept. Only played 38 tonight and got fortunate a bit to win the game with him fouled out. The extra 5 minutes would have sapped strength for a couple weeks afterwards.

[elchengue20]

Its very important to sweep them so we can get James as much rest as possible.

[mjkvol]

Yep, no taking our feet off the gas. Complete the sweep and hope that Atlanta can make that at least a six game series.

[Ben]

Harden has clearly lost a step even though he's not 100%. That being said, he has been trying to empower Maxey and Tobias since he got here. So far, so good. Those two continue on in the playoffs at their current level and the Sixers will be competitive against anyone.

They are in a really tough spot in the offseason though. Harden has to get a deal more in line with what CP3 just got, not some 50M abomination.

Be much easier if James just opts in for now.

Just saw this post. It's pretty much what I've been thinking for a couple of weeks now. In terms of the future, the best thing might have been for the Sixers to lose in the first round if that might have meant the FO replacing Doc Rivers and refusing to max Harden. And the worst thing might be getting just far enough into the playoffs that the FO is tempted indeed to max Harden. He's so clearly past his prime that, while certainly a useful and canny player, a many-year max deal will likely hamstring the team and formalize the death of The Process. Best hope is that might agree to leave money on the table and try to recruit another star if they can offload Tobi's deal.

Not that this is really news to most folks here.

[76ciology]

Most ISO possessions in the league.

Second highest points per possessions in ISO among guys with 7.0 iso possessions per game.

2020-2021: 7.8 possessions
2021-2022: 8.7 possessions

[Ferry Avenue]

Harden has clearly lost a step even though he's not 100%. That being said, he has been trying to empower Maxey and Tobias since he got here. So far, so good. Those two continue on in the playoffs at their current level and the Sixers will be competitive against anyone.

They are in a really tough spot in the offseason though. Harden has to get a deal more in line with what CP3 just got, not some 50M abomination.

Be much easier if James just opts in for now.

Just saw this post. It's pretty much what I've been thinking for a couple of weeks now. In terms of the future, the best thing might have been for the Sixers to lose in the first round if that might have meant the FO replacing Doc Rivers and refusing to max Harden. And the worst thing might be getting just far enough into the playoffs that the FO is tempted indeed to max Harden. He's so clearly past his prime that, while certainly a useful and canny player, a many-year max deal will likely hamstring the team and formalize the death of The Process. Best hope is that might agree to leave money on the table and try to recruit another star if they can offload Tobi's deal.

Not that this is really news to most folks here.

The Sixers' hopes for a championship this season continue to hinge on whether Harden can be counted on to score in the clutch in "Houston Harden" fashion, as the second around and ECF will feature competition that makes that necessary in my opinion. The team will simply need at least the threat of Harden's playing with that capacity to have the offensive firepower to win games on the road in those series.

With only "Philly Harden" this team has the talent to beat Toronto on the road in the playoffs, but it won't have enough to win on the road against Miami/Boston/Brooklyn/Milwaukee if it has "Philly Harden" as opposed to "Houston Harden." And unfortunately if they can't win on the road, they can't win a series beyond the first round unless it's against Brooklyn.

We saw how tough it was to win on the road against Toronto the other night. That'll be significantly more difficult against the better remaining teams in the East. What I'd like to see Saturday is Harden come out and get 30+ in "Houston Harden" fashion and let that spur a win in a way that sets the table for the second round. I'd even settle for a loss Saturday if it helps establish Harden in that capacity, assuming it can be sustained.