CAMDEN, N.J. — Joel Embiid and James Harden have brought the Philadelphia 76ers closer and closer to championship contention together. The Sixers stars have put in the time and effort to work well together and the results have given Philly its cleanest look at a championship in the Embiid era.
While Embiid is still getting up a high volume of looks as he pursues his second scoring title, he has made tweaks to his game to fit better with Harden. The Sixers superstar is more willing to set screens and roll than ever and sets up shop more from the nail and elbows so that teams have tougher times doubling him. And Harden has leaned more into playmaking while taking catch-and-shoot threes more frequently.
After the Sixers' practice on Tuesday, Georges Niang said that Harden changing his game to adapt to his (relatively) new team isn't appreciated enough. “Now, he has completely brought into being just completely unselfish and getting everybody else shots and getting everybody else in their spots,” he said. “And then you see in the Milwaukee game that he's also capable of putting us on his back and scoring a ton of points to help us win…It's a credit to him and how bad he wants to win to know that what the team needs is more important than personal goals. You rarely find that in this day and age and in the sport.”
Niang also said that seeing Embiid and Harden change their games are “absolutely” reasons why it's easier to buy into the goal of winning a championship. The bench forward also noted how deep the Sixers go with guys that can step up.
“Like, who are me or anybody else to not fix their game to fit into what the team needs if those guys are gonna buy in? I think those guys have done a tremendous job of leading the way,” Niang said. “We also have unsung heroes like [De'Antony Melton], Tobias [Harris], Tyrese [Maxey]. Jalen [McDaniels] has come in and done a great job. Paul Reed has done phenomenal. [Danuel House Jr.] to be out of the rotation for a while then come in and give us valuable minutes. I think every guy is just ready for their opportunity and gonna take advantage of every opportunity that's given to them.”
All the work that Joel Embiid and James Harden put into their games is for the Sixers' title hopes. They have wrecked defenses together and want to keep it going until June. Opportunities like these don't come around often and, especially with Harden being a free agent this summer, they know it. Niang recalled a message from Doc Rivers after the Sixers lost a disappointing game to the Miami Heat that has helped the team realize what's at stake.
“Hey, you may have another chance at this but for most of you, you may not. And you don’t wanna sit back when your career is over and be like damn, I wish I took that a little more serious,” Rivers told the team, per Niang. The Sixers forward said that the message has resonated with players and has made them more intensely want to “pour into each other and make the most of this so that we can win a championship.”
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