Three games in the James Harden experience and it was a celebration of love.
The Philadelphia 76ers are already two games from first place in the suddenly fierce Eastern Conference. At 38-23, they are only second behind the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat in first place.
To date, 538 predicts that Philly will finish second in the East and will host the winner of the opening of the Cavs-Nets Play-In for the first round. Imagine this? Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons guest for the playoffs? I guess I would get involved if I wasn’t too busy. This is not your grandfather’s East.
The Sixers had little trouble smoothing out the Minnesota Timberwolves in Harden’s debut for the Sixers. Then in the back half of the house and at home against the Knicks of RJ Barrett (get used to that phrase), Joel Embiid and Sim. they celebrated their third consecutive victory. The life of South Beard St.
84% of Philadelphia men have beards, but I bet T-shirts fly
– Jimmy Harden (@_JimmyMcCormick) March 2, 2022
Harden, Embiid and Tyrese Maxey were just great in three games together.
The leader of the MVP league changed his mind after the emotional home debut for his new teammate. Embiid gave us some funny quotes about his new electric tandem for the back court, the culture of the Sixers, he made a swing in Colangelos, refused to participate in Kobe-and-Shaq and many others.
Let’s unpack.
About the arena atmosphere
There was definitely some trepidation on Wednesday night in the first half. Harden says that he can feel some butterflies because of all the love he received from the fans.
And at least on my TV show, the stadium sounded like a library of moments in the first half when the Knicks had a double-digit lead. But maybe Doc Rivers broke the tension at halftime. The Sixers made a ridiculous 38-19 third quarter rally and the jungle soon shook, as Kevin Garnett can say.
“It was great. I felt like a play-off atmosphere,” Embiid told reporters after the 123-108 victory. “They applaud us or boo us. That’s what you want. You want the fans to be involved, you want the fans to know everything about their basketball team, and that’s what we have at Philly.”
Joel is not kidding here. Sixers fans are very engaged. When Furkan Korkmaz, who is fighting hard, missed a three, then turned it over, he heard it from the fans. When Tobias Harris didn’t make a wide open three-pointer he caught and shot, the stadium groaned and you could see that Embiid showed some disappointment in the video below. This collective moan shouts “Toby, we don’t mind if you miss it, just shoot this” and it reflects the BBALL IQ of this fan base:
Philly fans know all the storylines, among the stars and role-players, and let you know as soon as those storylines come to life on hardwood.
Is Max’s rise a surprise?
“No. He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever been with,” Embid said. “He shows up – it doesn’t matter if he’s back to back or not – he’ll show up the next day at 8am. and he’ll get to work. So I’m not surprised. I always knew it was going to happen, and I’m just happy to see him play the way he is right now. But he has a long way to go. “
Jimmy Butler is known for showing up at a training base and telling us about it at 3 in the morning. And that became a troll-worthy hoax when JB left. These are things that can be annoying when the dude is no longer on your team, but is also part of what makes a profitable culture.
Butler was an instant favorite at Wells Fargo, and Maxi absorbed much of that energy during his short stay.
Maxie has hints of Jimmy Butler’s energy in Wales
– DaveEarly (@DavidEarly) June 2, 2021
And whatever catches fans seems to help shape the Sixers’ current culture. Embiid is obviously impressed with the ethics of the 21-year-old and that’s huge.
About the Sixers culture
“We’ve been building culture over the years,” Embid said. “I’ve been here for a long time and obviously this has changed over the years because we had so many people coming in and out, whether it was the front office or the players or the coaches. But we managed to keep it. It was an easy transition to get in here, knowing that they come and see what we have built in the past, how close we are together. We do a lot of things together; we are so close. We are always hanging out, we are always having fun. So I think it became easy. “
Embiid talks about the full range of his career here. It’s amazing that he’s been a Sixer for almost eight years. And of course, he means the Process, the losers, the transfer of the list, the mess of Colangelo and Collaborative, who squandered so many of the assets once carefully stored, blah, blah ….
But you can also hear what he’s been saying through the lens of the last six months, in particular.
The non-Ben Simmons Sixers apparently got off the court because of this saga, a star player who didn’t want to play, forcing everyone else to mask the missing elements, while asking questions about it all season … and (extreme voice of Mark Zumoff ) oh, by the way, most of you had to live with the wonder of whether you would be changed and you would have to move because this person didn’t want to play here.
So the Sixers gathered off the court. This cohesion is with them today. More importantly, the skills they developed (Embiid as a passer, Maxey as a weapon with a ball) elevated them to heights that many had never imagined. The fact that Harden is here obviously adds to that joy.
Joel rejects mostly Kobe-Shaq compositions
Embid was asked if Harden and he were like the new Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neill.
“We have to win. I’m Joel Embiid. I don’t play like Shaq. I am dominant in other respects. I’m not as physically dominant as he is. He was a terrible monster when he played; obviously a member of the Hall of Fame, one of the best so far. But I’m Joel Embiid. I dominate the basketball court in other ways, as far as I do. James does the same thing as a goal scorer and playmaker. “
Joel goes on to say that it’s not just about him or Harden. It’s about all of them. And they have to lift each other up.
I’m a little curious if Embid would agree if the reporter suggested Michael and Scotty. Or OKC Harden and Durant. Maybe he just doesn’t like the idea of being great because he has so many skills. Next time….
A little more about the culture of the Sixers and its new back court
“I think everything goes back to the culture we built, the system we have. (Tyrese) came here from the time we told him how to play and how it would go; he just adapts. James is the same way. He came in, added everything he was great at, and we took advantage of that. But as I always say, I go back to culture. We have a great coaching staff and I have a lot of great teammates. ”
The cynic in me is probably talking, but I think you have to win a championship before the national media broadcasts that there is something special in the culture of your team. We hear about heat culture and Spurs culture.
The phrase “jazz culture” sounds more like a leap towards the turbulent 20s than something related to Rudy Gober.
But I’m also not inclined to reject what Joel says here. It feels like this team is experiencing some joy. This collective sigh of relief. This core mostly wants to be here and they have a chance to win everything. It is difficult to quantify these things.
Oh, the good days of Bernergate
Here’s a fun back and forth between Embid and Maxi on the podium together.
“I’ve been through a lot,” Embid said.
Maxi joked, laughing, “He’s the culture.”
“I’ve been through a lot,” Embid continued, “whether you’re talking about crazy grandmasters using accounts to record, talking rubbish about their players. I’ve always thought that I will always have one coach for the rest of my career as coach Brown, and obviously you’re changing and I’ve seen so many players. I remember my first two or three years, we probably had over 80 players in one year – only boys came in, boys were laid off. This is difficult. It is difficult to preserve this culture. So I wouldn’t say it’s all for me. Apparently I’ve been here the longest and I’ve been lucky enough to keep my deadlines and not be traded and all that stuff. ”
“You know what? That’s enough,” Maxi interrupted. Maxi literally started laughing at the idea that Embiid had any idea what it was like to be in a mall.
At the risk of sounding extremely banal, Maxi’s jokes about Joel are largely part of the reason why there seems to be a winning culture here now. Harden is here, he looks healthy, fit and closed. Maxi works as hard as Jimmy Butler ever did. This allows him to playfully mix with his center at times. The whole team will not stay together forever. But now they have a chance to do something special. If they do, it won’t be just Joel Embiid, who praises the Sixers culture.