The Joel Embiid-James Harden pairing should flourish initially for the Sixers, but will that continue past the honeymoon stage?

Harden and Embiid have the potential to become one of the league's top duos, as long as egos don't get in the way over time that is.

As a pairing, Joel Embiid and James Harden can be a huge success. A lot of that will determined by how much each is willing to sacrifice.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published Feb. 13, 2022, 5:00 a.m. ET

The Joel Embiid and James Harden pairing can go either way. It all depends on how the 76ers’ two best players accept playing with each other over an extended period of time.

In the short term, it will likelygo well because Harden will want to prove that acquiring him in Thursday’s trade from the Brooklyn Nets was a good move. So the Sixers’ new point guard will try to make Embiid look good. In turn, Embiid will be keen to do the same for Harden.

But some are skeptical of the fit because Harden, a three-time scoring champion, typically likes to dominate the ball.

We’ll have to wait and see how the move impacts the team’s ball movement. Up to this point, the Sixers (34-22) have had success getting Embiid the ball and letting the NBA’s scoring leader (29.5 points per game) facilitate to score or pass out of double and triple teams.

So it will be interesting to see how coach Doc Rivers utilizes both guys because their strengths actually do complement each other.

But that’s definitely been a hot topic since the Sixers acquired Harden and Paul Millsap from the Nets in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks. It’s a topic that Embiid addressed Friday night following the Sixers’ 100-87 home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Embiid had just finished with 25 points and season highs of 19 rebounds and five blocks to extend his streak of games with at least 25 points to a league-best 22 at the time. Ironically, the last player to score 25 or more in at least 22 consecutive games was Harden, who did so in 40 consecutive games as a Houston Rocket during the 2018-19 season.

But Friday’s performance didn’t compare to what he did in Saturday night’s 103-93 home victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Embiid finished with game highs of 40 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists to post his second triple-double of the season and fourth of his career. Embiid became the first Sixers to post a 40-point, 10-rebound and 10-assist game since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968.

In addition to leading the league in scoring, Embiid is eighth in rebounding (11.2 per game) and averaging a career high 4.4 assists. He’s won the last two Eastern Conference Player of the Month awards and has scored 30 or more points 25 times this season. Embiid has scored 40 or more points on seven of those occasions, including a season-high 50 against the Orlando Magic on Jan. 19.

Meanwhile, Harden put up video-game type numbers during his nine seasons with the Rockets before being traded to the Nets in January 2021. Named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in October, the 32-year-old Harden was the league’s MVP in 2018. He ended his Rockets career as the franchise’s all-time leader in made three-pointers (2,029), made free throws (5,554), and assists (4,796). Harden ranks second in scoring (18,365) and third in steals (1,087).

He joins Russell Westbrook (five times) and Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson (five) and Magic Johnson (three) as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds in multiple seasons. Harden, who’s currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, is in the midst of his third, averaging 22.5 points, 10.2 assists, and 8.0 rebounds.

“We all have to give up ourselves if we want to win,” Embiid said of making sure the pairing works. “If you look at the teams that have won in the past, whether you look at the Golden State teams, even the Lakers or Milwaukee last year, they just moved the ball. They played with each other.

“As I’ve been watching James, you put him in the pick-and-roll and it’s … up there as far as the best playmakers out of that pick-and-roll. So obviously, you add that even more to our offense because that’s what he’s good at. But like I said, we all have to give up ourselves. I got to be more of a pick-and-roll player, pick-and-pop, just to help my teammates and help him.”

With Harden more of an off-the-dribble, three-point shooter, Embiid said Harden has to be able to fire up catch-and-shoot three-pointers when the center passes out of double-teams. He believes that would “open up everything.”

“Everybody has to give up themselves, and it’s all about bringing it all together,” Embiid said. “And the focus is about everybody [being] on the same page, about winning. It’s about winning a championship. It doesn’t matter if I go out and score 40 and someone scores 10 and someone else 40 and I score 10, 20 points it doesn’t matter as long as we get the win.

“I think everybody understands that. And that’s good when you got a team on the same page that’s driven by winning a championship, it can go a long way.”

Embiid’s right.

The Sixers will be hard to stop in pick-and-rolls, because Harden is really clever and quick getting to the basket. He has a knack for delivering solid passes and hitting step-back jumpers. That’s why the pick-and-roll with Embiid and Harden will be tough to stop.

Now on the defensive end, Harden tends to struggle. But you have a good defender in Embiid anchoring the paint. So that shouldn’t be a major issue.

Another thing of note is Harden has struggled in key playoff situations. So it will be interesting to see how things work out for a Sixers squad that hasn’t advanced beyond the second round since reaching the NBA Finals in 2001.

We’ll see how things work out. It could work out great or prove to be a disaster. But things will likely be good in the short term just because both players will sacrifice for each other.

Will human nature and egos take over at some point? If so, what happens then?

In Harden, the Sixers definitely have a closer, which they needed. Even though he’s not a true point guard, the future Hall of Famer is solid at that position.

The team’s overall perimeter shooting remains a concern, though.

Tyrese Maxey is shooting 40% from three this season heading into Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But this is a small sample size for the second-year player. Tobias Harris will also have to prove that he can be a knock-down shooter as the third option behind Embiid and Harden. Danny Green, 34, is a good shooter, but he’s declining a little bit due to injuries and Father Time. And Furkan Korkmaz, Georges Niang, Isaiah Joe, and Shake Milton need to be more consistent.

With that said, shooting could still be a problem. And if it is an issue, that’s going to lead to even more defensive attention on Embiid and Harden.

Another area of concern is at backup center. The Sixers are looking to fill that need in the buyout market. The problem is teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, and the Chicago Bulls could also be in the market for a center. The Sixers could promise more in regards to playing time but they will definitely have some competition.

No one can argue the Sixers haven’t improved in the immediate.

They lost two integral pieces in Curry and Drummond, and a third (Simmons) who refused to play. But from an active talent standpoint, they got the best player in Harden. It’s just a question of how he and Embiid mesh.

Since the trade, the two have conversed about how they can help one another out.

“Now, you really [have] a choice,” Embiid said. “Are you going to double me or are you going to double him. You got to make that decision. Based on every game, it might change. Other teams might want to take me out of the game. Or other teams might want to take him out of the game. So we just adjust, and we go from there.

“But it’s exciting. I never played with someone like that. So I’m just excited for the new challenge and try to go and get it done.”

In the short term, they’ll mesh great. We’ll just have to see how long it will last.