The long-awaited Hardy duo of Philadelphia fans is finally about to make its official debut. According to the latest news, James Harden, who swapped clubs with Ben Simmons before the deadline, will make his 76ers debut in Saturday's away game against the Timberwolves.
From entering the league as a tantrum in 2009, Harden has gone through three team changes in his 13-year career so far, from the Rockets to the Nets to the 76ers, the environment is changing, and the pressure on his shoulders is also changing. This time, will he be able to reap a happy ending by Embiid's side?
Harden's "debut must kill"
As a commercial sports league, the NBA has a strong player mobility, and one person and one city are both respectable and a luxury. Most of the players have gone through transfers and naturally made their debuts for new owners. But even so, among all the players, Harden is also considered to be a "debut" experience
In the summer of 2012, Harden and the Thunder, who had their last year left on a four-year rookie contract, failed to renew their contracts early, and in order to avoid him leaving as a free agent, the Thunder traded Harden to the Rockets.
This deal became a key turning point in Harden's career. At that time, the Rockets were struggling in the "post-Yao Mai era" and missed the playoffs for three consecutive years, and Harden's addition provided them with a long-awaited rebuilding cornerstone.
On November 1, 2012, at the Auburn Hills Palace In Detroit, Harden played for the Rockets in an official NBA game for the first time, and his debut was stunning, shooting 14 of 25 from the field, scoring 37 points, 6 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 steals and 1 block, winning the opening.
Many years later, a statistic like this may be just a routine for Harden, but it's still a surprise enough for hardened, who had just turned 23 and had the opportunity to lead a team for the first time in his career.
More importantly, under his leadership, the Rockets reversed the victory from the difficult situation of falling behind the double-digit point difference since the fourth quarter, and Harden, who scored 19 points in the first half, only made 6 points in 3 shots in the last quarter, but there were no mistakes in 5 assists, and he also sent 3 steals, proving that he was a qualified leader and also proved that the Rockets made a correct investment.
This game made a good start to Harden's eight-year Rocket career, after which he created countless glories in Houston, selected as an All-Star for 8 consecutive times, scored, assisted, and MVP, but failed to win the championship. So in the summer of 2020, when the Rockets were not willing to cut expenses and compete for the championship, he applied to leave the team.
Harden was eventually traded to the Nets by the Rockets on January 14, 2021, and Kevin Durant became teammates again, plus Kyrie Irving to form the Big Three. Unlike the previous time, his goal was no longer to prove his personal ability and value, but to win.
Harden's Nets debut took place in a home game against the Magic on Jan. 17, 2021. At that time, the Nets had just started with a 7-6 loss, the performance was disappointing, and Irving left the team privately, and Durant, although he had just led the team to victory over the Nuggets and Knicks, still needed a helper to share the pressure for him.
Harden's arrival has solved the Nets' urgent needs. In the game against the Magic, he was everywhere, delivering 32 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists, becoming the first player in NBA history to win a 30+ triple-double on his debut. Durant, liberated from the heavy pressure of holding the ball, also fired full force, shooting 16 of 26 from the field, slashing 42 points, and the Nets had a thrilling and laughed to the end.
Harden looked unusually excited after the win, saying in an interview that when Irving returned, the Nets would be very scary. He also said he was a selfless player who would do his best to win. Durant also praised Harden as the first passing guard, "the coach let him play point guard, that's his natural position".
Durant's words inadvertently revealed a fact: from the Rockets to the Nets, the team's need for Harden is changing. Before the Rockets, the team needed him to be the absolute core, both as an offensive arrow and responsible for driving teammates. He also did a great job of bringing a lottery team to the playoffs.
When it comes to the Nets, there are two elite Scorers at the Level of Durant and Irving, and Harden's more important task is to organize and plan, so that the team that already has the hope of winning the championship can be added to the icing on the cake and further. Harden also basically did what the team asked him to do, but unfortunately, because of injuries and some off-court problems, the Big Three has been teammates for more than a year, and only worked together for 16 games, and then fell apart....
Harden the Great, who cooperates with whom?
Harden is disappointed with the status quo of the Nets, and there is nothing wrong with fighting for a better environment to chase the championship dream. And when he applied to the Rockets for a deal a year ago, the preferred destination was also Philadelphia.
Now, Harden has finally got his wish to join joel Embiid, a strong contender for MVP this season, what kind of sparks will the two people have and what kind of challenges will they face?
Harden and Embiid, a star ball carrier and an interior giant, are more suitable than the Nets' big three combination in terms of positional attributes. However, given the technical characteristics of the two players and the relevant qualifications, it is doubtful whether they can produce good chemistry and make the 76ers a truly competitive team.
Harden has had the experience of successfully matching with big men, thinking that when he was in the Rockets, he fed Clint Capela into the "pie king", a small blue-collar worker from Europe, so he made a price and signed a 5-year, 90 million contract.
But Embiid is not Capela, he not only catches the ball and eats pie, but is also one of the most well-rounded big players in the league today. The data shows that Embiid's 37.2% utilization rate this season is the first in the league, surpassing the big core of the ball such as Luka Doncic and Trae Young.
In this season's 76ers game, you can often see Embiid grab the rebound in the backcourt and dribble the ball to the front court and directly launch a personal singles. Even at Monday's All-Star Game, Embiid repeatedly staged a three-point performance of dribbling on the outside, and when the game entered the final quarter of the decisive moment, in the middle of a group of superstars, he was still durant's absolute top choice on the offensive end.
Harden developed a solid personal style during his time with the Rockets, and to get the most out of it, he must also hold the ball a lot. He and Capela are perfectly matched because the opponent's desire to hold the ball is extremely low, and before Capela took the position, Harden and another star center Dwight Howard had a conflict, which began with the latter's dissatisfaction with the ball.
In more than a year of playing for the Nets, Harden has made no small sacrifice in shooting power, but the demand for ball control has not decreased. Although the scoring data declined last season, he averaged assists in double figures as a commander on the field, led the team to a good record performance when Durant Irving took turns to truce, and once became a candidate for MVP, which made him psychologically satisfied.
With the departure of D'Antoni this season, the Nets' offensive tactics began to tilt more toward Durant, coupled with the struggle of the record, which made Harden have many dissatisfactions. After the transaction, a number of authoritative media also broke the news, saying that a rift had long been between the brothers Harden and Durant.
Embiid has averaged eight low-post singles per game this season, topping first in the league and well ahead of second-placed Jokic (4.9). And Harden's best blocking and dismantling coordination: Embiid has only performed blocking as a cover this season by only 13.2%, ranking 99th in the league, scoring 1.13 points per game, only at a moderate level (better than 58% of players in the league).
Embiid's preferred way of playing is to attack with the ball to attract pinch shots, which are then distributed to outside teammates. But Harden's three-point shooting percentage this season is only a pitiful 30%....
Combined with the above, although the combination of Embiid and Harden looks beautiful, a careful analysis will reveal many contradictions. Some people say that it is difficult to make Capela into Embiid, but it is not easy to make Embiid play like Capela? Not to mention whether Embiid is willing to "willingly fall", even if he is willing, with his movement speed and bouncing ability, the effect of blocking the demolition of the cake may not be comparable to the cake king.
Between Embiid and Harden, who will cooperate with whom and who will sacrifice for whom will be the biggest test for the 76ers in the future. Harden is older than Embiid and older than Embiid, but Embiid is like a day in the sky, and he is the elder of the team, once there is a primary and secondary dispute between them, with the personality of the two of them, I am afraid it will be another farce of two tigers.
Time is running out for Harden
Harden appeared in the 76ers training hall before the All-Star, the performance was quite exciting, and he also interacted with Embiid frequently during the All-Star Weekend, with some talk and laughter. But the beauty of the honeymoon period does not mean permanent happiness, and at the age of 32, he needs a stable relationship more than ever.
A championship is the ultimate dream of almost all NBA players, but not everyone is lucky enough to win a ring. As a superstar, whether he can lead the team to win the championship is a key yardstick to measure his comprehensive achievements and historical status, but objectively speaking, there are also many luck factors mixed in. After all, basketball is a collective sport, and legendary superstars such as Barkley, Malone, and Iverson, although they have no crowns for life, are still enough to win the respect of the world.
But Harden's situation is somewhat different. In his career so far, Harden has worked with many superstars, from the Thunder Three, to Howard, Paul, Westbrook in the Rockets, and then to the Nets Big Three, all of which have given people endless hope, but finally ended up in disgrace.
More critically, Harden's past two team changes have been quite criticized by the outside world, no matter what the real situation is, now the basketball world has formed a common impression of him: it is difficult to cooperate, love to find excuses, easy to choose to escape. Coupled with harden's consistently poor playoff performance over the years, it has put him under great pressure.
In fact, Harden's urgent desire to leave the Nets this time is based on the pressure to win the championship. Among the Nets' big three, Durant and Irving have both won the championship before, but Harden has not yet had a ring bonus. So when Irving refused to be vaccinated, so that the Nets' bright prospects for winning the championship gradually dimmed, the frustration and anxiety in his heart could be imagined.
Unconsciously, Harden is 32 years old, and since last season, injuries have come to the door, and this season, he has been trapped by rules and other reasons, and his performance has also declined sharply. Joining the 76ers is another important opportunity, although there are still questions about how to cooperate with each other at the technical level, but at least on paper, the superstar combination with Embiid has made him see the hope of winning the championship again.
Only this time, he really couldn't afford to lose.