A two-game sample size is hardly enough to make any grand conclusions about who the new-look Philadelphia 76ers are or will be. But the pairing of James Harden and Joel Embiid certainly looks to be a fit better than anyone could’ve imagined.
The Sixers are 2-0 since acquiring Harden from the Brooklyn Nets, and they’ve won those games by a combined 47 points. It was the first time they covered the spread in consecutive games in over a month, according to Covers.com.
How the Sixers perform against some of the NBA’s elite teams remains to be seen, but it’s encouraging to see how quickly things seem to be coming together with a former league MVP in the mix.
But while Harden’s presence has made things easier for Embiid and also led to an increase in Tyrese Maxey’s production, others have taken a backseat so far. No one more than Tobias Harris.
Tobias Harris said his focus is on contributing to “winning basketball.” Wants to take the looks that are there, but isn’t fixated on scoring, number of shot attempts, etc.
— Noah Levick (@NoahLevick) March 1, 2022
Through two games, Harris has scored a grand total of 18 points on 18 shot attempts, including just six points in his first game with Harden. By comparison, he scored 19 points on 20 shot attempts in the previous game before Harden arrived. On the season, he averages 18 points on nearly 15 attempts per game.
There was always going to be an adjustment period for the 76ers, and maybe that’s just impacting Harris more than others. Eleven of those 18 shots were three-pointers, as he’s been in more of a catch-and-shoot role than before. But it’s also possible this role will be his new normal, making the under on Harris points something to keep an eye on for bettors — at least until the lines start adjusting.
Previous “Big 3” iterations in Philly have always included Ben Simmons, a dramatically less-willing scorer than James Harden. That left room for Harris to get the ball earlier in shot clocks and create his own offense, even with someone like Jimmy Butler on the floor. But with the emergence of a guard like Maxey, Philly has a new “Big 3” of all willing and capable on-ball scorers.
Embiid scored 34 and 37 points, respectively, in the two games with Harden. Maxey, who averages 17 on the season, has averaged 25 points in games with Harden (who is averaging 28 himself). Other role players on the team have seen decreases in their averages and shot attempts, but they didn’t own a large share to begin with.
Harris, on the other hand, was the team’s second-leading scorer before the arrival of Harden. On the new look Sixers, he could end up as the fourth option.
