Game recognizes game and Joel Embiid demonstrated that with his big praise for James Harden, the Brooklyn Nets star who took over at the Barclays Center when everybody thought he was going to have chemistry issues with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Well, Embiid has been watching the Beard and recently admitted that the things he’s done are remarkable. Harden has to re-adapt his game to his new team and contrary to what people believed, he’s done an exceptional job on the Nets. Recently, the Cameroonian big man joined Zach Lowe’s “The Lowe Post” podcast, where he reflected on Harden’s tenure with the Nets, expected to be one of the biggest rivals for Embiid’s 76ers.
“He’s had a big impact,” Embiid said this week. “The way things ended in Houston obviously, it was unfortunate, but I see that he has been dominant, carrying that Brooklyn team, being a point guard, and doing what’s needed to do, especially considering he has had to change his game in a lot of ways. Going from taking all of 25-30 shots a game to just being a playmaker and actually being OK with it and actually doing a great job at it, I think he is doing a good job.”
Moreover, the 27-year-old revealed he’s always studying to become a better player and Dirk Nowitzki has been the latest big man he’s added to his collection. The German was a master of his craft and Joel can learn a lot from him. Doc Rivers is trying to push him to the next level and the player is committed to it.
“I may not have watched Dirk before, but we started watching a lot of Dirk film,” Embiid said after the Sixers’ Friday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Just like Embiid, Harden has been considered an MVP candidate this season. His neck injury is hurting his case right now but there’s no doubt that when the player is on the court, he’s one of the best assets in the league. When Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant were out due to multiple reasons, Harden carried the team and became the most important player for them.
Right now, he’s posting 25 points and 11 assists per game while shooting 46% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc. Right before he picked an injury, Harden was considered one of the frontrunners to win the MVP award alongside Nikola Jokic.
