With players like Joel Embiid, James Harden, Matisse Thybulle, and Tyrese Maxey, the Philadelphia 76ers have enough talent to make some serious waves in the West.
In fact, many around the league have picked them to reach the Finals this season. Others, though, are not as convinced.
On Twitter, Jason Timpf of “The Volume” revealed his worries about Philly and explained why he sees a first-round exit in their future.
“Both Joel Embiid and James Harden have some pretty glaring weaknesses in their games and I think Nick Nurse is a much better basketball coach than Doc Rivers and I think he’s gonna do a better job of exploiting those weaknesses than Doc will be able to do in return, and I think it’s gonna swing the series.”
“Starting with Joel Embiid and his ability to handle double-teams. The Raptors are a super aggressive defense, they always load p the strong side, they overhelp, and they send a lot of double-teams — especially in matchups like with Joel Embiid. And this year, he hasn’t handled that well. In three matchups with the Raptors, he has totaled only 8 assists combined in three games to go with 8 turnovers. His inability to handle that sort of things is going to hurt the Sixers.”
“James Harden isn’t the same guy that he was when he was in his prime. I’ve been on this all season. He’s lost a little bit of his step and it’s made everything that he does on the court a lot more difficult. In 2018, he shot 40.1% on pull-up jump shots. This year, 32.9%. 2018, he averaged 3.9 made field goals in the restricted area per game. This year with the Sixers, 2.1. So he’s getting to the rim and finishing half as often then he did when he was in his prime…. so James Harden is just not the same guy. And combine that with Joel Embiid’s inability to handle double-teams, I really do think that the Raptors have a serious chance here and I’m picking them in six.”
I’m picking the Raptors in 6 over the Sixers.
Why? Because James Harden’s decline has been even more precipitous than we all originally thought.
Listen to these wild stats: pic.twitter.com/xhVlI4b7mh
— Jason Timpf (@_JasonLT) April 15, 2022
Joel Embiid is the one who could be crowned MVP in a few days, but it’s James Harden who will determine the 76ers’ fate.
If he plays like the superstar he was in Houston, the 76ers are going to be tough to beat, no matter how much Joel Embiid struggles in double-teams.
If he plays as he has for the past few months (averaging 21 points on 40% shooting), it could spell disaster for the franchise.
After enduring the Ben Simmons saga for months, fans are hoping to have a team that finally succeeds in the playoffs. The reality is, there’s a good chance they’ll be highly disappointed.
