The Philadelphia 76ers just gave us all another glimpse of what they can do. They came back to get a 15-point win over the New York Knicks, once again with James Harden and Joel Embiid leading the way.
And, even though the Knicks arenât the best team to measure the potential of a team, the fact that theyâve developed this kind of chemistry just threegames into their pairing speaks volumes of what theyâre capable of.
Once again, fans on social media hyped the Embiid-Harden duo by comparing them to Shaquille OâNeal and Kobe Bryant. However, the Sixersâ big man isnât quite fond of those comparisons.
NBA News: Joel Embiid Says He And James Harden Arenât Like Shaq And Kobe
âIâm Joel Embiid. I donât play the way Shaq did, you know, dominant in other ways.Iâm not physically dominant like he was,â Embiid said after the game. âYou know, he was a freakin monster when he played⊠obviously Hall of Famer and one of the best ever. But Iâm Joel Embiid⊠I dominate in other ways on the basketball floor as far as doing everything. James does the same thing as far as being a scorer and a playmaker.â
Doc Rivers Says Thereâs Too Much Hype About Harden And Embiid
Sixers coach Doc Rivers knows that his teamâs chances of winning an NBA championship have increased drastically. However, he thinks people are just reading too much and too early into their new look:
âI do the same job, the same work. Itâs just that more people notice (now),â Rivers said. âI think when you get a guy like James and Joel together with what we have, with all of our other guys, our guys sense it, too. Not the hoopla, though. Itâs that they have a real shot. You donât get many of these.â
Daryl Morey didnât trade for James Harden just because theyâre close friends. The Sixers are striving for a ring and his presence gives them the best shot theyâve had in years. So, even if itâs still too early to tell, itâs clear that itâs championship-or-bust for them.
