When you hear the names Joel Embiid and James Harden, it doesn’t exactly scream up-tempo offense. They have made a name for themselves by repeatedly showing the ability to break defenders down and live in isolation late in the shot clock, overcoming clunky possessions with touch and talent.
All season, their coach has demanded for the Sixers and his stars to strive for faster tempo. In Tuesday’s first half against the Kings, you saw a glimpse of what the max-speed Sixers can do, even without a speed demon like Tyrese Maxey to push the pace himself.
“Ball’s moving, the floor’s wide open, that’s exactly what we’re talking about,” Doc Rivers said Tuesday. “Tobias [Harris] had 9 assists tonight, James [Harden] had 15. It just says they’re moving the ball, they’re playing together, our spacing is correct, and it’s good to see.”
“I just tried to pick up the pace and get the ball up as fast as we can, just create opportunities once Joel gets down there,” James Harden added. “And once he gets down there, we all kind of know what to do. Guys are doing a really good job of just moving their bodies, finding the open spots, and then I’m just trying to hit them on target.”
Scoring 80 points in a half is a rarity, and the typical occasion for one tends to be when teams have given up on the season. Prior to Tuesday’s outburst, three of the last five 80-point halves for the Sixers came in the month of April, when teams are either gearing up for the playoffs or throwing in the towel. And pulling this off against Sacramento can’t be chalked up to the same-old Kings. This has been about a league-average defense (and a fringe playoff team) to start the year.
The Kings are the team that tends to dictate the tempo of a game, rather than the other way around. With De’Aaron Fox spearheading the offense, the Kings play at the sixth-fastest pace in the league. Good luck running when you get bulldozed the way they did on Tuesday — the Sixers shot 59.1 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from three in the opening 24 minutes, adding 24 free-throw attempts in the process.
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Embiid was simply overwhelming in the first quarter, establishing the tone of the game early. Philadelphia hit him on a lot of early clock duck-ins, Embiid catching passes with as many as 19 or 20 seconds left on the shot clock. Whether he’s the guy getting the early touch or Embiid is simply working himself into a good position to offensive rebound, having him running the floor is a difference maker, eliminating the pitfalls of double teams and back-to-the-basket offense. Why wait to work hard when you can body your man early and score two easy ones?
It was Harden’s responsibility, though, to actually get that ball there in the first place. A 15-assist game speaks loudly on its own, though it may not fully capture Harden’s impact on the game. Nearly everyone on the Sixers got going at one point or another, even the guys who have struggled to score most of the year. P.J. Tucker knocked down a pair of fire-half threes, and Thybulle scored on a pair of cuts, getting fouled on another off of a Harden feed.
Much has been made of Harden’s scoring (or lack thereof) since he injured his hamstring in Brooklyn, though his work here has matched the trend he set early in his days with the Nets. Harden preaches constantly about the need to keep everyone involved and to worry about hot shooters and team offense rather than his own numbers, and did so again on Tuesday.
“[Tucker and Thybulle] worked their butts off on the defensive end. They’re known as our defenders. So my job for them is getting them easy shots,” Harden said. “As much as they help me defensively, my job is to help them offensively and put them in positions where they got easy ones around the rim or they got catch-and-shoot opportunities. And they listen, so I think that’s what this team is about.”
“James has done a great job of getting everybody else easy shots,” Embiid said Tuesday. “I’m just fortunate my shots are going in. My teammates are doing a fantastic job of moving the ball and being in the right spots. That’s what we’ve talked about.”
You don’t need to reinvent the sport to keep the role players engaged even with high-volume scorers at the center of your offense. Harden understands that, and he rewards guys for running whether they’re streaking for a layup or have a favorable one-on-one matchup early in the clock.
All the desire for pace in the world wouldn’t have mattered without getting stops. Sacramento had an ice cold shooting night from deep (10-for-42 for the game) that featured some hard luck, but the Sixers created luck of their own. Tobias Harris was Philadelphia’s unlikely hero there, stepping in to check the speedy Fox after Matisse Thybulle picked up two early fouls.
“We figured, put size on him, that forces him to the basket at least, he loves that little in-between, he’s been great on the elbows this year,” Rivers said Tuesday evening. “We felt like Tobias’ size would take him off of that. I thought he did a good job.”
Harris’ strong close to last season put his defensive versatility on display, but he (along with other Sixers players) had some low moments on defense to open the year. He has rebounded nicely, and his teammates see the pride shining through night-to-night.
“You know Tobias cares about defense when he starts like, sitting down, putting his hands out, that was something he used to never do,” Thybulle added. “Now it’s like, I swear every single game I see him do it a handful of times. They’re bringing the ball down, he’s really getting into a stance, it means something to him. He’s a talented enough player, athletically and mentally, to be able to adjust and make these transitions.”
Wrap all that up in one package, and the Sixers almost look like the team we thought they could be when assessing their chances before the season. They’ve won 10 of their last 15 games, in spite of a recent three-game skid and injuries disrupting their lineup every night. Is this a nice half against an opponent having an off night, or is this team finally finding its stride?
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