Getty James Harden chats with new Sixers teammates Danny Green and Tobias Harris on February 15, 2022 in Philly.
Throw out the lopsided loss to the Boston Celtics the other night. That was an anomaly for a Sixers’ team caught at the intersection of James Harden euphoria and Ben Simmons’ regret. Perhaps it was a necessary whupping to get everyone focused on what lies ahead after the All-Star break.
Philadelphia will close out the first half of the season with an away contest against Milwaukee. The Bucks (36-23) are the reigning NBA champions who hold the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. They are quickly emerging as the team to beat once again. The new-look Sixers should have a say in how that turns out and everyone can feel the change in the air.
“It’s a breath of fresh air, to know who your team is moving forward,” forward Georges Niang told Lauren Rosen. “There’s new life put into the team… James brought a light, and an energy.”
James Harden is with the Sixers at shootaround in Milwaukee.
Harden has participated in three practices with his new team while giving out free lessons on how to shoot his patented step-back jumper. The 10-time All-Star joined the Sixers on their road trip to Milwaukee as he begins his stated goal of bringing a championship to Philly.
Philadelphia picking up James Harden makes them a championship contending team.
“I’m just happy and feel blessed that I’m here and all everybody knows and all everybody wants is to be the last team standing, and I’m excited for the opportunity,” Harden told reporters at his introductory press conference. “We have a great core of guys. You know, I wish I was playing tonight but just going to take my time and after the break we’ll get things going.”
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Tyrese Maxey Named to Clorox Clutch Challenge
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey was already headed to Cleveland for All-Star Weekend as a participant in the Clorox Rising Stars game. The second-year guard just found out that he’ll be competing in the Clorox Clutch Challenge, too. Maxey is an injury replacement for Davion Mitchell of the Sacramento Kings.
76ers guard Tyrese Maxey will replace injured Kings guard Davion Mitchell in the Clorox Clutch Challenge, a team shooting competition that will take place tomorrow during the Clorox Rising Stars (9 p.m. ET, TNT).
Clutch Challenge format and teams ➡️ t.co/luCoHwzgn7
The Clorox Clutch Challenge is a shooting competition that divides eight players into four teams of two. Maxey has been teamed up with Raptors rookie Scottie Barnes in what can be best described as a chaotic game of H-O-R-S-E. The first team starts with 1 minute, 30 seconds on the clock and must knock down shots from “five locations on the court tied to iconic shots,” according to a press release. It all goes down on February 18 at 9 p.m. on TNT.
Sixers Refused to Trade Maxey or Matisse Thybulle
Sixers president Daryl Morey sacrificed quite a bit to bring Harden to Philly. The team surrendered Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, plus two future first-rounders. Don’t think for one minute anyone has any regrets about it. The biggest thing was keeping Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle. Which they did.
“They were critical,” Morey said. “Tyrese absolutely has a chance to be an All-Star in this league, obviously there’s a lot of work but I know he’ll put it in. That’s one thing that’s amazing about Tyrese, like James [Harden] said, his confidence but also his commitment to put the work in. He’s been incredible. And then Thybulle, I think he’ll win Defensive Player of the Year, after Joel [Embiid] of course.”
Daryl Morey mentions that making sure Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle remained Sixers were “big priorities” for the team.
Make no mistake, the goal from ownership all the way down to the ball boys is to win a championship this year.
“We have the ingredients here, and our goal is to win a championship,” co-owner Josh Harris said. “And we’re going to keep trying until we get there. There’s no shortcuts to the top, you got to keep pushing.”
Julius Erving’s and Moses Malone’s ages in the Sixers 1983 Championship season: 32 & 28
James Harden’s and Joel Embiid’s ages this season: 32 & 28
the parallels are insane.
