Getty Tobias Harris #12 of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The good news: James Harden is BACK for the Philadelphia 76ers. The bad news: his return means the Sixers must navigate his reintegration back into the lineup. While it might be a stretch to say the Sixers found a “groove” without Harden, the former MVP’s four-week absence did force other players, like Shake Milton and De’Anthony Melton, to step up.
But as good as Milton and Melton have been, the two are far from Philadelphia’s best players. But putting those “best players” back into the lineup requires a little more than just flipping a switch. According to Sixers forward Tobias Harris, Harden’s addition to the lineup requires some getting used to.
“Those are our best players and the offense flows through them as well,” Harris told reporters after Philadelphia’s loss to the 7-17 Houston Rockets. “So we do have to get readjusted and figure out how we continue as a group to be at our best and to be efficient and to continue to put those guys in great positions to do what they do best and that’s score the basketball and make plays for the guys.”
Philadelphia’s Defense Took Off Without Harden, Maxey
James Harden is far from a defensive stalwart. You won’t see his name on any All-Defense lists (unless it’s April Fools). But then again, neither is Shake Milton. Nonetheless, the latter was required to step up in a big way once Harden and Maxey went down with injuries.
And boy did he. In the month of November (or, basically the entire time that Harden was out of the lineup due to injury), the Sixers had the league’s best defense. Can you imagine reading that eight weeks ago? In October, when the Sixers were getting picked apart in transition, Philadelphia had the league’s 19th-best defense, wedged in with the Victor Wembanyama-sweepstakes-bound San Antonio Spurs.
With Harden and Maxey out, the Sixers essentially had to start playing its All-Defense team. That meant more reps for Melton and Matisse Thybulle (who each have a league-leading steals rate of 3.2 percent), and Paul Reed, whose “defensive playmaking” is up there with the best of them.
Who are the NBA’s best defensive playmakers?
⬆️ Menace in the passing lanes
⬇️ Passive in passing lanes
➡️ On-ball thief
⬅️ Not picking pockets
Who stands out?
Passing Lane Defense = rate of deflections + interceptions
Pickpocket Rating = on-ball steal rate
At the beginning of training camp, Joel Embiid made it clear he wants to have the best defense in the league. That once looked like a pipe dream. But in November, the Sixers proved it possible. The only problem? When Maxey and Harden are both healthy, they are far too talented offensively to be kept out of the lineup.
Embiid is the Key to Keeping the Defense Strong
With Harden and Maxey’s inclusion back into the lineup, it’s only inevitable that Philadelphia’s defense falls as a result. But there’s a way that Philadelphia can limit the drop-off to a trickle rather than dam-bursting: Joel Embiid.
As Jackson Frank of Liberty Ballers noted, if Embiid can pick up his rebounding, the Sixers might have a shot at keeping the defense up.
“When Philadelphia paced the league defensively, it ranked 14th in defensive rebounding rate. Amid this 0-3 slog, it’s 29th. Embiid is certainly not alone in this issue. The majority of the rotation is either small, slow or ground-bound. That’s a challenging trio of traits to work past and field a viable defensive rebounding group.”
It’s a big if — Embiid, for all of his strengths, is not the world’s best rebounder. But with Harden and Maxey back, he’ll need to focus his efforts less on playmaking and more on impact defending.