Tyrese Maxey is awestruck by James Harden’s work for Sixers success
James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers star point guard, is a Hall of Famer. Amazing things have happened over the years thanks to Harden’s offensive abilities.
Harden was a scoring machine for the Houston Rockets. He scored 40 and 50 points effortlessly on his way to three scoring titles, and an MVP award in 2018. He was simply unstoppable.
Harden has changed a lot since his time with the Sixers. He is now focused on getting his teammates the ball and feeding Joel Embiid as he’s averaging 21.5 points and 11.2 assists in his first full season with the franchise.
Harden’s evolution
“I say this as a young guy, his game is maturing so much,” Tyrese Maxey told reporters after a win over the Portland Trail Blazers. “You can see it. It’s crazy just because I saw it when I was at home watching him when he was in Houston when he was scoring 50 a night and now I’m on the court with him while he’s doing 20, 15, and 10 boards and he’s coaching everybody, putting guys in their spot.”
Harden even tries to be more defensive. Harden is not the greatest defender but he seems to be putting more effort into that area and leading the charge.
Harden speaks on the defensive end
“Even defensively, he’s doing that as well,” Maxey added. “So to have a guy like that is just a blessing. We’re not taking it for granted and we’re going to try and do our best.”
Beard also knows that scoring is what he does when it’s necessary.
Scoring when necessary
“James knows that he gets everybody going and then he gets himself going,” Maxey continued. “Like when we get in trouble, if they go on a run, he seems to always have a big step back. Always gets an iso and gets to the rim and gets fouled or something like that.”
Harden’s playmaking
Harden has demonstrated that he can play both as a passer and a player on the court. Harden’s contributions to the Sixers and Embiid have been a benefit.
“He’s just a wizard with the ball,” Maxey added. “Like because he played so much basketball and watched so much film, he knows where guys are gonna be. It’s been times, I will say this, where he’s went up, both defenders go with him, he throws it behind his head, and he knows what Jo is gonna be and they have a connection to where they know when to roll, when to pop.”
Sixers’ success is led by Harden & Embiid
Harden and Embiid’s elite play as of late has allowed Philadelphia to win 17 of their last 21 games after a 12-12 start to the season. They’re now tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the No. They’re now tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the No. 2 seed, and are finally starting to feel their stride.
“It took some time because that’s different,” Maxey finished. “It’s different for the both of them to play like that. To have a guy that, on your team, but when they clicking, it’s clicking. Sometimes when you’re on the court, you’re just watching like ‘what will they do next?’ and sometimes, you get a front-row seat and you’re on the bench like ‘wow that was amazing.’”