ESPN’s Tim Legler picks Sixers to win East, says they have much to prove
The Philadelphia 76ers have one of the more formidable duos in the NBA in the form of James Harden and Joel Embiid as they throw their hat in the ring for the Eastern Conference crown in the 2022 playoffs. Harden and Embiid are going to be extremely tough to stop as they complement each other well.
The Sixers are 5-0 in games Harden plays as he continues to make his teammates better both with his scoring and his playmaking and Philadelphia looks like they should be the favorites in the East. Harden is obviously a huge help while Embiid has been playing at an MVP level all season long and continues his rampage even with The Beard in town.
With 18 games left for the Sixers before the playoffs begin, the debate now becomes whether they are the favorites in the East. They will have to contend with the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat, the red-hot Boston Celtics, and the big question mark continues to be the Brooklyn Nets, but Philadelphia will be one team that will have all eyes on them.
Tim Legler hopped on ESPN’s First Take and he’s picking the Sixers to win the East:
For me, yes, they’re the favorite and the reason is this: Joel Embiid is a different guy this year. When you look at what the Bucks did last year, and I’m not going to take anything away from your championship run because they had a major breakthrough last year, but when you look at their path, it did involve a guy like this and Joel Embiid for me, the transformation in his mindset, his conditioning, his professionalism, his leadership, his maturity, he’s a completely different player. I’m as impressed with his evolution in all of those areas, as I have been with any player at this stage of their career from one season to the next. So this is a different dude. Also last year, the Bucks not deal with anything like this guy healthy in the postseason. Just look at what they dealt with on their path to the finals. There was nothing that look like this. There was nothing like James Harden. This is the most potent offensive combination in the league. They control the game at the line, in the paint, from deep if that’s what it takes. They can make any shot required in a moment. The key is obviously gonna be the supporting cast. Do they have enough shooting? That’s always gonna be a concern with them.
On the flip side, the star duo does have a lot to prove. Harden, especially, does have some randomly poor playoff games in big moments. The biggest example was in the 2017 playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 at home when the Houston Rockets had a chance to force a Game 7 and he shot 2-for-11 for 10 points in an elimination game.
Legler added:
Biggest case against it: past playoff moments where scratched your head with him. Joel Embiid also had a little bit of that against Toronto when they got eliminated. He didn’t play great against Boston in the bubble when they got eliminated so he has a lot to prove, but he just looks like he’s different this year. I’m not worried about him. James Harden has had a couple moments where you’re watching at home where you go ‘was he really playing like this tonight? In this moment in the middle of a series?’ The San Antonio one, I will never forget that night. When San Antonio is sitting everybody. They’re conceding Game 6. He took two shots in the first 16 minutes of the game and Mike D’Antoni’s going ‘Didn’t you lead the league in field goal attempts? What is going on?’ So they have a lot to prove. That, to me, is the greatest argument why you would favor Milwaukee. They’re playoff histories and Doc also.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the playoffs as all eyes will be on the duo, but there aren’t a lot of teams in this league who can do what the Sixers can do with the talent they have on this roster.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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