Georges Niang praises James Harden for adjusting his game for Sixers

CAMDEN, N.J.–The Philadelphia 76ers acquired James Harden at the 2022 deadline looking to add an elite scorer and rebounder to pair up with Joel Embiid and lead the Sixers to their first championship since 1983.

They have a very good chance to achieve that goal in the 2022-23 season as Harden and Embiid have achieved perfect synergy. Embiid is leading the league in scoring at 33.4 points per game while Harden is leading the league in assists at 10.8 per game.

Harden is no longer the ruthless scorer he once was and while he has shown flashes of being able to score a bunch, like against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 4, his main role on this team is to be a playmaker and be sure everybody is in the right spots to succeed.

“I think when he first got here I was thinking how he’s a basketball savant,” Georges Niang said of Harden. “I just think the way he thinks the game is so unique and James doesn’t get enough credit for evolving his game. Obviously, when he came in last year, it was like scoring, point guard, and now he’s completely bought into being just completely unselfish and getting everybody else shots and getting everybody else in their spots.”

Then there’s that game against the Bucks earlier in March when he scored 19 points in the fourth quarter, 38 for the game, and led the Sixers to a win with his scoring ability.

“Then you see in the Milwaukee game, he also  was like, ‘I’m capable of putting us on his back and, and scoring a ton of points to help us win.’” Niang continued. “So it’s been remarkable to see someone of that caliber can be humbled.”

With that being said, it isn’t like Harden is playing second fiddle to Embiid. In a way, he is because this is Embiid’s team, but The Beard still has some tricks up his sleeve in order to help the Sixers win games. It has been intriguing to see the transition he has made as a player.

“I don’t want to say take a backseat because he and Joel kind of go back and forth and like, who can score and then who can draw attention and pass, but I just think it’s a credit to him and how bad he wants to win to know that what the team…


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Author : Sixers Wire

Publish date : 2023-03-15 14:47:16

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