The 76ers Have Had an Incredible Past Month And They Have These Two People To Thank.
It’s May so you know what that means the Philadelphia 76ers are trying to find a way to mess up their season and get eliminated from the NBA playoffs, but this May just feels a little different.
The 76ers cruised through the first round of the playoffs after sweeping the Brooklyn Nets. The 76ers were lucky that they drew the Nets in the first round, and everyone knows that the Nets had no business being in the playoffs after trading away Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, who made them a contender.
James Harden
The 76ers went into Game One of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night against the Boston Celtics as huge underdogs. Star center Joel Embiid was out due to an injury, so everyone was writing Philadelphia off in Game One, but James Harden said to watch this.
Harden kind of has been underwhelming in big games since he was traded to Philadelphia last winter and came up big on Monday night. Harden went for 45 points, and it seemed like every shot he took was going to go in the hoop.
Harden had the ball in his hands down one with under 20 seconds left in the game and hit a 26-foot three-pointer to give the 76ers a two-point lead. They would go on to win the game 119-115 and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
JAMES HARDEN STEPS UP FOR THE EMBIID-LESS SIXERS AS THEY TAKE GAME 1 🔔 pic.twitter.com/fTfLBLlouM — ESPN (@espn) May 2, 2023
Harden looked like his old Houston self in Game One and of course, his production will go down when Embiid comes back, but if he can just play 75% of what he did on Monday, there is no reason why this team can’t be playing in June.
Joel Embiid
It was announced on Tuesday night that Joel Embiid was named the 2022-2023 NBA MVP. Finally, Embiid won the MVP award after having a terrific season.
<img decoding="async" width="400" height="400" src="https://i0.wp.com/stadiumrant.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2023/04/image.png?resize=400%2C400&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-24342 lazyload" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/stadiumrant.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2023/04/image.png?w=400&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/stadiumrant.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2023/04/image.png?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/stadiumrant.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2023/04/image.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/stadiumrant.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2023/04/image.png?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1 100w" sizes="(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" data-recalc-dims="1" />
Embiid is the reason why Philadelphia competes year in year out and it was finally nice to see him bring home some hardware and get the recognition that he deserves.
Embiid has put this 76ers team in a great spot, and it was announced on Wednesday that Embiid will be returning to the lineup to play Game Two against Boston.
The 76ers should not be taken lightly and there is a great chance they will finally find a way to reach the finals this season.
Comments