The Philadelphia 76ers will begin a new era on Friday when they officially welcome James Harden to their roster after the star guard sat out the run-up to the All-Star break to nurse his hamstring injury.
Harden will join Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey and likely Matisse Thybulle in the starting lineup. Harden and Embiid will join forces to form a two-man game that should give headaches to every opposing defense.
The new starting lineup should be a feared, but flawed, one. A ranking done by Bleacher Report has the lineup ranked fourth among all of the league’s starting lineups. They are behind the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors.
B/R on the new Sixers starting lineup:
Losing Seth Curry and Andre Drummond hurt, but hanging on to Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle, Philadelphia’s most intriguing young talents, certainly softened the blow.
Now, Joel Embiid has a first-ballot Hall of Famer to take some pressure off him in another MVP-caliber season.
He isn’t peak Houston Rockets Harden, but he’s averaging 10.2 assists per game and still reads the pick-and-roll as well as anyone in the game. If he can learn how to make an impact off the ball (Embiid will surely still control plenty of possessions), the 76ers will be title contenders.
The Sixers will hit the road to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday to open play after the All-Star break. This is a continuation of a three-game road trip that started Feb. 17 against the Milwaukee Bucks.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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