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Nuggets

James Harden has averaged at least 15 field goal attempts per game in each of his last 10 regular seasons, encompassing his entire tenure with the Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers. He's put up at least 12 shots per game in 10 ten postseason appearances since 2013.&nbsp;
So when Harden took just two attempts in the Sixers' Game 6 exit against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals, it was jarring to those who watch Harden and those who have followed the drama of the franchise over the past year. After all, it was just one season ago where Ben Simmons' shot selection created a firestorm that ultimately led to February's blockbuster deal.
But this felt different. Harden is one of the greatest scorers the NBA has ever seen. And the performance distracted from the fact that, even in his battle against Father Time, Harden is still one of the most talented floor generals in the world.&nbsp;
His "down" year included 22.0 points, 10.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game spanning a tenuous winter with the Nets and a midseason trade to Philadelphia. He still has the step-back, the strength and the court vision, even as his quick first step appears to be sputtering with age and injuries.
Harden is a game-changer for the 76ers, and it's why he is by far the chief offseason storyline. The 32-year-old holds a player option for next season. He could either opt-in and potentially sign an extension that could pay over $60 million in 2026-27, or decline and test the waters in unrestricted free agency. One more interesting wrinkle: According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, few around the league expect Philly to pony up with that max contract extension:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WindhorstESPN</a> says to pump the brakes on Harden returning to Philadelphia next season with a max deal. "Nobody in the NBA believes that the Sixers are going to give James Harden a max contract.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/vASDx6p0ek">pic.twitter.com/vASDx6p0ek</a>
&mdash; Get Up (@GetUpESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/GetUpESPN/status/1525118767511924736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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It's a pivotal summer for Harden and the franchise. Should Philadelphia <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/signing-james-harden-to-a-max-contract-could-cripple-the-sixers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commit upwards of $200 million to a guard showing signs of physical decline who turns 33 next season</a>? Or should the team lower the offer and risk seeing an extremely talented, experienced playmaker (and a great fit with Joel Embiid) walk?
So Harden's contract is item No. 1 on president of basketball operations Daryl Morey's agenda. The next is evaluating which current rotation players are fit for long-term success.&nbsp;
Ten different Sixers averaged 10 or more minutes per game in the playoffs. It often felt like Sixers head coach Doc Rivers didn't know where to look for help outside of Embiid, Harden, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey. DeAndre Jordan, Matisse Thybulle and Georges Niang, among others, frequently drew the ire of fans on social media.&nbsp;
Jordan will hit the open market this summer along with fellow veteran big man Paul Millsap. But Philly doesn't have many other free agency decisions to make; Shake Milton (team option), Myles Powell (restricted) and Harden are the only others to monitor.
The luxury tax hampers the 76ers, who will only have the taxpayer mid-level exception to add free agents unless Harden leaves and opens up some cap space. That MLE is valued at approximately $6.3 million. Maybe Philly locks in a permanent backup center like Thomas Bryant or Chris Boucher? Or perhaps they look for wings, whether it be a shooter like Bryn Forbes or a playmaker such as Kyle Anderson. Either way, it's at least a chance to reel in a rotation-caliber addition.
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The Sixers are also absent from the current NBA Draft picture. They traded their first-rounder to Brooklyn in the James Harden trade (though the Nets can defer that pick to 2023) and their second-rounder is headed to Miami.&nbsp;
If Philly wants to make a serious splash, it'll have to turn to the trade machine. Morey has reasonable pieces at his disposal. Thybulle, for all of his offensive warts, is one of the best wing defenders in the NBA and will make just $4.38 million next season before entering restricted free agency. Niang is set to enter the final year of his current contract and will collect $3.47 million. Harris still has two years left on his massive deal, but the 29-year-old deserves credit for a resurgent playoff effort.
Ultimately, Morey's maneuvering will only do so much for a Sixers roster in need of tweaks and growth. The biggest development might come in the offseason gym with young players who have yet to realize their potential.
Paul Reed emerged as a high-energy bench big in the playoffs, but still has leaps to make away from the boards. Charles Bassey, picked 53rd overall last season, is another athletic center preparing for his opportunity. We're still waiting on 22-year-old Isaiah Joe (non-guaranteed for next season) to round out his flashes of microwave perimeter scoring.
I was a fan of Jaden Springer, last year's No. 28 overall pick, at draft time. Springer averaged 15.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game with the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League, flying around on defense. But he still has a long way to go as an NBA guard on offense.
If any of these players break through into the full-time rotation next year, that's a major win for the 76ers development system. Trades can only accomplish so much when teams are sending pieces out to make additions. For Philly to take that next step as a championship contender, they'll need to see in-house improvement from Harden, the supporting cast and the young guns.
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James Harden's pending player option highlights a pivotal summer for the 76ers. Ethan Fuller dives in.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Philadelphia 76ers?

During the Miami Heat&rsquo;s first-round dispatching of the Atlanta Hawks, Bam Adebayo showcased precisely why he finished among the top-five in Defensive Player of the Year voting this year. His perimeter mobility, length and wide-ranging ground coverage walled off drives for Trae Young and rendered a top-three regular-season offense untenable.&nbsp;
In three of those contests though, Adebayo took nine or fewer shots, including two games with a combined 11 shots and 15 points. Miami didn&rsquo;t encounter much trouble coasting past Atlanta, but Adebayo surely wasn&rsquo;t casting his holistic All-Star-caliber imprint upon the series.
Against the Philadelphia 76ers, Adebayo has been the series&rsquo; best player en route to a pair of blowout victories. Through two games, the 24-year-old is tallying 23.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals on 80% True Shooting. He&rsquo;s averaging 10.5 shots and 9.5 free throws, notable leaps from the 8.4 shots and 4.4 free throws he averaged during Round 1.&nbsp;
With Joel Embiid sidelined, the Sixers&rsquo; other options at center &mdash; DeAndre Jordan, Paul Reed, Millsap and Tobias Harris &mdash; are ill-equipped to contain Adebayo offensively. Some are too slow to track him (Jordan, Millsap). Others are too small (Millsap, Harris). Another is too inexperienced as he garners his first extended trial of playoff basketball (Reed).&nbsp;
Jordan&rsquo;s idle nature as a drop defender exposes him in pick-and-rolls. Harris lacks the length to alter the Heat center&rsquo;s finishes. Reed, prone to overzealous tendencies, has fallen for quite a few pump-fakes and has sent Adebayo to the foul line. Together, they&rsquo;ve all proven incapable of neutralizing or slowing his interior scoring prowess.&nbsp;
Adebayo isn&rsquo;t doing anything radically different to generate these heightened scoring numbers. He&rsquo;s just flourishing against a greatly beneficial matchup and amplifying Miami&rsquo;s leading perimeter duo of Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro.
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His timing and discretion as a roller have been crucial too. He routinely picks the optimal angle or path from which to begin his dives and sets hulking screens. Butler, Herro, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus have all been recipients of his excellent screening, and his keen understanding of when to migrate toward the rim eases the burden for ball-handlers.&nbsp;
With seven screen assists through two second-round duels (per NBA.com), only Deandre Ayton (10), Giannis Antetokounmpo (10) and Dwight Powell (8) have more. Scoff at that statistic to your heart&rsquo;s desire, but there&rsquo;s a degree of utility in it. Adebayo&rsquo;s screening is integral to the prosperity of Miami&rsquo;s half-court offense, which is not flooded with standstill creators and requires him to aid perimeter scorers in their quest for space.
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He&rsquo;s also snagged six offensive boards in two games while also occupying the attention of defenders to spring free teammates to gobble up second chances instead. Not only is Adebayo excelling in the glamor category of scoring, he&rsquo;s checking the boxes of grunge-work like screening and rebounding.&nbsp;
The Sixers likely want nothing to do with him the rest of the series. While they can&rsquo;t control how he imposes himself offensively, they&rsquo;ve quickly made evident their intention to avoid him defensively.&nbsp;
Among the sporadic instances in which he&rsquo;s directly involved in a possession, the way he vibrantly and aggressively embraces switches has flustered Philadelphia. He&rsquo;s erased driving angles numerous times and omnisciently roamed in help. Tyrese Maxey has struggled to attack downhill against him (though Maxey, with 34 points, was stellar in Game 2). Adebayo consistently obstructs assignments from turning the corner against him.
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The All-Star&rsquo;s brightest defensive superlative in this series has been his deterrence. Philadelphia&rsquo;s clear preference is to exclude him from the action altogether. According to NBA.com, he&rsquo;s been a primary defender for ~184 possessions, and those players have only attempted 17 shots against him. As a team, the Sixers have scored 155 points, good for 84.2 points per 100 possessions.&nbsp;
Most often, when Adebayo switches onto someone, they hardly even look to create and remain far removed from any threatening scoring position. As such, he can retreat to a free safety role, complicating passing windows and disincentivizing driving lanes.&nbsp;
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Whether it&rsquo;s Jordan, Reed, Millsap or Matisse Thybulle, Philadelphia is playing someone (or multiple someones) that Miami feels comfortable disregarding to suppress whatever Maxey, Harris or James Harden are looking to do. Adebayo is the man often tasked as a helper to further suppress those efforts.
During Adebayo&rsquo;s 67 minutes in this series, the Heat have outscored the Sixers, 166-125. During his 29 minutes on the pine, Philadelphia has outscored Miami, 70-59. He&rsquo;s the biggest (available) differentiator between a competitive pair of games and two double-digit wins for Miami.&nbsp;
Embiid&rsquo;s unfortunate absence pervades across various angles of this matchup. But it&rsquo;s perhaps been most pronounced in Adebayo&rsquo;s play, given the multifaceted manner in which he&rsquo;s overwhelming the Sixers. Until or if the big fella returns, these problems will likely persist for Philadelphia and continue to behoove Miami.&nbsp;
With Adebayo at the heart of everything, the Heat are in control, two wins away from their second conference finals appearance in three seasons.
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Bam Adebayo has been a difference-maker for the Miami Heat in Round 2, and Jackson Frank explains precisely why.

Bam Adebayo stands at the core of the Heat's second-round dominance

At around 6:00 pm on Sunday, June 30, 2019, word began to spread that free agents Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had decided to team up and join forces in Brooklyn. It was hailed as one of the most important and impactful days in the history of the Nets as a franchise.
Despite the fact that KD was recovering from an Achilles tear, expectations in Brooklyn were sky-high. Euphoric Nets fans were incredibly optimistic, dreaming of the imminent success this dynamic duo would enjoy.&nbsp;
Yet, with both KD and Kyrie sidelined by injury during the 2020 postseason, Brooklyn was swept out of the playoffs by the Toronto Raptors that first year.
Nevertheless, expectations ratcheted up even further once Nets fans watched Durant return fully healthy in 2020-21. And that optimism reached a fever pitch when the team added a third future Hall-of-Famer, James Harden, in mid-January 2021.
However, Kyrie injured his ankle in Game 4 of the Nets' second-round series vs. the Milwaukee Bucks last postseason, and Harden was nursing a hamstring injury that prevented him from playing at full strength. KD put the team on his back and played brilliantly, but the Nets eventually lost Game 7 at home to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the eventual NBA champions.
Still, the team and its fan base were incredibly hopeful heading into the 2021-22 campaign. And for good reason, as KD, Kyrie and Harden were all healthy. Brooklynites were convinced this would be the year their team would advance to the Finals and capture the Larry O'Brien trophy, and sportsbooks in Las Vegas agreed with them, installing the Nets as the heavy preseason favorite to win the NBA title.
Things got off to a rocky start.
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Irving decided to reject the advice of medical experts and refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19. As a result, due to New York City vaccine mandates, Irving could not play in home games. Consequently, in early October, Nets general manager Sean Marks and team owner Joe Tsai informed Irving that he couldn't rejoin the team &mdash; for games or practices &mdash; until he was vaccinated.
"He has a choice to make, and he made his choice," Marks stated. "My job here is to make what we deem as the best choices for the organization moving ahead as a whole... We're looking at putting a group of people that are going to be able to participate fully. That's what this comes down to, and we're not looking for partners that are going to be half-time."&nbsp;
In November, Tsai told the New York Post: "Kyrie talks about it as a sort of personal choice issue, which I respect. But we all need to not forget our goal. A championship team needs to have everybody pulling the same direction."
Even without Irving, the Nets got off to a strong start, winning 21 of their first 29 games. Durant was playing at an MVP level over the first two months of the season, averaging 29.7 points (on 52% shooting), 7.9 rebounds and 5.9 rebounds. Brooklyn had the best record in the Eastern Conference through the first 30 games of the 2021-22 campaign.&nbsp;
However, in mid-December, a COVID outbreak decimated the Nets' depth. Durant, Harden De'Andre Bembry, Bruce Brown, Jevon Carter, LaMarcus Aldridge, James Johnson and Paul Millsap were all placed in health and safety protocols. Unnerved, the Nets front office relented and decided to welcome Irving back to the team.
With KD, Kyrie and Harden reunited, NBA pundits and oddsmakers once again predicted Brooklyn's immense collection of talent would carry them to a title.&nbsp;
However, the Nets' Big Three never seemed to get on the same page. In a Jan. 15 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, Durant sprained the MCL in his left knee. The injury would sideline KD for six weeks. By late January, rumors began to surface that Harden was fed up with the circus-like atmosphere and wanted out of Brooklyn.&nbsp;
On Feb. 2, Brooklyn was beaten badly by the lowly Sacramento Kings, and Harden's effort (or lack thereof) was appalling. In what would be his final appearance in a Nets uniform, The Beard finished with 4 points on 2 of 12 shooting.&nbsp;
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On the day of the trade deadline, Brooklyn shipped Harden to the Sixers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks.
Following the blockbuster deal, the Nets remained the consensus favorites to win the 2022 NBA title. Caesars Sportsbook elected to keep the Nets' odds at 4-1 after the trade, ahead of the Golden State Warriors (9-2), Phoenix Suns (5-1) and Bucks (7-1).
In his introductory press conference with Brooklyn, Simmons said he was looking forward to returning to action.
"I feel physically pretty good," Simmons told reporters. "Mentally, I'm getting there, so it's an ongoing thing to stay on top of that. But I think I'm heading in the right direction."
As we now know, Simmons would not set foot on an NBA court all season. Drummond, who provided much-needed rebounding help for Brooklyn early on, was essentially unplayable by the time the playoffs arrived (he logged less than 4 minutes of action in the Nets' season-ending loss Monday night).
Once Durant returned from his knee injury, Brooklyn got back on track and went 6-1 over a seven-game span in mid-March. Kyrie hung 50 on the Hornets in Charlotte on March 8. KD poured in a season-high 53 points in Brooklyn's victory over the New York Knicks on March 13. Two nights later, Irving scored a franchise-record 60 points in a blowout win over the Orlando Magic.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Irving and Durant became the first pair of teammates in NBA history to score 50 points in consecutive games. KD and Kyrie are also just the second duo to record multiple 50-point games in a season, joining Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, who accomplished the feat for the 1961-62 Los Angeles Lakers.
Then, in late March, New York mayor Eric Adams altered the city's vaccine mandate, clearing the way for Irving to play in home games. Adams, who initially stated that "it would send the wrong message" to give Irving an exemption when the city's other employees were still subject to the same mandate, said the revised decision was "about putting New York city-based performers on a level playing field."
Thus, the Nets would enter the postseason with their two top guns available (and Irving fresh/well-rested after being a part-time player for most of the season).
Yet, as it turned out, the disjointed Nets were no match for a unified Celtics team that had spent the past three months building its chemistry on both ends of the court.
Boston swept Brooklyn out of the playoffs, effectively locking up both Kyrie and KD.
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Durant played well in Game 4, but disappeared in Game 3 on Saturday night. KD was shockingly passive the entire evening, finishing the must-win contest with just 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting; his lack of aggression and intensity was stunning. In that contest, the most important game of the Nets season, Durant &mdash; a four-time scoring champion and two-time Finals MVP &mdash; finished with 10 fewer points and 8 fewer field-goal attempts than Brown.&nbsp;
Incredibly, over Game 2 and Game 3 combined, Brown scored more points (49) and grabbed more rebounds (16) than both Durant (43 points/12 boards) and Irving (26 points/12 boards).
Irving closed out his season averaging 15.3 points while shooting just 37.2% from the floor and 18.2% from three-point territory over the final three games of the series.
Being swept out of the playoffs in the first round would have been considered almost unimaginable at the start of the season, or really at any point over the past 12 months, assuming KD and Kyrie were both healthy.&nbsp;
In fact, SportsBetting.ag confirmed to BasketballNews.com that the Nets are the first NBA team ever to enter a season as the favorite to win a title, yet fail to win a single playoff game.&nbsp;
It's not hyperbole to suggest that the 2021-22 Brooklyn Nets will go down as arguably the most disappointing team in the history of the National Basketball Association.
That's not the all-time legacy Brooklynites were anticipating this squad would be remembered for. Dating back to the 2021 postseason, the Nets are 1-8 in their last last nine playoff games...
The unforgettable Sunday afternoon in June 2019, when Durant and Irving revealed they were teaming up, was 1,030 days ago.
Imagine telling enthusiastic Nets fans back then that KD, Kyrie and company would win only one playoff series (and a grand total of seven playoff games) over the subsequent three seasons.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer reviews the Nets' latest playoff shortcoming and how they haven't gotten it done since Kyrie Irving and KD joined forces.

The 2021-22 Nets: Arguably the most disappointing team in NBA history

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid did plenty of damage on his own. The Cavaliers, though, felt the big man got some unwarranted help.
Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff was highly critical of the officiating after Embiid scored 44 points &mdash; and made 20 trips to the free throw line &mdash; in Philadelphia's 112-108 win over the Cavs on Sunday night.
&ldquo;That game was taken from us,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;We deserved to win it.&rdquo;
Embiid added 17 rebounds and James Harden had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his second triple-double with Philadelphia as the 76ers locked up a playoff spot.
Embiid was questionable coming into the game with a sore ankle. But not only did the 7-footer play, Embiid dominated down the stretch, scoring 12 points in a key sequence of the fourth quarter.
He also made 17 free throws, added five blocks, made three 3-pointers and had three assists in 38 minutes of another MVP resume builder.
Embiid won&rsquo;t allow himself to get caught up in the debate.
&ldquo;If it happens, great,&rdquo; he said of winning his first MVP. &ldquo;If it doesn&rsquo;t, I don&rsquo;t know what I have to do. I&rsquo;ll feel like they hate me. I feel like the standard for guys in Philly or for me is different than everyone else.&rdquo;
Bickerstaff wasn't taking anything away from Embiid or Harden, but he was upset with what he thought was a major discrepancy in fouls. Cleveland was called for 28 to Philadelphia's 19 in a physical game with playoff-level intensity.
&ldquo;The one thing you can't defend is the free throw line and that's absurd,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said, referring to the Sixers' 42 attempted foul shots. &ldquo;Our guys deserved way better than they got tonight.
&ldquo;They're great players and they understand how to play through the rules,&rdquo; he said of Philly's All-Stars. &ldquo;They know how to manipulate the rules. This is no knock or disrespect to those guys. But the game has to be consistent on both ends of the floor. We were searching for that consistency and we never found it.&rdquo;
Darius Garland scored 23 and Caris LeVert and Lamar Stevens had 18 apiece for the Cavs, who played without injured 7-footers Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen but battled one of the East's top teams to the finish.
Cleveland, which is trying to hang onto the No. 7 play-in spot, was within 107-106 when Bickerstaff felt Garland drew contact from Embiid while missing an off-balance layup with 15.2 seconds left.
&ldquo;Darius was fouled,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;He did his job and got to a spot and got fouled. No whistle.&rdquo;
The Cavs were only down 109-106 after Harden made two free throws with 11.2 seconds left.
But Kevin Love made a careless inbounds pass that was stolen by Matisse Thybulle, who then made a pass from a sitting position to a streaking Tobais Harris for a game-sealing dunk with 7.2 seconds left.
Nothing came easy on offense for the Sixers, who made 21 3-pointers and scored a season-high 144 in a win over Charlotte on Saturday.
&ldquo;Yesterday we couldn&rsquo;t miss,&rdquo; coach Doc Rivers said. &ldquo;Today, we couldn&rsquo;t make.&rdquo;
But Embiid bailed his teammates out with the kind of performance that has come to be expected of him, the kind made by an MVP.
&ldquo;I get to witness his greatness every night," Harden said. "Obviously, his offensive numbers tonight are self-explanatory. Defensively, he was very active blocking shots, changing shots and clogging the paint up was key.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
76ers: Finished 35 of 42 at the line. ... F Paul Millsap, a 15-year veteran, has only played eight minutes in the last five games. Millsap has only appeared in four games since DeAndre Jordan was signed on March 3. &hellip; Philadelphia plays three of its final four regular-season games on the road. ... Rivers had high praise for Cavs guard Rajon Rondo, who played for him in Boston. &ldquo;The brightest player I've ever been around,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;He kept us (coaches) on our toes.&rdquo;
Cavaliers: Rondo (ankle) played for the first time since March 12. ... Allen missed his 15th straight game and Mobley sat his fourth in a row. Bickerstaff did not say when &mdash; or if &mdash; either will be back before the regular season ends in a week.
EM(BIID)-VP TALK
Rivers has been campaigning for Embiid to win MVP honors this season among a group of worthy candidates. For the Sixers coach, Embiid's passing, defense and leadership are overlooked parts of his well-rounded game.
&ldquo;I know he's my guy, obviously,&rdquo; Rivers said pregame. &ldquo;He has just has done so many things.&rdquo;
Rivers credits Embiid for pulling the Sixers through &ldquo;the Ben Simmons saga.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He was our second-best player at the time and was out, and at the All-Star break when we made the trade, we were a game out of first place in the East,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;There's a lot to be said about that.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
76ers: Play at Indiana on Tuesday.
Cavaliers: Visit Orlando on Tuesday.

Joel Embiid scored 44 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in Philadelphia's win in Cleveland.

Cavs cry foul after Embiid scores 44 in Sixers' 122-108 win

Tyrese Maxey told teammate Joel Embiid he&rsquo;d step up in his absence. Then, Maxey took over the game and the fans&rsquo; chants normally reserved for the 76ers' star center.
Maxey scored 13 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, including nine in a row during a crucial stretch, and short-handed Philadelphia &mdash; without Embiid and James Harden &mdash; beat the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat 113-106 on Monday night.
Shake Milton scored 20 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 18 for Philadelphia, which pulled within 2&frac12; games of the Heat in the conference. Embiid sat out with back soreness and Harden with left hamstring tightness.
&ldquo;He said, &lsquo;Go out there and help us get a &lsquo;W&rsquo;,&rdquo; Maxey said of Embiid&rsquo;s pregame message. &ldquo;I told him, &lsquo;I got him.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Boy, did he ever.
Maxey took over the final 2&frac12; minutes with the game on the line. In a contest that was tight from the tip, Philadelphia was clinging to a two-point lead when Maxey scored on a drive, was fouled and made the free throw for a 106-101 lead with 2:18 left.
After Jimmy Butler missed a 3-point try, Maxey hit a step-back 3 for a 109-101 lead. Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro couldn&rsquo;t convert at the other hand, and the second-year guard from Kentucky drained another 3, this time for a 112-101 lead with 1:03 to play that brought &ldquo;MAX-EY! MAX-EY!&rdquo; chants from the sold-out crowd which usually reserves the loudest cheers for Embiid.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just not scared; he&rsquo;s so comfortable in the moment,&rdquo; Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s put in so much work. The more work, the more confident you are, and I think that&rsquo;s a great testament for Tyrese Maxey.&rdquo;
Maxey wasn&rsquo;t done.
After the Heat stole a Philadelphia inbound pass with the 76ers up six points, Maxey raced down the court and blocked Caleb Martin&rsquo;s attempt with 21 seconds remaining &mdash; resulting in more &ldquo;MAX-EY! MAX-EY!&rdquo; chants.
&ldquo;I was thinking either he&rsquo;s going to dunk on me, or I&rsquo;m going to get this block,&rdquo; Maxey said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of those you have to put your body on the line.&rdquo;
Butler scored 27, Bam Adebayo had 22 and Lowry 20 for Miami, which lost for just the fifth time in the last 20 games.
Philly fans are used to chanting this season, but it&rsquo;s usually &ldquo;M-V-P! M-V-P!&rdquo; for Embiid.
&ldquo;Great feeling to see all the work you put in come together,&rdquo; Maxey said.
Embiid entered Monday tied with LeBron James for the NBA lead in scoring (29.8 ppg). The five-time All-Star is one of the frontrunners for the MVP award.
But Maxey took center stage with Embiid on the sidelines.
&ldquo;Maxey played great,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;He was getting to his right hand all night long. Regardless of what we were doing or whatever the scheme was or whoever was on him, he was getting to his right and getting to where he wanted to go.&rdquo;
STAR WATCHERS
Embiid watched Maxey&rsquo;s heroics from the bench. He has played in 58 games this season and has made playing regularly a priority this season. The sixth-year center hasn&rsquo;t played more than 64 games in a season. He missed nine contests in November due to health and safety protocols.
Harden has averaged 22.4 points, 10.5 assists and 7.0 rebounds in 11 games with the 76ers since being acquired from Brooklyn for Ben Simmons in a blockbuster trade last month. But the hamstring injury kept Harden off the court in his final four games with the Nets and first four with the 76ers. Since then, the 10-time All-Star and former MVP has played in 11 of 12 games, missing only the 76ers&rsquo; 99-82 defeat at Miami on March 5.
He didn&rsquo;t play in the rematch, either, a potential Eastern Conference final preview.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just being careful,&rdquo; Rivers said before the game. Rivers said Harden did not suffer a setback in his hamstring recovery.
The 76ers started Paul Millsap in place of Embiid and Georges Niang for Harden.
The star duo&rsquo;s next opportunity to return to the court will be in Los Angeles on Wednesday, when the 76ers begin a three-game trip against the Lakers.
TRAINER&rsquo;S ROOM
Heat: Gabe Vincent (bruised toe) and Victor Oladipo (lower back spasms) didn&rsquo;t play.
UP NEXT
Heat: Begin four-game homestand on Wednesday against Golden State.
76ers: Open three-game Western trip against the Lakers on Wednesday.

The short-handed 76ers — without Joel Embiid and James Harden — beat the Eastern Conference-leading Heat 113-106 on Monday.

Maxey scores 28 as 76ers beat Heat without Harden, Embiid

Kevin Durant scored 18 of his 34 points in Brooklyn's dominating first half in the Nets' 129-100 blowout victory over the 76ers on Thursday night in Ben Simmons&rsquo; much-hyped return to Philadelphia.
Seth Curry added 24 points, and Kyrie Irving had 22 for the Nets. They entered in eighth place in the East, but looked like a legitimate conference contender while badly outplaying the third-place 76ers.
Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers, and James Harden finished with just 11 points. It was the first loss for Philadelphia in six games with Harden in the lineup.
The game was dubbed as &ldquo;Boo Ben&rdquo; night, but the raucous fans instead turned their displeasure on the home team when the 76ers went to the locker room trailing 72-51 and again when Brooklyn built a stunning 32-point lead in the third quarter.
Simmons, wearing a designer hockey jersey and flashy jewelry, watched from the bench, likely taking delight in the vitriol deflected away from him. The three-time All-Star is continuing to recover from a back injury that has sidelined him since being swapped for Harden in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline.
While Simmons hasn&rsquo;t taken the floor yet, Harden had been a boon for the 76ers unlike his time in Brooklyn, where the so-called Big 3 of Harden, Durant and Irving managed to play just 16 games together following Harden&rsquo;s trade to Brooklyn last January that was billed as a potentially championship move. Harden exchanged fist bumps with Nets staff members just before tip before a shockingly poor performance from the 10-time All-Star and former MVP.
Harden missed 14 of 17 field-goal attempts.
The only shot Simmons took was a dunk during pregame warmups that drew derisive cheers from the Philly fans.
The boos started early, as Simmons was met with catcalls while boarding the team bus to shootaround from the Nets&rsquo; downtown hotel. Simmons did oblige one fan for an autograph, with another being heard on a video widely circulated on social media yelling, &ldquo;Why the grievance? Why spit in the face of Sixers fans? We did nothing but support you for five years, Ben. You know that.&rdquo;
The heckling continued when Simmons was at the arena. He entered the court 55 minutes prior to tip, wearing a sleeveless Nets warmup shirt and sweats and spent 20 minutes passing for Patty Mills' warmup shots. He didn&rsquo;t embrace any of his former teammates, though he did walk the length of the court to hug a 76ers official.
A large security presence closely watched the crowd and cell phones captured every Simmons move.
TRAINER&rsquo;S ROOM
Nets: LaMarcus Aldridge (hip) missed his second straight contest.
76ers: Danny Green sat out after injuring his left middle finger in the first half of the 76ers&rsquo; 121-106 win over the Bulls on Monday.
TIP-INS
Nets: Improved to 21-15 on the road, where Irving is only allowed to play due to his vaccination status. &hellip; Curry and Andre Drummond, who also were part of the Simmons for Harden trade, were cheered during introductions, Curry made 10 of 14 shots, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. Drummond had seven points and seven rebounds. ... Durant also had 14 rebounds and seven assists.
76ers: Paul Millsap returned after missing Monday&rsquo;s game against Chicago due to personal reasons but didn&rsquo;t play. &hellip; Former Sixers and Hall of Famers Allen Iverson and Julus &ldquo;Dr. J&rdquo; Erving were in attendance. Erving rang the ceremonial Liberty Bell before the contest. &hellip; Harden passed Reggie Miller for third on the NBA&rsquo;s all-time 3-point list when he made his 2,561st trey with 6:47 left in the first quarter.
UP NEXT
Nets: Host New York on Sunday.
76ers: At Orlando on Sunday.

Kevin Durant scored 18 of his 34 points in Brooklyn's dominating first half in the Nets' 129-100 blowout victory over the 76ers.

Durant, Nets rout 76ers in Simmons' return to Philadelphia

Joel Embiid had 43 points and 14 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 121-106 Monday night in a showdown between two of the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s top teams headed in opposite directions.
James Harden added 16 points and 14 assists, and Tyrese Maxey added 17 points for the 76ers, who have won six of seven and stayed perfect with Harden in the lineup.
Embiid, the league's leading scorer, made 15 of 27 field goals and 12 of 16 free throws. The MVP front-runner scored at least 40 points for the 10th time this season while upping his season average to 29.7 points per contest.
Zach Lavine scored 24 points for the Bulls and DeMar DeRozan added 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who have lost five in a row.
The Bulls have had trouble against the conference&rsquo;s elite and dropped to 0-9 versus Miami, Philadelphia and Milwaukee &mdash; the three teams ahead of them in the standings. Philadelphia began play tied with the Bucks for second in the East, three games back of the Heat. The 76ers ended the season series with Chicago with a four-game sweep.
The 76ers improved to 5-0 with Harden since the blockbuster deal at the trade deadline that sent Ben Simmons to the Nets in exchange for the 2017-18 MVP. Harden sat out Philadelphia&rsquo;s 99-82 loss at Miami on Saturday to rest his hamstring. He is averaging 24.6 points, 12.4 assists and 7.4 rebounds as a 76er.
The Bulls couldn&rsquo;t beat the 76ers without Harden, and it certainly didn&rsquo;t get any easier with 10-time All-Star point guard directing Philadelphia&rsquo;s offense.
Harden tied Reggie Miller for third on the career 3-pointers list, draining No. 2,560 with his patented step-back move, with 1:09 left in the first quarter. With Tony Brown Jr. guarding him, Harden dribbled behind his back, then got the crowd buzzing by putting the ball between his legs four times before stepping back to the 3-point line and swishing the long-range shot.
DeANDRE&rsquo;S DEBUT
DeAndre Jordan received a loud ovation when he entered for his 76ers debut with 55.6 seconds left in the first quarter. The veteran center was signed by Philadelphia last week to back up Embiid. He had two points and three rebounds in 10:24.
TRAINER&rsquo;S ROOM
Bulls: The Bulls were without third-leading scorer (17.9 ppg) and top rebounder (9.6 rpg) Nikola Vucevic due to hamstring tightness. ... Lonzo Ball (left knee surgery), Patrick Williams (wright) and Alex Caruso (wrist) worked out on Sunday during practice but did not participate in any contact.
76ers: Danny Green injured his left middle finger late in the first half and didn&rsquo;t return.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Hall of Famer Mo Cheeks, whose retired No. 10 76ers jersey hangs in the rafters, is an assistant coach for Chicago. ... Dropped to 15-16 on the road.
76ers: Paul Millsap (personal reasons) was not in attendance. ... Harden trails Ray Allen (2,973) and Steph Curry (3,101 entering Monday) for most 3-pointers made. ... Harden also went 5 of 6 from the free-throw line and passed Paul Pierce for ninth all-time in free throws made. ... Moved within 11 wins of reaching 3,000 all-time, which only Boston and the Lakers have accomplished in NBA history.
UP NEXT
Bulls: At Detroit on Wednesday.
76ers: Host Brooklyn on Thursday.

Joel Embiid had 43 points and 14 rebounds, James Harden had 16 points and 14 assists and Tyrese Maxey added 17 points in the win.

Embiid has 43 points, 14 rebounds; 76ers thump Bulls 121-106

James Harden is the new kid in town, earning raucous cheers from the moment he steps on the court. Joel Embiid hears wire-to-wire &ldquo;MVP!&rdquo; chants from Philly fans begging for a championship.
The 76ers are so much more than their dynamic duo.
Make room for Tyrese Maxey in Philly's version of a Big 3.
Maxey made five 3-pointers and scored 33 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to their fifth straight win, 125-119 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
&ldquo;I don't think we look at it as Big 3, Big 2,&rdquo; Maxey said. &ldquo;I think we look at it as one unit.&rdquo;
The 76ers improved to 4-0 with Harden in the lineup. Harden had 25 points and 11 assists. Embiid added 22 points and nine rebounds.
Maxey, though, stole the show.
&ldquo;On any given night, it can be any one of us to go off,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;Tyrese really picked it up for us tonight.&rdquo;
The second-year guard out of Kentucky tore through the Cavaliers in the second half and seemingly turned Embiid and Harden into bystanders. His best sequence came in the fourth. Maxey hit a 3 that gave the Sixers a one-point lead, then he drained a 3 off a pass from Harden on the break that made it 110-106 and had the Philly crowd going wild.
Harden held his arms high and beckoned the crowd to get even louder.
Maxey made 10 of 15 shots (5 of 6 on 3s) and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line with five assists.
&ldquo;He's a fearless kid,&rdquo; coach Doc Rivers said.
Darius Garland scored 26 points and had 19 assists for the Cavaliers, and Isaac Okoro added 22.
Harden, who had at least 20 points and 10 assists for the third time in four games, picked up his third foul at 8:32 in the second quarter and took only four shots through three. Yet, he still had 18 points (and nine assists) on the strength of two 3s and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.
&ldquo;I've got to do a better job of being more solid,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;I've got to be more smarter so I can be out there and help my team."
His fast success with Embiid was expected. But his presence has turned Maxey into a knock-off Allen Iverson since his arrival.
Maxey made 76ers fans &mdash; and, frankly, the 76ers &mdash; forget about Ben Simmons with his play this season.
He turned it on in the third quarter and brought the Sixers back from long-range, attacking the net, and even with a nifty pass off the break to Embiid.
Maxey hit two 3s and scored 14 points in the quarter to bring the Sixers back from 21 points down to grab a lead late in the third. He buried a 3, then came back right with a 12-footer to make it a three-point deficit. The speedy guard tossed the ball to Embiid for the easy bucket that sent the crowd into a frenzy. He scored 20 points for the fourth straight game, the longest streak of his career -- and all with Harden.
But it was Georges Niang who finally gave the Sixers their first lead on a basket and a 3 that made it 97-93.
&ldquo;He's a shooter. That's what he does,&rdquo; Harden said.
The Cavaliers hit their first nine shots and Kevin Love made a pair of 3s to help them race to a 39-18 lead. They have lost six of seven.
&ldquo;We felt and looked like ourselves for the first time in a while,&rdquo; coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;We just happened to run into a really good basketball team.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: Bickerstaff was fined $20,000 by the NBA for his behavior while being ejected from a game on Monday night. The league fined Bickerstaff for using inappropriate language toward the officiating crew and not leaving the court &ldquo;in a timely manner.&rdquo;
76ers: Veteran C DeAndre Jordan is expected to join the team Saturday after he signed this week. Jordan&rsquo;s arrival reunites him with Rivers, who was his coach while with the Los Angeles Clippers. &ldquo;I hope he recaptures the Lob City days,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;That would be fantastic for us.&rdquo; The 33-year-old Jordan joins Paul Millsap as a backup center for the Sixers. &ldquo;We've got a bunch of backups now. He&rsquo;s just one of them,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s great to have him.&rdquo;
HARDEN FOR 3
Harden hit two 3s and has 2,559 on his career, one shy of matching Reggie Miller for third on the NBA's career list.
Bickerstaff coached Harden as an assistant and an interim coach when they were in Houston and raved about his greatness.
&ldquo;He sees the game a step ahead,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not one of those guys that&rsquo;s just going so fast he&rsquo;s waiting for the offense to react. He&rsquo;s forcing the defense to react. He&rsquo;s one of the most creative decision makers and passers in our game. He also knows when to make the play that&rsquo;s right in front of him.&rdquo;
GARLAND'S COMPANY
Garland <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1499937898547879937">joined LeBron James and Andre Miller </a> as the only players in Cavs franchise history with multiple 25-point, 15-assist games in a single season.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: Host Toronto on Sunday.
76ers: Play Saturday at Eastern Conference-leading Miami.

Tyrese Maxey made five three-pointers and scored 33 points to lead the 76ers to their fifth straight win.

Maxey-mum effort: 76ers race past Cavs behind 33 from Maxey

Ben Simmons is dealing with back soreness as the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; new acquisition prepares to make his 2021-22 debut.
Nets coach Steve Nash confirmed before Saturday&rsquo;s game with the Milwaukee Bucks that the three-time All-Star has encountered &ldquo;just a little soreness in his back.&rdquo;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like an injury," Nash said. "It&rsquo;s just kind of like as he&rsquo;s returning to play, his back&rsquo;s flared up a little. It&rsquo;s not like a long-term thing.&rdquo;
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-76ers-brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-james-harden-f40f901f83435cb91536bf241213aa76">The Nets acquired the 6-foot-10 guard/forward </a> along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two future first-round picks in a Feb. 10 trade that sent 10-time All-Star James Harden and Paul Millsap to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Simmons, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/e386d7384c214661a71ca27600925c2b">the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft,</a> hasn&rsquo;t played since the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pa-state-wire-ga-state-wire-philadelphia-76ers-atlanta-hawks-los-angeles-clippers-ee1e636c2c3bfa3257fb1975c5b452ac">76ers fell to the Atlanta Hawks in last season&rsquo;s Eastern Conference semifinals. </a> He demanded a trade last summer.
&ldquo;He hasn&rsquo;t played a game since June,&rdquo; Nash said. &ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s just a part of his process of returning to play. As you ramp up, you&rsquo;re a little bit susceptible to certain things, as you would be with muscle soreness or tightness.&rdquo;
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-76ers-brooklyn-nets-nba-entertainment-sports-032b7b7f897fb8d6adceb9eab88a720d">While speaking to reporters after the trade,</a> Simmons said he hoped to play again by the time the Nets visit Philadelphia on March 10.

Ben Simmons is dealing with back soreness as the Brooklyn Nets’ new acquisition prepares to make his 2021-22 debut.

Simmons deals with back soreness as he preps for Nets debut

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Jaylen Brown scored 26 of his 29 points in the first half and the Boston Celtics won their ninth in a row, dominating the Philadelphia 76ers 135-87 on Tuesday night.
Jayson Tatum added 28 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who have closed ground in the Eastern Conference with their stellar play of late. Boston entered sixth in the East, four-and-a-half back of first-place Miami. They have won 11 of 12.
The margin of victory was the largest by the Celtics over Philadelphia in a rivalry that has been played 457 times. Boston&rsquo;s previous biggest win was a 124-87 drubbing of Philadelphia on Dec. 20, 1987.
Joel Embiid had 19 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers. The NBA&rsquo;s leading scorer entering the contest averaging 29.5 points. Embiid had his string of games with at least 25 points end at 31 in a row.
James Harden made his first appearance in Philadelphia &mdash; but in street clothes. The recently acquired star continues to recover from a hamstring injury. Harden is expected to make his 76ers debut on Feb. 25 at Minnesota.
Earlier Tuesday, Philadelphia introduced Harden at a press conference at the team&rsquo;s training center in Camden, New Jersey, following last week&rsquo;s blockbuster trade that sent disgruntled guard Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets. Harden drew a loud ovation when he came onto the court unannounced during pregame warmups, and the arena erupted when he rang the ceremonial Liberty Bell prior to the home introductions.
The 76ers sure could&rsquo;ve used the 10-time All-Star, three-time scoring champ and former MVP during the game. His first in-person look at his new teammates came in their worst game of the season.
Boston torched Philadelphia in the opening 24 minutes, building a 27-point halftime lead. It got even worse for Philadelphia in the second half.
The Celtics did little wrong to start while making 22 of 39 first-half shots and silencing the previously frenzied crowd. Brown made all five of his 3-point attempts and Tatum added 16 at the break.
The 76ers got a little life on Embiid&rsquo;s jumper that pulled them within 58-41 with 2:26 left before halftime, resulting in a Celtics timeout and Harden &mdash; dressed in cut-up jeans and a long pink blazer with yellow sleeves &mdash; raising both arms to implore the crowd to get loud.
But Boston closed the half by scoring 11 of the final 12 points, capped by Brown&rsquo;s 3-pointer at the buzzer that had him dancing back to the locker room and the Celtics ahead 69-42.
The Celtics led by as many as 51 in a second half that featured booing from the dissatisfied home fans.
TRAINER&rsquo;S ROOM
Celtics: Marcus Smart limped off the court after getting hurt on a drive to the basket with 5:15 left in the second quarter. He appeared to injure his right ankle by stepping on Embiid&rsquo;s foot and didn&rsquo;t put any pressure on the ankle while being helped back to the bench. He stayed in the game briefly to shoot the free throws, missing both, before heading to the locker room and not returning. &hellip; Robert Williams III (right calf tightness) didn&rsquo;t play. Williams entered Tuesday averaging 10.0 points and a team-best 9.7 rebounds. He&rsquo;ll be evaluated on Wednesday to determine his status for the night&rsquo;s game versus Detroit.
76ers: Embiid again played with a bandage wrapped around his right wrist. He has had his wrist heavily wrapped following Philadelphia&rsquo;s last two contests, though he downplayed the injury. &hellip; Harden missed his final four games with the Nets due to the hamstring injury and hasn&rsquo;t played in any of the three contests since the 76ers acquired him on Feb. 10, although he did participate in practice on Monday and Tuesday. He&rsquo;ll also sit out Thursday&rsquo;s game at Milwaukee.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Derrick White, playing in his third game with Boston after a trade with San Antonio, had 11 points. &hellip; Improved to 14-15 on the road. &hellip; The teams tied the four-game season series at two apiece. Boston split a pair of home games, losing 108-103 on Dec. 20 and winning 88-87 on Dec. 1. Philadelphia recorded a 111-99 home win on Jan. 14.
76ers: Shot 28.7% (23 of 80) from the field. &hellip; Philadelphia&rsquo;s previous largest margin of defeat this season was a 35-point loss at Utah on Nov. 10. Embiid wasn&rsquo;t in the lineup for that game, and their worst loss with their star big man before Tuesday was a 22-point home defeat to the Jazz on Dec. 9. &hellip; Veteran Paul Millsap, also part of the deal that brought Harden to Philadelphia, started the fourth quarter and finished with nine points.
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host Detroit on Wednesday night.
76ers: At Milwaukee on Thursday night.

Jaylen Brown led the Boston Celtics to a blowout win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Jaylen Brown leads streaking Celtics to blowout win over 76ers

After roughly six months of relative silence, Ben Simmons spoke with the media on Tuesday afternoon during his introductory press conference in Brooklyn, following the trade that sent him from the Sixers to the Nets.&nbsp;
"I feel physically pretty good," Simmons told reporters. "Mentally, I'm getting there, so it's an ongoing thing to stay on top of that. But I think I'm heading in the right direction."
Simmons said he had been staying in shape by doing Pilates, playing pickup games and lifting weights with his trainers.
The Nets acquired Simmons along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two future first-round picks, in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap hours before last Thursday's trade deadline.&nbsp;
Simmons didn't provide much in the way of specifics when asked about what led to the deterioration of his relationship with the Sixers organization.
"It piled up, a bunch of things, over the years where I knew I wasn't myself, and I had to get back to that place of being myself and being happy as a person and taking care of my well-being," Simmons explained. "That was the major thing for me. It wasn't about the basketball, it wasn't about the money, anything like that. I want to be who I am and get back to playing basketball at that level and being myself.
"There's just a lot of things internally that happened over time, and it just got to a place where I don't think it was good for me mentally, so it is what it is... [I'm] moving forward."
If we are looking ahead and projecting how he will fit in alongside his new teammates, it's important to remember just how impactful Simmons can be when he steps onto a basketball court.&nbsp;
Simmons was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 2017-18 after becoming just the second player in NBA history (along with Oscar Robertson in 1960-61) to average more than eight rebounds and eight assists in his first full season. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
Simmons also excelled in the playoffs in 2018. In the first postseason series of his career, he led the Sixers past the Miami Heat and into the second round by averaging 18.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 2.4 steals (while shooting over 70% from the free-throw stripe).
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In his sophomore season, Simmons averaged a career-high 16.9 points (on 56.3% shooting) to go along with 8.8 rebounds and 7.7 dimes. The only other players to average more than 16 points (while shooting above 50% from the floor), 8.0 boards and 7.0 assists over an entire NBA season are former MVPs: Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird.
In 2019-20, Simmons authored arguably his finest all-around campaign, earning a spot on the All-Defensive First Team and All-NBA Third Team after shooting a career-high 58% from the field and leading the league in steals (becoming the first Sixer to do so since Allen Iverson in 2002-03). Simmons became the only player in NBA history to average at least 16.0 points, 8.0 assists, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and a field goal percentage above 57%. He also led the league in defensive loose balls recovered and ranked third in deflections.&nbsp;
Last season, Simmons' counting stats declined a bit due to a dip in playing time, but he still stuffed the stat sheet and dominated the defensive end of the floor. He was named to the All-Defense First Team for a second-straight year and was one of just two players, along with Rudy Gobert, to be a unanimous selection. Simmons would finish second to Gobert in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Simmons' Sixers finished the year with the league's second-best defensive rating, one spot ahead of Utah.&nbsp;
It's also important to note that Simmons was just 24 years old at the end of the 2020-21 campaign. Per Basketball-Reference, he is one of only seven players to tally at least 4,000 career points, 2,000 boards and 2,000 dimes before celebrating their 25th birthday: the other six are Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Tracy McGrady, Oscar Robertson and Kobe Bryant. (Magic and the Big O are the only two to reach those milestones in fewer games.)&nbsp;
Yes, his tenure with the 76ers ended awfully, culminating in a brutally bad playoff loss to Atlanta, but let's not forget just how well Simmons played during his four years in Philly.&nbsp;
Does he have flaws that he needs to address? Absolutely, with the issues at the free-throw stripe being the biggest problem.
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Yet, although Simmons has been a subpar shooter and dreadful free-thrower for most of his career, he has still been a great basketball player. The numbers detailed above prove that point.
Furthermore, there is no denying that Simmons positively impacted his team. He plays winning basketball, which is reflected by the Sixers' success. &nbsp;
For context, consider this: In the four years before Simmons arrived in Philadelphia, from 2013-14 through 2016-17, the Sixers lost more games than any team in the NBA, posting a pitiful 75-253 record (.228 winning percentage).&nbsp;
In the subsequent four years with Simmons, from 2017-18 through 2020-21, the Sixers were 195-114 (winning percentage of .631), which was the third-best record in the NBA over that stretch.&nbsp;
Philly hadn't won a playoff game in five years prior to Simmons' rookie season. They won 19 postseason contests and three series over his four years.&nbsp;
Of course, Joel Embiid and others deserve a ton of credit as well, as Simmons obviously wasn't solely responsible for the Sixers' turnaround. Still, Ben's impact on both ends of the floor was undeniably enormous.&nbsp;
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Simmons said he doesn't "have a date yet" for when he plans to make his Nets debut, but that he is "starting to ramp it up" and getting close to game shape. He also stated he hopes to be ready to play by March 10, when Brooklyn visits the City of Brotherly Love for a matchup against his former squad.
When asked about sharing the court with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Simmons replied, "I think it's going to be scary having those guys running alongside me, multiple different weapons on the floor. And I think at the pace we want to play at, it's going to be unreal."
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And while Harden is certainly a better long-range shooter (Harden has made at least five three-pointers in a game 184 times, whereas Simmons has made a grand total of five three-pointers in his entire career), Simmons brings an all-around skill set that ultimately may fit better alongside KD and Kyrie.&nbsp;
On Tuesday, Simmons spoke specifically about running and pushing the pace with Brooklyn. Nets fans have to be excited envisioning how he'll immediately improve the Nets' fast-break offense. Dating back to 2017, Simmons leads the league in assists per game in transition, averaging over 2.5 per contest.&nbsp;
Defensively, Simmons brings incredible versatility to the table. He is one of the very few players in the league who can cover quick point guards on the perimeter and burly power forwards on the block.&nbsp;
And playing alongside two of the greatest offensive players of this generation in Durant and Irving will allow Simmons to focus primarily on the defensive end.&nbsp;
So, while nearly all the commotion and controversy surrounding Simmons over the last six months has focused on his flaws, let's not forget the kid can play.

After six months of silence, Ben Simmons spoke to the media about his exit from the Sixers, his fresh start with the Nets and more.

Lest we forget, Ben Simmons is a great basketball player

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had a triple-double of 40 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists along with a highlight-reel jam, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-93 on Saturday night.
The Sixers are awaiting the debut of James Harden, who was acquired before the trade deadline.
Tyrese Maxey added 16 points for Philadelphia, which has won both games since Thursday’s blockbuster trade that sent disgruntled Ben Simmons to Brooklyn for Harden.
Harden arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday, and 76ers general manager Daryl Morey posted a video on social media of his airport embrace with the three-time NBA scoring champion. Harden was evaluated by the team’s medical staff on Saturday, but not present at the arena for the game. Fans cheered loudly when a video showing Harden highlights, which ended with him in a photoshopped 76ers jersey, was posted on the video screen for the second straight night.
Embiid’s first-half dunk also got plenty of play on the big board. The 7-foot MVP candidate brought the house down with 1:47 left in the first half with a one-handed throw-down over Jarrett Allen that had fans – and even players – putting their hands to their heads.
He posted a picture of the dunk on his social media accounts.
“It was crazy, it was cool,” Embiid said. “I was finally able to make my dreams come true.”
Embiid finished 11 of 22 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and made 14 of 15 free throws. He has scored at least 25 points in 31 consecutive games.
Darius Garland scored 27 points to lead Cleveland.
The already electric atmosphere in Philadelphia created by Embiid’s presence and nightly “M-V-P! M-V-P!” chants is going to ramp up even more when Harden takes the court, which could be as early as Tuesday’s home game against Boston. Philadelphia also plays Thursday at Milwaukee before a hiatus for the All-Star break.
“He’s going to make the game easy for all of us, especially me,” Embiid said. “I don’t get a lot of easy shots. I have to work for most of them. I hope he’s going to make my game easier.”
The 76ers looked good without Harden against upstart Cleveland, which entered the contest one game back of first place in the Eastern Conference but played catch-up all night.
Philadelphia came out firing, making 11 of its first 14 shots, to double up the Cavs, 30-15 in the early going. The Cavs did manage to go up two points in the third quarter, but Embiid was just too much and Philadelphia pulled away during crunch time.
“Every team that is in front of you, you always want to see where we’re at,” Embiid said. “Good to get this first one in and see how we compare to them.”
The defeat was a good lesson for the Cavaliers, according to coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
“The intensity at which you’re going to have to play at in order to compete with teams like this,” he said. “It was a clear message from the beginning of the game the intensity they were coming with. These are the tests we talk about and these are the lessons we have to learn. It’s a matter of playing with force and playing with speed.”
RIVERS ON HARDEN
Sixers coach Doc Rivers spoke to Harden on Saturday, but didn’t have a timetable for his debut with the 76ers, saying it would depend on his health. Harden missed four straight games before the trade with a hamstring injury.
Once healthy, Rivers is excited to get the former NBA MVP on the court. In their conversation, Rivers wanted to put Harden at ease and wanted to let him know the importance of working together in the hopes of winning the franchise’s first title since 1983.
Rivers said Harden would enter the lineup when healthy, even if it means he doesn’t have any practice time with the 76ers.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cavaliers: Lauri Markkanen (sprained ankle) missed his 10th in a row, but looked fluid while working out by himself before the game. … Garland played for just the second time in the last seven. He’s been battling lower back soreness.
76ers: Rivers said the team’s medical staff wasn’t concerned about Embiid’s right wrist, which was wrapped after Friday’s 100-87 win over Oklahoma City. Embiid played with tape on his right wrist. The Philadelphia star grabbed at his lower back after being fouled by Allen with 1:52 left in the second quarter, but clearly was fine when he dunked five seconds later.
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: This was the first of four meetings between the Eastern Conference contenders. They’ll play March 4 in Philadelphia and March 16 and April 3 in Cleveland. … Caris LeVert, playing in his third game since being acquired from Indiana on Sunday, scored 11 points. … Fell to 17-13 on the road.
76ers: Paul Millsap, also acquired from the Nets along with Harden, was in attendance and received a warm reception when shown on the video board. … Improved to 16-12 at home. … Embiid has played six in a row after a one-game rest on Jan. 31 that followed 21 consecutive contests.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: At Atlanta on Tuesday.
76ers: Host Boston on Tuesday.
___
More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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Joel Embiid had a triple-double of 40 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists along with a highlight-reel jam, and Philadelphia beat Cleveland 103-93.

Embiid's dunk, triple-double highlight 76ers' win over Cavs

It was the trade that shook up the NBA world before Thursday's deadline.&nbsp;
The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers completed a blockbuster trade centered around former MVP James Harden and former No. 1 pick and NBA All-Star Ben Simmons, who had been disgruntled and holding out for the season.&nbsp;
Brooklyn received:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Ben Simmons</li>
<li>Seth Curry</li>
<li>Andre Drummond</li>
<li>2022 first-round pick (unprotected)</li>
<li>2027 first-round pick (protected)</li>
</ul>
Philadelphia received:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>James Harden</li>
<li>Paul Millsap</li>
</ul>
I reached out to former New Jersey Nets star Kenyon Martin to get his thoughts on the trade, which team came out as the winner and who he has coming out of the East.&nbsp;
Etan Thomas: My initial reaction when I saw the trade was that it was great for both teams. What was your reaction?&nbsp;
Kenyon Martin: "I initially didn&rsquo;t have that same reaction. Don&rsquo;t get me wrong, Harden is talented, but what has he won? So when it went down, my first thought was that Brooklyn got the better of that deal. I think Brooklyn got so much better with all the different pieces they now have. You have a motivated Ben Simmons, who is ready to prove to the world that he&rsquo;s worthy of that No. 1 pick, and rub it in Philly&rsquo;s face for how they blamed him after the playoffs last year. You get a drop-dead shooter in Seth Curry. And you put Ben Simmons in that scenario as a playmaker and surround him with two assassins in Kyrie and KD?"
Etan: Yeah, that&rsquo;s serious.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Then, you have a career 14-and-14 guy in Andre Drummond that is going to fill a void that you have. You&rsquo;ve been playing Bruce Brown at the 5 at times. So yeah, Brooklyn definitely got the better of the deal. James has been hampered by injuries the last two years and honestly, I just haven&rsquo;t seen it from him. And the game has changed as far as how they&rsquo;re calling fouls, so that stuff he was doing before to draw fouls isn&rsquo;t working anymore. Now, is he talented? Of course. But I just don&rsquo;t see this as being a championship addition for the Sixers, especially because you gave up so much."
Etan: They definitely gave up a lot. I was just thinking as far as James Harden giving them another legitimate threat, which they needed because so much is on Joel Embiid&rsquo;s shoulders right now. Even though he is playing on MVP level this year, he needs that other person so I think as a duo, they would be great. And Ben Simmons wasn&rsquo;t in the equation there. But you&rsquo;re right, they definitely gave up a whole lot in this trade.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Now if Harden is playing at MVP level? If he&rsquo;s playing like he was in Houston? Then, yeah. Absolutely. But that&rsquo;s not the case right now. But yes, he will shoulder some of the burden off Embiid. I get that, but he&rsquo;s not the old James Harden &mdash; he&rsquo;s an older James Harden that&rsquo;s had some injuries the past few years."
Etan: Dang that&rsquo;s tough. You think Philly gets past Milwaukee?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Nope."
Etan: You think Brooklyn gets past Milwaukee?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I feel like Milwaukee is still the favorite to come out the East, but Brooklyn has the potential to if a lot of things come together very quickly. But that takes time. But the East is stacked. Can&rsquo;t count out Miami, can&rsquo;t count out Chicago. But if I&rsquo;m picking someone right now, I would say Milwaukee. They have proven what they can do, and they have just improved since winning it. Giannis is a better version of the Giannis we saw last year who dominated throughout the playoffs and won a championship. And they just added Serge Ibaka. They defend, they execute, they&rsquo;re flowing. Brooklyn, you have to get everyone acclimated to the system, Ben, Seth, Drummond, KD still out. They have a lot that has to come together."
Etan: And you still have to figure out how Kyrie works in this situation &mdash; if he&rsquo;s going to keep playing just road games or what, right?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Right. There were talks of them lifting the vaccine mandate, but they haven&rsquo;t done it yet and that definitely affects everything."
Etan: Can Brooklyn win with Kyrie playing half of the time like he is now?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "No, absolutely not. You need him full time in order to win it all. So come playoffs, you drop a game on the road, you need him at home when the series comes back to Brooklyn. That&rsquo;s not gonna work."
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Etan: But they are loaded.
Kenyon: "Oh man, they got weapons on top of weapons off the bench. So Joe Harris and Seth as sharp shooters, they still got Blake. They got Patty. The young fella Nic Claxton, with Aldridge and Drummond. You can go small with Ben at the 5, you can go big with Drummond and Aldridge, you can have Ben coming down the court with four shooters on the perimeter. They have so many options, it&rsquo;s ridiculous."
Etan: Right, so for me, although they&rsquo;re struggling now, you can&rsquo;t even count this because they don&rsquo;t have KD, they don&rsquo;t have all their pieces &mdash; but when KD gets healthy, and everything comes together, and they get Kyrie full time (however it works out), I think, they&rsquo;re the team to beat.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Yeah, when all that comes together, absolutely they&rsquo;re the favorite. But if you ask me today, as we stand right before the All-Star break, I would have to say Milwaukee. No matter what their seed or where they are in the standings, they are the champions and they&rsquo;re the team to beat."
Etan: And Giannis, he&rsquo;s MVP status again this year and, like you said, has actually improved since last year.
Kenyon: "Listen, Giannis is the new LeBron. He can be in the MVP convo every season. And the only reason you don&rsquo;t give it to him is because someone else is playing out of their mind that season. So yeah, a lot has to happen before they&rsquo;re the favorites over Milwaukee."
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Etan Thomas and Kenyon Martin have a conversation about the Eastern Conference landscape after the NBA trade deadline.

Kenyon Martin: The Brooklyn Nets definitely won this trade

The 2022 NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and the likes of James Harden, Ben Simmons, CJ McCollum, Domantas Sabonis, Tyrese Haliburton and Kristaps Porzingis each found themselves with new addresses.
However, for those teams that weren&rsquo;t as fortunate, there will still be opportunity to improve. Impact players often become available on the buyout market, and this year is no exception.
As of Friday morning, there were reports of a few players already having been waived, and in the right situation, they may be able to help a playoff contender.
DeAndre Bembry, pending free agent
With injuries to Kevin Durant and James Harden, as well as the issue with Kyrie Irving&rsquo;s part-time availability, DeAndre Bembry emerged as a fairly reliable two-way player for Steve Nash. The six-year pro made a name for himself as a member of the Atlanta Hawks before eventually joining the Nets last August.
Bembry was waived by the club after it agreed to terms with the Philadelphia 76ers on the trade that sent Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond to Brooklyn in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap.
Gary Harris, Orlando Magic
Still quite productive, Harris can help a contending team. Orlando still owes him slightly less than half of his $20.5 million salary for the remainder of the season, but if the team isn&rsquo;t planning on re-signing him over the summer, a buyout is a possibility. Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported that Harris may be bought out, which led to our Nekias Duncan <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-gary-harris-likely-on-the-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">breaking down possible landing spots for Harris</a>.
Whether or not Harris hits the market likely boils down to how much of his salary he would be willing to give up to secure his freedom and latch on with a contender. This season, Harris has averaged 11.7 points, while shooting 44.4% from the field, 38.8% from three and 84.4% from the free-throw line.
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Goran Dragic, San Antonio Spurs
The 14-year veteran spent six years with the Miami Heat before being traded to the Toronto Raptors in the sign-and-trade agreement that landed Kyle Lowry in South Beach, and he appeared in only five games for Toronto before being traded to San Antonio for Thaddeus Young on deadline day.
San Antonio &mdash; who also traded Derrick White to the Boston Celtics on deadline day &mdash; appears content with newly-minted All-Star Dejounte Murray, Keldon White, Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker patrolling the perimeter. There&rsquo;s very little chance Dragic would play much in San Antonio and probably even less chance that he remains long-term. The Dallas Mavericks are considered the favorite to add Dragic if he's bought out.
Dennis Schroder, Houston Rockets
After just 49 games, Schroder was traded by the Boston Celtics to Houston in a trade that saw Daniel Theis reunited with his former club.
Just last year, Schroder famously turned down a four-year deal from the Los Angeles Lakers worth up to $84 million. He eventually signed with Boston for $5.9 million.
Having been dealt to the Rockets, Schroder would seem a likely candidate for a buyout. The remaining salary due to him is relatively cheap, the Rockets are rebuilding and have turned their offense over to Kevin Porter Jr. Schroder himself should know that a big contract this offseason will only result from helping a team go on a deep playoff run.
Tristan Thompson, Indiana Pacers
Included in the trade that saw Tyrese Haliburton sent to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Domantas Sabonis, Tristan Thompson has proved in spurts this season that he can still be somewhat effective.
Teams thinking about winning the Eastern Conference will need to have at least a few big bodies to present resistance to the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Nikola Vucevic, Bam Adebayo and Kevin Durant.&nbsp;
To that end, the 30-year-old big man &mdash; who is in the final year of a contract paying him about $9.2 million &mdash; would probably rather relocate to a playoff contender that will offer him more minutes and a chance to compete than the Pacers will.
Robin Lopez, Orlando Magic
With Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr. showing flashes this season, Lopez has often been the odd man out in head coach Jamahl Mosley&rsquo;s rotation. For the same reasons as Thompson, Lopez will likely become a buyout candidate.
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DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Lakers
Jordan secured a buyout from the Detroit Pistons after the Brooklyn Nets dealt him to the Motor City in September. A return to Los Angeles made sense at the time, but with Stanley Johnson now commanding rotation minutes, there&rsquo;s barely enough minutes for Dwight Howard, much less Jordan.
Jordan has appeared in just four contests since Christmas, so unless head coach Frank Vogel suddenly has a change of heart and believes the key to turning around the Lakers&rsquo; season is playing bigger lineups, it&rsquo;s difficult to imagine Jordan being happy with sticking around.&nbsp;
Kent Bazemore, Los Angeles Lakers
Similar to Jordan, Bazemore has struggled to find a fit on this Lakers team. After beginning the season as a starter, he&rsquo;s played 62 total minutes since Dec. 19.&nbsp;
The Lakers were obviously unable to make a trade on deadline day, so the team&rsquo;s only hope for external improvement will come on the buyout market.
The only problem is that Los Angeles already has 15 guaranteed contracts on its books, meaning someone would have to be waived in order for the team to add another player.&nbsp;Like Jordan, Bazemore would seem a sensible candidate.
Michael Carter-Williams, pending free agent
The former Rookie of the Year saw his tenure with the Orlando Magic end when the Magic executed a trade with the Boston Celtics. Boston sent Bol Bol and PJ Dozier to Orlando along with a future second-round draft pick and cash. The move amounted to a salary dump for Boston, and Orlando got cash and the pick as their compensation.
The only issue? Orlando had to create the two roster spots in order to complete the transaction, which led to Carter-Williams and teammate E&rsquo;Twaun Moore being waived. The 30-year-old started 25 of his 31 games for the Magic this season, averaging 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 0.8 steals.
E'Twaun Moore, pending free agent
Like his teammate Carter-Williams, Moore was waived as a result of the aforementioned transaction with the Celtics.
At 31 years old, Moore &mdash; whose most productive years were as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans &mdash; no longer fit in with the youth movement in Orlando.
&mdash;&mdash;
Nearly every season, contending teams manage to land a player or two who secures a post-deadline buyout.&nbsp;In order for a player to be eligible to suit up in the playoffs, however, they must be waived by March 1 and rostered by another team by April 11.
So for those teams that didn&rsquo;t have the good fortune of landing an impact on deadline day, they'll shift their focus to the buyout market.
All hope, obviously, is not lost.&nbsp;
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After a busy trade deadline, the NBA shifts its attention to the buyout market. Moke Hamilton looks at 10 players who may be available.

NBA buyout candidates: 10 players who could be available

Nekias Duncan thoroughly grades every NBA trade from 2022 Deadline Week.

Grading every move from 2022 NBA trade deadline week

One of the biggest NBA trade-deadline deals in modern history occurred on Thursday between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers. No, that&rsquo;s not hyperbolic, because James Harden is on the move to join forces with Joel Embiid in Philadelphia.
In total, the Sixers sent Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two-first round picks to the Nets for Harden and Paul Millsap. The former MVP immediately opted into the final year of his contract, so he's set to make $47.3 million in 2022-23.
After the Nets&rsquo; shockingly short and uneventful Big Three era with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Harden, they reset with Simmons plus important win-now pieces. In Philadelphia, Harden and Embiid should form an incredibly potent duo.
Examining this trade from Philadelphia&rsquo;s viewpoint, Harden allows the 76ers to capitalize on a historically dominant campaign from Embiid. Since Christmas, no player in the Association has done more damage to opposing teams than Embiid.
The Sixers&rsquo; superstar big man is averaging 33.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.4 blocks on an incredible 64.0 True Shooting percentage. Over that span, Philadelphia is 15-6 solely because of Embiid&rsquo;s jaw-dropping usage (40.7 USG%) and dominance.
Philadelphia&rsquo;s offense runs through Embiid as its hub. Even with Harden&rsquo;s arrival, it will rightfully remain that way. The main difference is that Harden will take pressure (and some attention) off of Embiid, and vice versa.&nbsp;
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Both players are All-NBA generational scorers for their positions, and some of the best offensive weapons in modern NBA history. If Harden and Embiid are fully healthy and locked in, the ceiling for this one-two punch is simply incredible. In any spurt, Harden or Embiid could catch fire and take the reins on the offensive flow. And if they get into a rhythm at the same time? That is basically basketball nirvana.
Harden will gladly be the No. 2 option in the Sixers&rsquo; offense behind Embiid, a role he yearned for when he originally requested a trade (and initially preferred the Nets over the Sixers). Harden has yet to experience a consistent stretch in Brooklyn where he can take a backseat for an extended period. This season, Harden is averaging 22.5 points, 10.2 assists and 8.0 rebounds in 37 minutes per game.
Now, alongside Embiid, Harden will be able to preserve his energy for when it matters most.
Sure, his defense has definitely regressed this season. However, what does a more relieved, refreshed Harden look like next to Embiid? While this is a questionable fit defensively, what they'll provide in the scoring department more than makes up for it. Harden and Embiid could both be 30-plus-point-per-game scorers in Philadelphia for the next several seasons.
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Pick-and-rolls between Harden and Embiid are going to be an unstoppable weapon that few, if any, teams can stop consistently over a seven-game series. Harden&rsquo;s creative, historically successful scoring package will bring a much-needed change to the Sixers&rsquo; attack. On top of it all, Embiid&rsquo;s excellence out of short-roll situations will only blossom when he's surrounded by Harden and Tobias Harris.
If all goes as planned, Philadelphia is going to experience unprecedented levels of offensive efficiency. Pairing together Harden and Embiid was always Daryl Morey&rsquo;s goal. It was a long, stubborn process to make it happen, but he won in the end by bringing this tandem aboard.
As if landing Harden isn't exciting enough, the Sixers also managed to keep two instrumental building blocks who will fortify the Harden-Embiid duo: Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle.
Maxey is another piece who can alleviate possessions from the Sixers&rsquo; superstar scoring combo, and he's taken a real leap forward in his second season. Thybulle is already an elite defender, and his presence will be maximized now that Simmons is gone for good. Philadelphia also has Danny Green, a reliable veteran wing with plenty of championship pedigree.
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Incredibly enough, we haven&rsquo;t even touched on Tobias Harris yet. Now, sliding into the preferred third-option role, Harris can focus on his floor-spacing value. Harden&rsquo;s arrival coupled with Embiid&rsquo;s gravity will allow Harris to execute on the easiest perimeter jumpers of his career.
Zooming out, here&rsquo;s how the Sixers&rsquo; rotation projects for the rest of this season:
Starters: Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, Matisse Thybulle, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid
Second Unit: Shake Milton, Danny Green, Furkan Korkmaz, Georges Niang, Paul Millsap
Is this enough to get Philadelphia over the top within a reshuffled Eastern Conference hierarchy? It&rsquo;s going to be tough sledding in a few months, but Philadelphia stands out as my new favorite alongside the Milwaukee Bucks. Oddsmakers&nbsp;believe that today's blockbuster trade <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/after-nba-trade-deadline-oddsmakers-see-no-clearcut-title-favorite" target="_blank" rel="noopener">triples the 76ers' chances of winning it all</a>, as Philly's championship odds jumped from +1600 (or an implied 5.9% chance of winning the title) to +550 (or an implied 15.4% chance). They now have the fourth-best title odds in the NBA.
Good luck stopping the Harden-Embiid duo. Two of the Association&rsquo;s most special scorers pairing up together will be must-watch theater for however long they remain together.
Morey&rsquo;s long-awaited strike has arrived. In the end, he may have just pulled off a second career-defining trade involving Harden.

The Philadelphia 76ers are about to unleash a potentially historic one-two punch in James Harden and Joel Embiid.

Harden, Embiid could form historically dominant offense for Sixers

The Brooklyn Nets are trading James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks, sources tell ESPN.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1491838495677112320" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;This was a highly-anticipated blockbuster trade, and it finally happened. Harden joins Daryl Morey, the former president of basketball operations when the two were in Houston, together. Brooklyn gets Ben Simmons, who had not played all season amid his holdout with Philadelphia, plus a solid starter in Curry and center depth in Drummond. According to Wojnarowski, Paul Millsap will also go to Philly in the deal.
On the picks, Wojnarowski says: "The Sixers are sending the Nets an unprotected 2022 first-round pick and a protected 2027 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN."

This was a highly-anticipated blockbuster trade, and it finally happened.

Nets trade James Harden to 76ers for Ben Simmons in blockbuster move

It's #DeadlineSZN in the NBA, which opens up the possibility of a host of players -- ranging in role and status -- could be on the move.&nbsp;
The big names are well known: Ben Simmons* and James Harden*, CJ McCollum, Jerami Grant, Domantas Sabonis and others have seen their name tossed around the rumor mill. As fun as those guys are to track, it's generally the under-the-radar names that swing things in terms of mid-season deals.
A prime candidate for this distinction is Magic guard Gary Harris. Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer dropped this nugget in his latest intel piece:
<blockquote>
League personnel expect Orlando will find a new home for Terrence Ross in a similar deal structure that saw the Magic part with Evan Fournier for two second-round picks last season. Meanwhile, Gary Harris has been painted as a potential buyout candidate if he is not moved.
</blockquote>
Harris originally made hay as an off-ball merchant in Denver -- flying down the court in transition, knocking down triples, and back-cutting unsuspecting defenders for buckets -- while doubling as a sturdy on-ball defender. His 2017-18 campaign -- 17.5 points (55/40/83 splits), 1.8 steals -- firmly cemented him as one of the best young two-way guards in the sport.
Injuries and a sputtering shot -- he converted 33.7% of his threes on 3.9 attempts over the next three seasons -- led to a decline in prominence in Denver and the eventual trade to Orlando (as part of the Aaron Gordon trade).
Harris has bounced back a bit this season, averaging 11.6 points (51/38/84 splits) in a shade under 30 minutes. He can still get loose off the ball, and has shown some springiness when attacking closeouts.
He isn't the same guy defensively. Once a sticky point-of-attack guy, physical decline has made screen navigation more of a chore for him. His pick-and-roll film is littered with late/peel switches after losing contact with the ball-handler.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing; it just means expectations need to be realistic.
He remains active as a help defender, makes solid off-ball reads, and has experience punching above his weight class on switches. Even at the point-of-attack, he's fine against non-elite ball-handlers and can still flow between pressing the handle and dropping back to give a cushion.
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There's utility for Harris in a scheme that doesn't make his screen navigation the end-all, be-all -- think a two-to-the-ball scheme like Minnesota or Milwaukee, or a heavy switching style like the Celtics or Clippers employ.
BUYOUT CANDIDATES
You know who's a hand-in-glove fit for what Harris provides on both ends? The Denver Nuggets.
He established great handoff and random-nonsense chemistry with Nikola Jokic earlier in his career; the Harris-Jokic handoff generated over 1.08 points per possession during the 2017-18 campaign, per Second Spectrum. His shooting and cutting would be welcomed to that injured guard room.
The Celtics have been trying to get consistent production from their backup guards/wings all season long. Peyton Pritchard, Romeo Langford, and Aaron Nesmith have all taken turns showing flashes; a vet like Harris could help solidify that spot.&nbsp;
The Lakers could use ... just about all the help they can get in the backcourt. With their half-court attack being built around the interior (or mid-post) play of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, having Harris as a spacer or cutter in some of their more intricate sets could be a solid fit.
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li>The Raptors need a ball-handler more than anything, but Gary Trent Jr. is their only (movement) shooter. There's room for Harris, if for no other reason than the Raptors' 6.5-man rotation.</li>
<li>The Cavs just made a swing with the Caris LeVert deal, but it'd be fun to watch Harris play off of Evan Mobley in the high post.</li>
<li>The Nets desperately need shooters, especially in light of Joe Harris potentially needing a second surgery. If Paul Millsap ends up getting bought out, Harris could take that roster spot pretty easily.</li>
</ul>

Nekias Duncan breaks down potential landing spots for Magic guard Gary Harris.

Examining possible landing spots for Gary Harris

If there&rsquo;s one thing the Brooklyn Nets aren&rsquo;t short on, it&rsquo;s basketball talent. For the team, that&rsquo;s a good thing.&nbsp;
For Paul Millsap personally? Not so much.
Now in his 16th year, after just 24 games in Brooklyn, the 36-year-old veteran big man is looking for a new opportunity.&nbsp;
Since he signed on in Brooklyn last summer, the Nets have seen Nicolas Claxton and Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe become reliable role players and LaMarcus Aldridge return from retirement. Meanwhile, 32-year-old Blake Griffin has maintained his place in the rotation, effectively leaving Millsap as the odd man out.&nbsp;
Of the five, he averages the fewest minutes per game (11.3 &mdash; a career low) and is the only one who hasn&rsquo;t started a single contest. Considering his pedigree, his unhappiness should come as no surprise.&nbsp;
Millsap effectively lost his job with the Denver Nuggets after the team acquired Aaron Gordon, and he chose to sign with Brooklyn because the team was perceived to have a shallow front court.&nbsp;
Surprisingly, though, it is Millsap who has drowned in the rotation.
With the NBA&rsquo;s Feb. 10 trade deadline approaching, there are a few teams which could both afford Millsap the opportunity to play meaningful minutes and contend for a championship. Whether the Nets trade him or buy him out, Millsap will eventually find a new home this season. If he&rsquo;s fortunate, it&rsquo;ll be with one of these clubs&hellip;
Milwaukee Bucks
After starting 70 games for the NBA champion Bucks last season, incumbent starter Brook Lopez hasn&rsquo;t appeared in a game since October. Currently recovering from back surgery, the Bucks are hopeful that Lopez can return before the playoffs begin, but as of now the team is rather thin up front.
Bobby Portis has filled in admirably since Lopez has gone down, and he&rsquo;s played well enough as a starter for head coach Mike Budenholzer to wonder whether Portis should retain the starting job even after Lopez returns. On the season, Portis is shooting a remarkable 41.4% from three-point territory. Although it&rsquo;s an appreciable decrease from the 47% he shot last season, that he&rsquo;s come close to maintaining his proficiency is an accomplishment, considering he&rsquo;s taking nearly twice as many attempts per game (4.5 this season compared to 2.4 last season).
It&rsquo;s not difficult to imagine a scenario where Millsap is able to give coach Budenholzer some minutes up front, especially considering the gaping hole that&rsquo;s been left in the team&rsquo;s rotation with Lopez&rsquo;s injury.
Phoenix Suns
Over the past 15 years, one of the constants in the NBA is that Chris Paul is going to find a way to maximize the players and the talent around him. We&rsquo;ve seen it since CP3 was suiting up in New Orleans, and we&rsquo;ve seen it most recently with Bismack Biyombo.&nbsp;
Unfortunately for the big man, Biyombo&rsquo;s career story &mdash; at least before arriving in Phoenix &mdash; has mostly been one about unfulfilled expectations. He was not re-signed by the rebuilding Charlotte Hornets after his contract expired last season and went unsigned for the first-half of this season.
Because of injuries to Deandre Ayton and JaVale McGee, the Suns found themselves with a need in the frontcourt and, without fail, Biyombo has experienced quite the resurgence. Through nine games in Phoenix, he is averaging what would be a career-high 10.8 points per game on 70.2% shooting from the field. He&rsquo;s benefited greatly from playing alongside Paul, as well as with units that share the ball and play relatively fast.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, approximately 67% of Biyombo&rsquo;s field goal attempts come within three feet of the basket, with another 30% coming from 3-10 feet.&nbsp;
In other words, he&rsquo;s excelled by providing the team with an inside presence that the Suns are sorely missing without Ayton, and it&rsquo;s conceivable that Millsap could provide a similar interior offensive presence.&nbsp;
Dallas Mavericks
After hovering around .500 for the early part of the season, the Mavericks are 10-3 in 2022. Both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis have missed a fair share of games this season, but recent reports suggest that the Mavericks &mdash; who want to continue to build around their duo &mdash; are open for business.&nbsp;
In recent weeks, there have been reports citing Myles Turner and Dennis Schroder as players the Mavericks have some level of interest in, but Turner recently suffered a stress reaction in his left foot that may sideline him until after the trade deadline.
To make matters worse, Tim Hardaway Jr. fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot and is expected to be out for an extended period of time. Millsap won&rsquo;t necessarily help absorb any of the available minutes in the Mavericks&rsquo; backcourt, but he would help the team by providing another serviceable body who can help replace the 14.2 points per game they&rsquo;ll lose with Hardaway out of the lineup.
Along with Porzingis, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber have played most of the available big man minutes for Jason Kidd&rsquo;s team. It&rsquo;s difficult to imagine Millsap, even at 36 years old, not being able to provide value to a front line featuring those three.&nbsp;
With Turner potentially off the board and Hardaway on the shelf, Dallas will certainly have to find help elsewhere, especially with the team finally beginning to click after its season got off to a rough start.
Chicago Bulls
Patrick Williams was lost for the season back in October, and in January the Bulls have had players dropping like flies.&nbsp;
Zach LaVine only missed five games and returned to the lineup on Monday night after suffering a minor left knee injury, but neither Alex Caruso nor Lonzo Ball were as fortunate. Ball and Caruso will each miss the next 6-8 weeks, with Derrick Jones Jr. out for a similar time frame. Meanwhile, Nikola Vucevic is battling left knee soreness.
The Bulls need bodies, and it would help if they happened to be big.
Enter Millsap.
Although there probably won&rsquo;t be many shots available for Millsap, he would provide immediate help to a Bulls front line that ranks 28th in the league in rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan has spent some time at power forward for Chicago this season, which isn&rsquo;t ideal. DeRozan &mdash; who has slowed down in recent weeks after being mentioned among MVP candidates earlier this season &mdash; would be better served by having another big in the lineup.
Although Chicago will be without Ball and Caruso for the foreseeable future, the team will need another big body or two if it hopes to challenge the likes of Milwaukee and Brooklyn for the Eastern Conference. Millsap could help.
Utah Jazz
Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside have proven to be a formidable tandem patrolling the paint for the Jazz, and they&rsquo;ve also proven that a team can still find success in today&rsquo;s NBA by playing traditional big men.
Although Millsap wouldn&rsquo;t provide the same spacing as Bojan Bogdanovic or Rudy Gay, he would provide the team with some needed insurance in the event that Gobert or Whiteside went down for an extended period of time.&nbsp;
Aside from the fact that Millsap began his career in Utah, he would also facilitate some offensive balance for the team &mdash; according to NBA.com, the Jazz score 38.6% of their points from three-point territory, which ranks third in the league. With respect to points scored in the paint, they rank 16th, with just 42.4%.
Millsap still possesses a back-to-basket game and could help Utah in one of the areas they need to improve.
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Moke Hamilton examines some of the teams that should take a close look at acquiring Paul Millsap from the Nets.

Five teams that could benefit from a Paul Millsap trade

I have a terrible habit of going to the grocery store without a list, something my mom's scowled at me for since I was in high school. I'd pick out all the coolest brands I could find, parse through the best produce, and by the time my mom was rummaging through the family's food for the rest of the week, I'd be getting an earful about how I spent $143 without actually being to construct a meal for four. Planning has never really been my thing.
"You bought rice, oyster sauce, and chicken, but no veggies or eggs to actually make stir fry!"
And that sentence my friends, sums up where I'm at with the Brooklyn Nets at the moment. Few contenders have flummoxed me more than Brooklyn this season, as I routinely feel a push-pull among the Nets' line-ups and roster construction that <a href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/10/will-a-deeper-frontcourt-lift-the-brooklyn-nets-to-the-top-in-2021-22/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I've found intriguing since free agency ended</a>.
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The Nets have shuffled their guys minutes a lot this year, with injuries and illness often forcing changes. Lately, rookies Kessler Edwards and Day'ron Sharpe have been getting an opportunity. <a href="https://t.co/xlwWKGSCwI">pic.twitter.com/xlwWKGSCwI</a>
&mdash; Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1484939670802735112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Inconsistency is the new consistency for the 21-22 Nets, as Tom Bassine shows.
(He makes tremendous data visualizations and is a great dude, <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strongly recommend following him</a> if you don't already.)
The Nets are <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1484586445486850049" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tied for first</a> with the Lakers in total number of different starting lineups used this season (22), and while they have certainly been impacted heavily by injury and COVID absences, so have the majority of the teams in the league.
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NBA injury plot. Games missed by injured players versus team wins. Bubble size represents cumulative quality of players lost (Lost-ws metric) <a href="https://t.co/suz6bCvQy8">https://t.co/suz6bCvQy8</a> <a href="https://t.co/BznwVXNt84">pic.twitter.com/BznwVXNt84</a>
&mdash; Man Games Lost NBA (@ManGamesLostNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ManGamesLostNBA/status/1483204710131814403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The struggles to blend the roster existed prior to Joe Harris' injury, which only complicated matters a bit further. With Kevin Durant now out for roughly the next month, things get a bit murkier.
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Brooklyn started the year winning with staunch defense, as they sought to work out the kinks of the offense and James Harden's post-injury rust. While shot-luck and variance was notably in Brooklyn's favor early in the year, their seventh ranked defense up until Christmas wasn't a mirage. Outside of the top two and sometimes three stars that Brooklyn hinges upon, the roster is built largely with a defensive-slant. However, with Kyrie Irving's return, and continued efforts to help James Harden find his rhythm, Brooklyn has leaned more heavily into some of their offensive role players and shifted rotations.
The Nets are second in offense since Dec. 26, but also have plummeted to 27th in defense over that same stretch per Cleaning the Glass.
So much of this revolves around their frontcourt. I wasn't fully sure what to make of the team prioritizing the 4 and 5 spot as much as they did, and in the way that they did this offseason, but I was intrigued nonetheless. They built out a big rotation full of utility, but the versatility seemed questionable and we've seen how that has played out.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nets-paul-millsap-agree-to-find-new-home-for-fourtime-allstar-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Millsap</a> never really got the run I was hoping for, but he also just didn't quite play well enough to warrant a bigger role. But, that's part of the issue. So many of the Nets' frontcourt players can play positive NBA minutes, but finding ways to play them together and get them all going &mdash; while maintaining a modicum of stability in lineups &mdash; has been an adventure.
Let's just run through some things that have been weighing heavily on my mind thinking about this team.
Blake Griffin not being last year's Blake Griffin really hindered this team early, and took away one of their few guys they could rely on as a short-roll playmaker, shooter, screener, and dribble hand-off operator. He's been better in the new year, but he's hitting 26% of his threes since entering the rotation again in early December, and defenses are playing him accordingly. He was absolutely scorching against Milwaukee in the playoffs &mdash; and they were still pretty comfortable sagging off or late contesting him. Without defenses giving him solid close-outs that he can attack, it's a lot harder for him to get the most out of his skill set at this stage, so TBD on Blake as part of the rotation.
Bembry and Brown
Starting the season without Kyrie and subsequently losing Joe Harris has been extremely destructive for Bruce Brown's role this season. His floater hasn't hit in quite the same way either, partially due to the spacing of the team. I'm not inside Steve Nash's head, but he has seemed overall a bit reluctant to rely on Brown as a release valve, do everything quasi-big &mdash; again influenced by the spacing issues already present. But really it's a confluence of events that have been both vexing and frustrating from a viewing perspective.
"Play Bruce Brown, he's good!"
"We don't have the spacing required to play him!"
"But, what about his defense and finding a way to get him going again?"
"We need to get three bigs on the roster going too!"
Outside of Harris, Irving, Durant and Mills, there is one player on the roster shooting above league average from three on one or more attempts per game (Kessler Edwards). Harden is shooting below average from three, but is still defended like he's shooting 45% from deep. Irving only plays in half the games, Harris is out as previously mentioned; the team routinely has two non-shooters on the court.&nbsp; More importantly, their players who aren't shooting well are guarded like it, which matters more than the percentages to a degree.
Last season, Bruce Brown was playing in lineups with Irving, Harden, Harris and one of Jeff Green or Blake Griffin (41% and 38% three-point shooters on volume). It was a much more inhabitable environment for a fringey, margins-based offensive player &mdash; and that environment just doesn't exist right now.
Add in Bembry who has had some really quality stretches, but largely brings the exact same things as Brown: ball-handling, some playmaking chops, perimeter defense and opportunistic scoring.&nbsp;
It's not as simple as saying "pick one," but to an extent, it feels like Brooklyn needs to prioritize which player they most believe in, in the rotation moving forward. The offense has opened up a bit more, and it's just so difficult to actually make the duo work together when there's really only room for one of them.
Rolling, Screening, and Lobs Oh My
One of the trends I've absolutely loved to follow over the past few weeks has been the budding chemistry between James Harden and rookie Day'Ron Sharpe. Sharpe is already the best and most dynamic screener on the team, in regards to his ability to screen open teammates, run DHO's and flow into the lane after setting solid screens.
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Despite it looking better and more consistent lately, James Harden's burst has just not routinely been what it was. Setting screens that actually generate separation and give him a runway are huge in the success of his pick-and-roll possessions. Sharpe is capable of that, making decisions on the roll with the ball, and is solid around the rim. However, he doesn't quite give Harden a lob threat (he can catch lobs, but he needs to load up first), which makes it easier for opposing bigs to get into his grill and play up on him in coverages.&nbsp;
It's a small gripe, but it's noticeable and makes me question a bit what his playoff utility might look like &mdash; if there is any this season for him. I've quite liked his defense and activity as well, just a really fun player, but again, his emergence makes things murky for Brooklyn again!
Nic Claxton had a really rough stretch to start the year, missing the entirety of November. Now he's out again with a hamstring injury. But he may be the most important big on the roster. His ability to not just switch on defense, but switch with purpose at a high level, unlocks what proved to be one of Brooklyn's most important looks in the postseason.
His offense has largely been lobs and putbacks, but he started to really put together intriguing stuff as a decision-maker in December and early January, looking the part of a starting center for Brooklyn. Claxton had 14 assists in 9 games from Christmas Day to Jan. 10 when he was injured, a small number and sample size. However, 14 assists is 22% of his career totals and tracked with what was visible on the court &mdash; much improved decision-making and some capability to dish the ball on the roll.
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Another clip in the bag of short roll Nic <a href="https://t.co/Dc8VgD8vUr">pic.twitter.com/Dc8VgD8vUr</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1475119575704522765?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This is a minor showing in a major area, one that's vital for Claxton unlocking himself as a roller, and in helping to smooth out the offense when he's out there. Whether or not he can continue to execute in that area once he returns is huge for his ability to solidify his rotation spot, and paper over some of the roster inflexibility.
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Moving Forward
So where does that leave the Nets?&nbsp;
Durant, Harden and (sometimes) Irving are of course locks in the rotation. Patty Mills has cemented himself as has LaMarcus Aldridge, although his utility in the playoffs is probably going to be match-up dependent to a degree. Joe Harris is a lock when he returns from injury and Claxton likely is as well.
Kessler Edwards has already solidified his spot in my mind, as he's capable of linking together lineups in a way that very few players on the roster are capable of right now. He moves the ball, will take his threes (and make them at a high level), and plays very good defense with size at the 3 and 4 spots.&nbsp;
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Oh, hello Kessler Edwards! <a href="https://t.co/dDbCp3spAY">pic.twitter.com/dDbCp3spAY</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1481626183641047046?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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His flashes have been extremely encouraging, and I'm not really sure how his blend of skill and size don't keep him from playing 20+ minutes per game the rest of the regular season. While I'm unsure how to feel about a rookie being a 7th or 8th man on a contender in the postseason, he's playing well enough at the moment to really make you go hmmmm.
Outside of that, I'm just not really sure what to make of this team's rotation, and I'm not sure Steve Nash does either considering how much tinkering he's been doing throughout the season.
(Not at all to discredit him, I think he's done a very good job this year; this is such a hard roster to figure out.)
Cam Thomas really looks to be a year or two away barring some substantial growth as he gets comfortable operating off the ball. James Johnson does wily veteran things and is a capable defensive option when switching everything, but he has similar offensive drawbacks to Brown and Bembry. I have loved the David Duke Jr. experience, but he's not there yet consistently as a contributor on offense. Outside of a stretch in November, Jevon Carter's jumper has just died and I have no idea what happened there.
 I'm just not really certain where the Nets go to figure out who they are as a playoff team. We know they can slant towards defense as Kevin Durant and James Harden shoulder the load at home. We know they can run opposing teams off the court with shot-making when Irving plays away games. How do they figure out a way to blend the two &mdash; and can they, given the personnel on the roster?
The best version of the Nets last year found themselves in the playoffs. It's fair to reason that the Big 3 will be more locked in and active defensively come playoff time yet again (James Harden, please move your feet, or contest, or something), but they need to find their backbone before then.
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The Brooklyn Nets are a contender, but their rotations are anything but cemented as they search for stabilization on an imperfect roster.