James Harden = "A Scoring Magic Johnson"? (Wow)

It's only recently I came across that quote where Joel Embiid kinda dissed James Harden.  He didn't really diss him but just acknowledged what I've been saying for like a couple of seasons now, that the Beard has moved up an age group as a player.  What that means in more practical terms is that he's suffered through a major injury(ies), and unless a miracle (or maybe a whole lotta time off) his body is never going to ever be as fast as it was during his 2018 MVP campaign.  So he's sorta like D-Rose now, only fatter, and I would say also, it looks like, with worse ankles.  Yet with the NBA + media being what it is, it took a long time for others to realize this, and some viewers/analysts still haven't been able to swallow that pill.

See, the thing about the Sixers is that they're like the luckiest team in the NBA.  Sam Hinkie was a mad genius, so now it's like no matter how many bad rosters move they make, this team can never be garbage.  And what I mean by lucky is that they'd make these really high draft picks like Jahlil Okafor or Markelle Fultz, or even Ben Simmons for that matter, that don't really pan out.  And then they'd turn around and choose somebody all the way down with the 21st pick, like Tyrese Maxey.  And guess what?  If Ja Morant didn't exist, I'd probably be calling Maxey the best scoring PG in the NBA right now (no disrespect to Steph, who's like in a class of his own).

So James Harden playing a "scoring Magic Johnson" role, as Doc Rivers envisions, is theoretically possible.  Magic Johnson was a reluctant scorer, and his jump shooting form made Markelle Fultz look like Ray Allen.  But he'd shoot if he had to, and like shit would go in.

So it's like, imagine if James Harden was truly pass-first?  He has one of the best dribbles in the NBA, and he's also one of the best scorers in league history.  So if he really becomes pass first, it's like look out.  And the reason I mentioned Maxey earlier is because it's really his greatness that would allow Harden not to be preoccupied with scoring.  And the Sixers have other weapons also.  But Maxey's playing style, the fact that he's a guard and the fact that it would impossible for any defenses to ignore Harden, means he can be like Kyrie Irving, and Harden can take on a Simmons role.  It's like if you can take Ben Simmons' brain and put it into James Harden's body/history, that's exactly what the Sixers need right now, with this current roster.

CONCLUSION

This NBA season looks like it's going to be very competitive.  It's kinda like the post-Jordan era, when there's no straight-up king established, so a number of upstarts also smelled a chance.  Again, no disrespect to Steph, but that's how it been since the Lakers, led by Lebron, have fallen off - like there's no big dawg in the NBA to utterly fear these days.  So a lot of these superstar vets are going to have to make attitude adjustments if they want to win.  And what that usually entails is humbling themselves and shooting or dribbling less.