The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers last night, 126-121. While the game wasn’t particularly interesting with no LeBron James playing and a fairly comfortable win (although it got close sometimes, the Sixers never really trailed after a dominant second quarter), what was interesting was the new look lineup for the Sixers. In particular, the new duos that have emerged.
Sometimes, the Obvious Choice isn’t the Wisest
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When James Harden was acquired, head coach Doc Rivers said he wanted two of the four main scorers of James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris on the floor at all times. The natural and obvious duos were Maxey-Embiid and Harden-Harris. That gave each pair one of the two best players on the team, and put one “big” (Harris does nominally play the four) with a ball-handling guard. The hope was that it would allow the best balance of scoring and distributing for the team, and allow Maxey, who has really been thriving recently, to not defer too much to Harden and still be a threat with the ball in his hands. Unfortunately, what has ended up playing out many times, is Maxey still does defer to Embiid, with that squad getting stuck in “dump it into Embiid mode” and everyone else stands around. Maxey can’t play the pick-and-roll like Harden can, so that threat vector is gone, and Maxey isn’t at his best standing around waiting for an Embiid pass. On the other side, Harden and Harris didn’t gel incredibly well either, and scoring droughts happened somewhat often with them. Of course, this is all with the caveat that the Sixers are now 9-3 with Harden, so it’s not like either lineup was bad or anything, maybe just not optimal.
Experimentation is the Key
With these initial duos showing some flaws, Rivers has decided to try out another lineup, starting with this Lakers game. This time, Harden and Embiid were paired up, while Maxey and Harris held down the other side. Harden and Embiid’s pick-and-roll has been incredibly lethal, and they can still rely on it when they are paired together. On the other side, Maxey doesn’t feel the need to defer as much without Embiid, and he and Harris can share the load better. The ball-handlers and bigs are still distributed, just in a way that seemingly lets them utilize their strengths better. The thing that has made this possible is Maxey’s ascension as a scorer. With how Maxey has been playing recently, it doesn’t feel like the Sixers are lacking on offense when neither Embiid nor Harden are on the floor. If Maxey wasn’t playing so well, this would not be possible, and if this is a simple hot streak and not just how Maxey is, this duo may also fall by the wayside. So far though, it’s been good.
How Did the New Lineup Go?
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There’s only one game of data so far, but Maxey and Harris both managed to score 20 or more on efficient shooting. They’ve done that before of course, but Maxey has been pushed out of games on a few occasions (2/7 for four against Brooklyn, 4/10 for 10 against Orlando, 3/9 for eight against Dallas), and this time he and Harris shared it quite well. They put up 14 and 15 shots, and had seven and five assists respectively. They were able to play faster without Harden and Embiid slowing it down, which works for those two but that style doesn’t suit Maxey well, and while Harris can sometimes get into pound the ball mode, he plays better faster as well.
On the other hand, Harden and Embiid struggled a little bit (although Embiid had 30 and 10 on 11/19 shooting) both clearly struggling with injuries and fatigue. Slowing it down is good for them, and the pick-and-roll and the overall much easier shots Embiid gets when Harden is around is still very good to see.
For the Future
Of course, it was just one game, but there were positive signs that this new lineup might be the way. Maxey seems ready to step up and take a lead role, especially after that incredible Miami game. The pace suits each duo better, especially now that Harden and Embiid have kind of settled their play style. The ball was zipping much more in the first few games when everyone was out there, but now when Embiid and Harden are together they often either iso or PnR, the pace slows way down and the ball sticks. Those guys are so good at what they do that honestly it’s not a bad play style at all, it suits them and it’s reliable, but some others have suffered. When Maxey plays as the lead and the two big stars are off the court, everything moves faster and more people tend to get involved. The Sixers having both options is great, and now it looks like both sets of duos can thrive.
Again, it was a very short-handed Lakers they beat, and there were still some issues, mainly defense and rebounding, but first looks were encouraging. If this Maxey-Harris duo can take off, it means more rest for Harden and Embiid, who very clearly need it in the run up to the playoffs. Seeding is as unimportant as it’s ever been, as the Nets and the Toronto Raptors are the seventh and eighth seeds and look as tough an out as anyone, while the Boston Celtics are red hot and are currently fourth. With how the season could shake out, none of the top spots are really ideal, so right now it’s good to experiment and most importantly, rest and get healthy. This lineup still has many unknowns, and more needs to be seen from Maxey-Harris partnership, but this was a good test drive.
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