The start of the James Harden-Joel Embiid partnership has been as thrilling as the Sixers and their fans could have asked for so far. Through two games, Embiid has averaged 35.5 points while being assisted on far more easy opportunities than he’s used to, and Harden has averaged 28 points, nine rebounds, 14 assists (to only 2.5 turnovers) and 2.5 steals with ease.
Despite having had just a couple of practices and games together, they already look comfortable working off each other, and their early pick-and-roll chemistry has stood out.
A two-game sample size is obviously tiny, but the numbers behind Harden’s early efficiency certainly match the film of how well he’s operated in the pick-and-roll to start his Sixers career.