Welcome to "One Play!" Throughout the 2021-22 NBA season, our TSN Staff will break down certain possessions from certain games and peel back the curtains to reveal their bigger meaning.
Today, Philadelphia's new one-two punch takes the spotlight.
Context: The James Harden and Joel Embiid era in Philadelphia is off to an encouraging start.
In their first game together as teammates, the 76ers cruised to a 133-102 win over the feisty Timberwolves. Embiid led the way with 34 points and 10 rebounds while Harden flirted with a triple-double, posting 27 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.
Harden has a way of making a good first impression.
Talk about starting off strong!
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 26, 2022
James Harden has now had 25+ points and 12+ assists in each of his last 3 debuts with a team (Rockets, Nets, 76ers).
Nobody else in NBA history has even done that ONCE. pic.twitter.com/Z1kJmNmv7P
Both Harden and Embiid brought their A-game against the Timberwolves, but there was one particular possession in the first half that stood out for a number of reasons.
You know what that means — to the film room!
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The play:
Breakdown: Harden brings the ball up the court for the 76ers following a couple of free throws from Timberwolves guard D'Angelo Russell.
The four 76ers on the floor with Harden are Embiid, Danny Green, Furkan Korkmaz and Tobias Harris. Embiid makes his way to the right elbow while Green, Korkmaz and Harris space the floor by setting up shop on the 3-point line.
As Harden approaches the 3-point line, Embiid moves towards him to set a screen.
There aren't many players in the league who run as many pick-and-rolls as Harden does on a nightly basis. He ranks around league average in efficiency this season, but history says he's one of the league's best scorers out of the pick-and-roll.
Not wanting to switch, the Timberwolves have Karl-Anthony Towns hedge on Embiid's screen to prevent Harden from turning the corner and buy Anthony Edwards, who has the tough task of chasing around the three-time scoring champion, the time he needs to get around Embiid's screen.
The problem? That leaves Embiid unguarded for a split-second, and he slowly rolls to the basket.
This is where it gets interesting.
Patrick Beverley is only one pass away and defending Korkmaz, a career 35.9 percent 3-point shooter, so he stays put in the corner. Jarred Vanderbilt helps pretty far off of Green, a career 40.0 percent 3-point shooter, but he doesn't fully commit to picking up Embiid.
That leaves Russell, who stands at 6-foot-4 and 193 pounds, being Minnesota's only hope of stopping Embiid, who is listed at ... 7-foot and 280 pounds.
You probably don't need me to tell you that Russell doesn't stand much of a chance.
Harden delivers a pass to Embiid on the money, setting him up for a bucket and the foul.
Why it matters: As I wrote when the trade went through, Harden has never really played with a center like Embiid before. He's spent most of his career sharing the court with the likes of Clint Capela, Serge Ibaka and Nicolas Claxton, bigs who make their money setting screens, rolling hard to the basket and hanging out in the dunker spot on offense.
There aren't many players scoring as much as Embiid as the roll man this season, but he picks and pops more than he picks and rolls. (According to InStat, Embiid has generated 12.6 percent of his offense in pick-and-pops compared to 3.4 percent in pick-and-rolls. Basically, he's four times more likely to pick-and-pop than pick-and-roll.) He's also far more accustomed to having the offense run through him in the post, where he's become practically impossible to defend, as opposed to having someone spoonfeed him the ball.
That's what makes this particular play so encouraging. Simple as it is, you can see how much pressure a pick-and-roll between Harden and Embiid can put on a defense when they're surrounded by three shooters.
It starts with Harden being a dynamic scorer out of the pick-and-roll. Play it traditionally and you run the risk of him getting to the basket or raining in floaters, a shot he's struggled to make consistently this season but has become one of his go-to weapons.
Switch and you gift him an opportunity to go one-on-one, which, well, you know.
Have an additional defender provide help and he'll dime up one of his teammates for a clean look at a three.
Now pair that with Embiid and you're cooking with gas.
Embiid isn't even a big-time lob threat, but he's a massive presence around the basket, and he has good hands and a soft touch. If his defender, who is usually the biggest and strongest player on the opposing team, can't simply drop, it opens the door for him to get the ball at the free throw line or lower against players who have no business defending him, like a 6-foot-4 and 193-pound point guard.
And more often than not, Harden is going to find him with a pinpoint pass in those situations.
“You should’ve seen my face every single time, especially in the fourth,” Embiid said after the game. “The first three quarters, obviously making plays for all of us. That was probably the most wide open I’ve ever been in my career. I had a lot of easy baskets. I used to have to work for everything."
That wasn't the only pick-and-roll or handoff Harden and Embiid joined forces on against the Timberwolves.
You know how I mentioned that Embiid isn't a big-time lob threat? This probably isn't how Harden thought it would play out when he lobbed the ball to Embiid, but look at how easily Embiid carves out space underneath the basket:
If Embiid gets the ball that deep, it's usually bad news for the defense.
Then in the fourth quarter, Harden set Embiid up for a midrange jumper, where he's become automatic.
Last but not least, here's that pick-and-pop out to the 3-point line:
It's only one game, but the first returns from the Harden and Embiid pairing sure are scary.
