Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving Shine While James Harden Disappears as Nets Destroy 76ers
The only thing better for the road team than the sound of silence is the sound of the home fans booing the home team. Philadelphia fans paid a lot of money to boo former 76er Ben Simmons and cheer new 76er James Harden, but by the second half the only sounds Philadelphia fans made were boos directed at their listless and soft 76ers, who trailed by as much as 36 points en route to a 129-100 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Kevin Durant scored a team-high 25 points, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, and dished for a game-high seven assists while shooting 10-17 from the field and posting a +34 plus/minus number; he authored a complete performance in all aspects of the game at both ends of the court, and it was obvious that he took this game very personally not only vis a vis Harden but also vis a vis Joel Embiid, with whom Durant exchanged pointed words early in the game. Kyrie Irving--on the heels of a scintillating 50 point performance during which he shot 15-19 from the field--scored 22 points on 8-17 shooting from the field, he had five assists, and he accepted the challenge of guarding Harden. Former 76er Seth Curry poured in 24 points on 10-14 field goal shooting, and former 76er Andre Drummond had an impact in the paint at both ends of the court while compiling seven points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots in 21 minutes.
The Nets led wire to wire, and were already ahead 72-51 at halftime, by which time 76er fans directed their consternation away from Simmons and toward Harden and company. Simmons did not play, as he is getting into condition after not playing at all so far this season. I am not a fan of how he talked his way out of Philadelphia while he was still under contract, but I am also not a fan of how the organization, coaching staff, players, media, and fans in Philadelphia turned Simmons into a scapegoat. As we saw tonight, this team has plenty of flaws, even after Daryl Morey replaced Simmons with Harden, the player who Morey considers to be the greatest offensive player of all-time. The Nets did not even need Simmons' versatility, playmaking, and defense
to annihilate the 76ers. Imagine how good the Nets can be if they are
ever at full strength!
People need to stop focusing on Ben Simmons' deficiencies, and start focusing on James Harden's deficiencies.
James Harden is who I said he is. I have been saying it for nearly a decade, and I know that some people will never listen, believe, or accept, but James Harden is overrated, he is mentally soft, and he disappears in big games. Longtime 20 Second Timeout readers know that I do not place too much emphasis on the result of any one particular game, but this was not just one game for Harden--this one game is part of a career-long pattern. Harden scored 11 points on 3-15 field goal shooting in the first half. His former teammates showed great game plan discipline, shading him to his right hand and not committing silly fouls. Harden had a -22 plus/minus number in the first half. Harden scored no points on 0-2 shooting from the field in the second half before Coach Doc Rivers mercifully pulled the plug, and put Harden--whose -30 plus/minus number tied Joel Embiid for game-worst "honors"--on the bench.
Embiid bulled his way to 19 free throw attempts and he made 15, but he shot just 5-17 from the field and, as is often the case, he wore down after being aggressive during the game's first few minutes. He finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds, but no one who watched this game with understanding thinks that the player who is being hyped as the 2022 MVP is in the same category as Durant. Durant has missed too many games this season to be considered in the MVP balloting, and if Embiid misses any more games then he should be dropped from consideration as well, but this game was a great reminder that if these teams meet in the playoffs the best player on the court will be Durant.
Put another way, this game provided a great example of the difference between NBA champions Durant and Irving compared to "wanna be" champions Embiid and Harden. Embiid is young enough, big enough, and talented enough that perhaps there is still hope that he could lead the right kind of team to a title, but he needs better physical conditioning, a more refined/focused mentality, and a better, more reliable sidekick than Harden. Both Embiid and Harden spent much of the first half bricking shots and then whining to the referees about phantom fouls. They looked like the opposite of what champions look like, and that fundamental flaw will not change any time soon, no matter how many regular season games the 76ers win the rest of the way.
The way that the 76ers looked tonight is the way that they will look when the pressure ramps up during the playoffs.
What happens in big games matters more than empty calorie, padded statistics compiled against inferior teams--and, no matter how much anyone tries to play it off after the fact, this was a big game not only in the standings, but also because of the trade that brought Simmons, Curry, and Drummond from Philadelphia to Brooklyn in exchange for Harden. Yes, this is just one game, but this one game reaffirmed much of what we already knew about Durant, Irving, Embiid, and Harden, which in turn reaffirms much of what we already knew about the championship prospects of both teams: Philadelphia is a team built by tanking, and that loser's mentality is tough to shake; Brooklyn is a team built around the talents of former NBA champions Durant and Irving, and the Nets are a major threat if they stay healthy (which includes Irving being available for home games as soon as possible, which may happen if the New York City COVID-19 vaccination mandate is lifted).
Labels: Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons, Brooklyn Nets, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Philadelphia 76ers, Seth Curry
posted by David Friedman @ 10:54 PM
2 Comments:
Marcel
David i been seeing people debate
If kyrie irving is the most skilled player ever
Based on his 50 point game with 19 shots and his 60 point game yesterday
I personally wouldnt put him over kobe or jordan and even lebron
But i seen people he the most skilled player ever
His skills are great
But its not on the level of a kobe
Who had better footwork moves and more versatile bag
Even tho kyrie shoots it a lil better
And he may be a lil better finisher prob not tho
I was just wondering
I kno u studied these guys for years
I expect the nets to win the east if they healthy
And harden harden gonna choke
Marcel:
I also have read and heard people calling Kyrie Irving the most skilled basketball player ever. I disagree with that notion, but I also am not sure what people mean when they use the phrase "most skilled basketball player ever." When I do a skill set evaluation, I look at many factors, including (in no particular order) ability to score from various areas of the court, rebounding, passing, ballhandling, defense, physical attributes (size, speed, agility, etc.), durability, and mental toughness (which includes the ability to play through pain, and the ability to perform at a high level in pressure situations). The most skilled basketball player of all-time should have no skill set weaknesses, and should be great in multiple skill set areas. Few players fit that description; I would include (in chronological order) West, Robertson, Jordan, Bryant. Those are not necessarily the four greatest players of all-time--one could argue that a dominant big man like Russell, Chamberlain, or Abdul-Jabbar is more valuable--but those are probably the four players who best exemplify having no skill set weaknesses while also being great in multiple areas. LeBron James is a Pantheon player, of course, but he is not as good of a shooter as West, Robertson, Jordan, or Bryant, who each shot well over .800 from the free throw line during their careers.
It seems that the people who rank Kyrie Irving so highly are primarily focusing on ballhandling and the ability to create a shot from various areas of the court. Irving is an elite ballhandler and an elite shot creator, but I would not say that he is the best all-time in either category--and those are his two best skill set areas, so I don't see how he can be considered the most skilled basketball player of all-time. Nate Archibald, Isiah Thomas, Tim Hardaway, and Chris Paul are just a few small guards whose ballhandling is at least on par with Kyrie Irving's. Irving is very good at shot creation, but--just based on size and jumping ability alone--Jordan, Bryant, and Tracy McGrady immediately come to mind as players who were more skilled at shot creation than Irving.
Irving is a good rebounder and very good passer, but he is not an all-time great in either area. He is a better defensive player than some might think--and he can play very good defense when he is motivated, as we saw in the NBA Finals and also versus James Harden in the game that is the subject of this article--but he is not an all-time great defender by any stretch of the imagination. Irving has superior speed and agility, but he is undersized, and any reader of my work knows that I place great value on size. Irving's durability has been a question mark going all the way back to college. His mental toughness is high in terms of performing well in pressure situations when he actually plays, but his lack of availability throughout his career could call his mental toughness into question to some extent.
The bottom line is that Irving is a very gifted scorer and ballhandler, and he performed at a high level for a championship team, but I don't rank him as a Top 75 player or as the most skilled basketball player of all-time.
If Durant, Irving, and Simmons are available then probably only a fully healthy Milwaukee team could beat the Nets in a seven game series in the East.
Harden choking is the easiest thing to predict about the playoffs, and that is true every year.
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