If Doc doesn’t get Philly though a couple rounds or to East finals , I look for him to loose his job.
I agree with this, if they lose in first round he is gone. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Harden jet to a different team if they lose in the first round. Pretty huge series for them, and they really could use Thybulle in Toronto and also will greatly miss Drummond for the ten minutes Embid has to sit. Jordan has been cooked for several years and it is unclear why he is still in the league.
Where is Harden going to go? I can't think of a better pairing for him than Embiid and they seem to be getting along pretty well. The Sixers really needed Harden to pick up his option. Harden isn't worth his true Max but it would be hard for them to offer him anything less. I expect Drummond would have been a negative in the playoffs but much less so than Jordan. Milsap is toast too. The Libertyballer crowd want Reed to be the backup but I'd be surprised if Doc goes with him.
I mean if the team flames out in the first round it would be pretty strong evidence that the pairing doesn't work (which was my caveat), in that case they may try and do a sign and trade of Harden to just about any team in the playoffs. A lot of the trades mentioned for Westbrook would be more likely for Harden. Is Philly really worse off with Brogdon and Hield and a first round pick to trade with Harris than paying Harden 50 million a year? I do think they will still beat Toronto despite how bad he has looked the last month. Given all that, do people realize he shot 37% from the field and 27% from 3 in April? Making an even larger sample size he shot 39% for the month of March and 30% from 3. Worse, if you watch him he doesn't have his signature burst and is not nearly as effective on his drives. I said this about 6 weeks ago and got some push back, but you can't argue there is a chance a notoriously out of shape partier may have a steep decline as they approach 33. Not everyone is Lebron.
Harden is either going to opt in for his final year which would almost certainly mean an extension was in the works or he'll opt out to become a free agent. In neither case, could I see him agreeing to a trade to Indiana. And there is no way Indiana wants Harden on a 50m multiyear contract. Westbrook would only be on their books for a year but I doubt that trade would happen either. If the Sixers decide they don't want Harden, they'd be better off letting him walk and having some cap space than make a meh trade. I don't think Brogdon and Hield move the needle at all for the Sixers except maybe backwards considering their contracts.
I've said numerous times big midseason trades don't work. Players, especially stars, aren't plug and play. 20 games is just not enough time to integrate them into a new team. It is also the end of the season when teams are tanking. So any kind of judgements should be taken with a lot of salt. However I'd say the Harden-Embiid has gone about as well as can be expected and that is with Harden not shooting well. You don't honestly think playing with Embiid is causing Harden not to shoot well. I think Mo is right about the hammy still bothering him. All that being said, how about this comparison? In the 20 games (323 min), the Harden/Embiid/Maxey/Harris/Thybulle lineup has a +20.2 net rating. That same lineup with Curry instead of Harden in 21 games (256 min) had a -10.6 net rating. Imagine the difference if Harden was actually shooting well.
Losing to Toronto wouldn't necessarily say anything about the Harden-Embiid pairing. Toronto is a good team. Not having a decent backup C for the playoffs could cost the Sixers yet again. Thybulle not being vaxxed could cost the Sixers. Doc being coach could cost the Sixers.
Harden's health, fitness and work ethic as well as how well he ages are most definitely concerns. Giving him a big multi-year contract is very likely to be ugly in the out years. The trade looked a lot better when the initial reports indicated that Harden had picked up his option. However the Sixers focus ought to be on Embiid and they have got to have someone like Harden to reduce his load on offense. Before the allstar game, Embiid was only being assisted on 47% of his 2pt fgs. For the games after the allstar break, it was 60% assisted. Last season with Simmons, it was only 43% assisted. That's a big positive difference.
