James Harden, Georges Niang discuss their pairing in a Sixers win
PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers have themselves a pretty good star tandem in the form of James Harden and Joel Embiid as the two of them can make anybody on the floor a better player.
Harden was able to do so with Georges Niang in Friday’s 125-119 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Harden finished with 25 points and 11 assists and Niang hopped off the bench and had 17 points while knocking down five triples.
Harden and Niang have battled with each other for quite some time. When Harden was with the Houston Rockets and Niang with the Utah Jazz, the two of them matched up multiple times in the playoffs so the two of them know and understand each other’s games pretty well.
“He was a shooter in Utah and then coming here, I pretty much knew the roster up and down,” said Harden. “Just finding ways to impact game. They (the Cavs) do a really good job of packing the paint so we found something with Georges tonight and he’s a shooter, that’s what he does, that’s what he gets paid to do, and he hit some big 3s for us tonight.”
Niang has been complimentary of Harden in the past, but Friday was his first really big game playing next to The Beard. The future Hall of Famer just has a knack for getting everybody involved and getting them into the right spaces out on the floor.
“He does a great job of making everybody look at him and then they forget about me and it’s been working. We should do that a lot,” Niang joked. “Nah, I mean, he’s a great player. He does what he does and like I said before, he’s a basketball savant. He just finds crafty ways to get other guys involved and to score and I’ve been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of that.”
Niang is a perfect fit next to Harden due to the fact that he is not afraid to take any shots. Once he catches the ball, he is immediately going to put the shot up. That catch-and-shoot skill is so important for a guy like Harden out on the floor.
“It’s a good pairing,” said coach Doc Rivers. “Georges, he separates, and that’s what we’re trying to get our other guys to do. A lot of our guys set picks and just turn. Georges sets picks and runs away. Georges is no dummy. He knows ‘If I set a pick on Tobias (Harris), there’s a good chance I’m getting a shot’. Georges wasn’t born yesterday. He knows exactly what he’s doing and James is getting it to him.”
The Sixers now must continue to grow this pairing as it is one that might see some time in a big playoff moment.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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