Wizards’ Wes Unseld Jr. praises Sixers’ stars for their success
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers have one of the more talented players in the league, Joel Embiid. The big fella is leading the league in scoring (33.4 ppg) and he dominates on the defensive end.
Then, there’s James Harden who’s leading the league in assists (10.8 apg) to go along with his 21.8 points per game, and Tyrese Maxey who is averaging 19.8 points per game. Embiid, Harden and Maxey are a handful for opposing teams and they know it.
Embiid and Harden, specifically, continue to be impressive out on the floor. Embiid had 34 points while Harden had 18 points and 14 assists in Sunday’s win over the Washington Wizards.
“Harden and Embiid are the catalysts with this group,” said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. “Embiid is gonna require a lot of attention so in doing that, those guys have opportunities. We wanna minimize Embiid first, but you look at what he’s done. Not only is he the league’s leading scorer, but over the past five games averaging 37 a night, I think he’s uplifting everybody.”
Due to the attention Embiid, Harden and Maxey attract on the floor, life is easier for Georges Niang, Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, PJ Tucker and others.
“We’ve seen Niang,” Unseld Jr. continued. “I’ve seen him for years over his time spent in Utah that he can come in and impact the game right away. His ability to stretch the floor, kinda moves without the ball. Very similar to Corey (Kispert) and just kinda creates action, spaces correctly, causes a little coverage confusion with his movement, when he shoots it, every time he shoots it, you feel like it’s going in so minimizing the impact of those guys, it’s difficult.”
Either way, it’s becoming obvious Embiid, Harden and Maxey continue to make strides forward as a group and it’s helping the supporting cast succeed.
“Harden’s 25 a night, Maxey’s 24 a night, so those three combined, a shade under 90 points,” Unseld Jr. finished. “That’s a lot to account for.”
