Sixers: 3 reasons James Harden makes them title contenders

3. With James Harden, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey are luxuries for Sixers

Imagine having a 19 point per game scorer and a 17 point per game scorer as your third and fourth option. Well, the Sixers don’t have to imagine.

Although it’s hard to predict if Maxey and Harris will keep up that productivity, having that much offensive talent on one roster will catapult you into championship contention.

Adding Harden will allow Harris and Maxey to go back to their natural roles: score-first players who serve as secondary playmakers. With the absence of Simmons this season, Harris and Maxey have averaged the highest assists per game averages of their career. (I know for Maxey this stat isn’t as significant.) While I have appreciated Harris and Maxey’s willingness to become playmakers, this isn’t either of these players’ games.

Let’s discuss Harris and Maxey’s roles with Harden on the roster.

For Harris, his role is easier to project because he has already been in a similar situation during his career.

Since joining the Sixers, he has served as tertiary ball handler when playing with Embiid and Simmons. I assume he would have a similar role with Harden now joining the fold. The floor should be more open for Harris either to shoot directly off the catch or take advantage of a scrambling defender and beat his man off the dribble where he is shooting at a near 43 percent clip.

Harris will also have an increased role in bench units, and this is when he’ll have the ball in his hands the most. For the past two seasons, head coach Doc Rivers has often deployed a lineup where it’s Harris with four bench players. This allows Tobias to play to his strengths without taking away from Embiid and Harden.

If I had to guess, the lineup will probably be Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz, Harris, and either Georges Niang or Paul Reed (depending on the opponent’s big man).

For Maxey, I do believe there is going to be an adjustment period between him and Harden, but once they do click they’ll become one of the best backcourts in the league.

Putting the ball in Harden’s hands will transition Tyrese Maxey back to being a secondary playmaker. Maxey has made significant strides as a passer this season, but it’s apparent his role in an offense is more as a scorer. No offense to Maxey, he is a great player, but he’s not the type of playmaker that Luka Doncic or Trae Young is.

Playing next to Harden will also allow Maxey to grow more as an off-ball player. I’ve enjoyed the progress Maxey has made especially as a 3-point shooter (he is shooting over 40 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s). Playing with Embiid has helped him in this aspect, but he is also willing to put in the work in the gym to improve in this department.