The Harden effect: Who’s booming and busting | Sports Daily Newsletter

The James Harden effect through two games has been about as subtle as the new Sixers star’s beard. There is the 2-0 record, a Harden triple-double against the Knicks, and instant pick-and-roll chemistry with Joel Embiid. Then there is the immediate success of the Sixers’ new Big Three: Embiid, Harden, and Tyrese Maxey combined to score 176 points in two games. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the only Philadelphia trio in NBA history to score more points in their first two games together is the Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain, Paul Arizin, and York Larese with 193 in 1961.

But not everyone is thriving in the wake of Harden’s arrival. Tobias Harris, who makes almost $36 million, has missed 13 of 18 shots in his two games with Harden and has looked more lost and irrelevant than ever.

— Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport

Will Harden deliver a championship during his time in Philly? Why or why not? Tell us at sports.daily@inquirer.com

The NFL scouting combine is this week, and on our minds is ... Jalen Hurts. Will he be the starter next season? Or will the Eagles make a bold move and trade some of the draft picks they’ve amassed for a more proven quarterback? Hurts helped lead the Eagles to the playoffs in his first year as a starter, but his audition for being the franchise quarterback was mixed. We can take Howie Roseman at his word that Hurts is the starter next season, but we can also see the Eagles at least considering an upgrade.

The disheartening thing about baseball’s ongoing lockout isn’t that the games might be canceled. It’s that the sport’s structural problems are almost certain to remain. If you want to understand the lockout and the source of the acrimony between players and owners, you need to look at the economic structure that created it. Look at the 17 players who received votes in last season’s rookie of the year voting. Look at how old they will be when baseball first allows them to negotiate a market-rate salary. Baseball’s current economic structure creates almost no incentive for owners to offer a player a contract extension that is anything close to his market worth.

The arrival of James Harden has been a boon for the 76ers as they captured wins against the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks over the weekend. But no player appeared to benefit from his presence more than Tyrese Maxey.

The second-year player was already a rising star for the Sixers and served as a secondary scorer behind Joel Embiid. But in two games with Harden, he’s put up All-Star numbers and averaged 24.5 points on 66.6% shooting.

Maxey served as point guard before Harden arrived, but he’s now returned “back home” to the wing, as Doc Rivers described it. And he’s thriving there.

Next: The Sixers return to the Wells Fargo Center to play the New York Knicks at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Harden will make his home debut for a Sixers fan base that unofficially welcome him to the team Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

The Flyers’ handling of top prospect Morgan Frost has been a topic of contention for the last few years now. On Monday, the back-and-forth picked back up as Frost was sent down to the AHL’s Phantoms.

The former first-rounder has seven points in 30 games this season for the Flyers but has been used primarily in a bottom-six role. The Flyers are hoping more ice time and an increased role in the AHL will help the highly skilled Frost build confidence and help him round out as a player.

Meanwhile, the NHL and IIHF released statements condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia and Belarus will be banned from future international tournaments “until further notice,” according to the IIHF.

Next: The Flyers continue their eight-game homestand on Tuesday against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (7 p.m., NBCSP). The Flyers will look to make it two wins in a row after defeating the Capitals on Saturday, 2-1.

Because of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s chances of ever earning a World Cup trophy on sporting merit went out the window completely, at least for this World Cup cycle. Not only did the U.S. Soccer Federation become the first entity outside of Europe to officially declare a refusal to play Russian teams, FIFA also banned Russia from its competitions “until further notice”.

Effectively, Russia’s men’s national team is now out of this month’s World Cup qualifying playoffs, and thus out of the World Cup in Qatar. UEFA, the continental governing body of European soccer, also announced a ban that would likely expel Russia’s women’s team from this summer’s European Championship and expel the one Russian club left in European club competitions this season, Spartak Moscow.

Soccer matches all over the world have been platforms for supporters and athletes to speak out on behalf of Ukraine, and that is expected to continue in this week’s matches.

On Monday, we asked you when the Sixers will lose again.

Saturday vs. the Heat. Second game of a back to back at Miami. Perhaps Tobias can find his stroke and prove me wrong. — Daniel W.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Marcus Hayes, Keith Pompey, Scott Lauber, Jonathan Tannenwald, Josh Tolentino, Mike Jensen, Ed Barkowitz, Giana Han, Gus Elvin, and Adam Fine.