Embiid’s scoring title and MVP chase would be for naught if Sixers don’t have postseason success

They'll play the Toronto Raptors in the first round. The team needs James Harden to step up.

Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden (1), Joel Embiid (21), and Tyrese Maxey (0) head over to the bench after a hard foul was committed on Maxey by the Hornets in the third quarter of a game against the Charlotte Hornets at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 2, 2022.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer

Published Apr. 10, 2022, 8:09 p.m. ET

Can the 76ers avoid making Joel Embiid’s scoring title and his run at the MVP the pinnacle of this season?

The addition of James Harden at the trade deadline was supposed to bring bigger and better things from a team standpoint.

Embiid’s individual accolades were supposed to be just a prelude to a postseason run the Sixers hoped would end with their first NBA title in 39 seasons.

That’s why they acquired Harden from the Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 10, for him to be their high-profile secondary scorer and closer to pair with Embiid.

But the Sixers haven’t exactly resembled a team built for the playoffs, even after the perennial All-NBA star’s acquisition. And they may even have a tough time getting out of the first round based on the matchup.

Yet, in Embiid, they have the first center to win a scoring title since Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in 2000. Averaging a 30.57 points, the Sixer is also the first center to average more than 30 points in a season since Hall of Famer Moses Malone averaged 31.1 points as a Houston Rocket while being named the 1982 MVP. He is also the first foreign player to lead the league.

We’ll find out in the coming months if Embiid can completely follow in Malone’s footsteps and lead the Sixers to the promised land.

No offense to Embiid, but his scoring title and MVP candidacy won’t mean a hill of beans if the Sixers, a team with a small margin for error, don’t advance far in the postseason.

The fourth-seeded Sixers will open the postseason in a best-of-seven series against the Toronto Raptors. That comes after they headed into Sunday night’s regular-season finale against the Detroit Pistons with a slim chance of getting the Eastern Conference’s third seed.

As the third seed, they would have faced the sixth-seeded Chicago Bulls in the first round. The Bulls were the preferred opponent. The Sixers swept the season’s four meetings against Chicago. Plus, the defenseless Bulls had lost 10 of their last 13 games heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale at Minnesota.

But facing the Toronto Raptors (48-34) will be problematic.

The only way the Sixers could have gotten the third seed would be a victory over the Pistons paired with the Memphis Grizzlies beating the Boston Celtics on Sunday night. They defeated Detroit, 118-106, but the Celtics rolled over the Grizzlies, 139-110.

The latter was expected with Grizzlies sitting out major contributors in All-Star Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, Tyus Jones, and Jaren Jackson Jr.

So now the Sixers will face Raptors, who are a matchup nightmare for them.

And it’s not just that they’ll be without Matisse Thybulle, their best perimeter defender, on the road in that series. That’s because as of Jan. 15, anyone who is not vaccinated against COVID-19 cannot gain entry into Canada.

The Raptors won three of this season’s four meetings with the Sixers. They are a tough matchup because they rarely do things twice defensively. Coach Nick Nurse has them playing defense in an assortment of ways.

So, offensively, you have to be very locked in, keeping your turnovers to a minimum. Not being totally locked in in the past has led to Embiid frequently turning the ball over against the Raptors’ aggressive double teams and masked zones.

Harden would definitely have to make shots at a high rate for the Sixers to have any chance against Toronto. The thing is, that hasn’t been the case outside of his first four games.

He shot 59.2% during those games, including going 12-for-24 on three-pointers. Harden averaged 26 points, 12 assists, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.8 turnovers in those four victories.

In his 17 games since, he averaged 19.7 points, 10.1 assists, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.6 turnovers. Harden shot 39.3%, including going 34-for-117 (29.1%) on three-pointers.

Harden (left hamstring recovery), Embiid (right knee soreness), Paul Millsap (non-COVID illness), and Georges Niang (left knee patella tendinopathy) all sat out Sunday’s game against the Pistons. Embiid, Harden, and Niang would have suited up if it was a playoff game.

The players are all expected to be available when the Sixers play Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series, tentatively set for Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center.

But if Harden’s not making his shots in the playoffs, the Sixers will have a tough time advancing.

Right now, Embiid has been producing 40-point, 10-rebound gems. But there’s nothing else they can count on consistently.

Tyrese Maxey is more aggressive when Harden’s off the floor. Tobias Harris has solid first quarters, but he tends to get lost as the game progresses. And the Sixers surround those guys with spot-up shooters in Danny Green and Niang.

But how will Green and Niang cope when defenders try to run them off the line?

All those things are why the Sixers have a small margin of error in the postseason. That’s because the Sixers don’t compare to the conference’s elite teams in regards to depth.

Take the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, for example.

Some will say they are an elite team because Giannis Antetokounmpo is unstoppable.

He’s not the only reason they’re an elite team. Former Sixer Jrue Holiday makes plays for others and is a defensive stopper. Khris Middleton is Antetokounmpo’s reliable All-Star co-star. Bobby Portis provides toughness and scoring from the perimeter. Brook Lopez is an underrated center with shooting range, which makes him hard to defend.

The Bucks are a versatile team that can beat you one game by knocking down threes and by getting to the rim the next game. They can also beat you at the free-throw line, with solid defense, and by creating turnovers.

Right now, the Sixers are too one-dimensional in regards to needing stellar performances from Embiid every night to pull out victories.

Even if they get out of the first round, they’ll have a formidable foe waiting for them in the second.

On paper, they have a tough time matching up with the Celtics, the Bucks, or even possibly the seventh-seeded Brooklyn Nets in a playoff series.

A loss in the first or second round would be no different than in recent history.

The Sixers lost in the second round to the Celtics in five games in 2018. A season later, Kawhi Leonard’s 15-foot fadeaway jumper at the buzzer lifted the Raptors to a 92-90 Game 7 victory. Two seasons ago, in the bubble, the Sixers were swept by the Celtics in the first round. Last season’s 103-96 Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals added to the list of Sixers’ disappointments.

They’re looking to advance beyond a second-round series for just the second time in the franchise’s last 12 appearances, dating back to 1986. They beat the Raptors in seven games in 2001 en route to finishing as NBA Finals runners-up.

If they continue to do what they’ve been doing in the playoffs, Embiid’s scoring title and MVP-type season race would definitely be the Sixers’ unflattering highlight of their season.