Could James Harden Provide the Sixers the Same Boost Terrell Owens Gave the Early 2000’s Eagles?
It’s happening! James Harden will officially be making his 76ers debut when the team returns from the All-Star break in Minnesota to face the Timberwolves. There is palpable buzz surrounding his debut and for obvious reasons. The Sixers during the Joel Embiid or “Process” era have been what I deemed, the best 44 minute team in the NBA. They often had a free-flowing offense in the first half. They would soar to big leads or at least, seemingly commanding leads. That would last until the 4 minute mark of the 4th quarter where they transformed into a rag-tag group of chickens running around with their heads cut off.
They didn’t possess the dynamic playmaking guard capable of creating his shot or creating shots for others. Until now, with the arrival of Harden. It’s very reminiscent of another Philly team needing the final piece to get over the hump: the Eagles addition of Terrell Owens.
The Eagles spent the late 90’s picking near the top of the draft order courtesy of their poor play. But, in the process, it landed them their franchise quarterback. Not only that, they had constructed a roster with a near flawless foundation. The secondary was historically good and the defense as a whole was solid led by the late, great Jim Johnson. On offense, their offensive line was dominant and their running backs like Duce Staley flourished behind them. Statistically, their franchise QB, Donovan McNabb was incredibly impressive given his very limited playmaking skill position options.
From the front office, to the coaching staff led by Andy Reid, and the team led by McNabb and Brian Dawkins, everything about the organization had become respectable. They were a really good team! But, not a great team.
As the early 2000’s carried on, this era of Eagles football continually hit the same wall. They couldn’t get past the NFC Championship and complete the dream season in the form of a Super Bowl. Often their shortcomings were against inferior opponents culminating with a head-scratching loss to the Panthers in 2004. Three straight years of losses at the same level and most of it was due to their offense being stymied. They scored a combined 13 points against the Panthers and Buccaneers in back to back NFC championships.
The Eagles had grown accustomed to a certain level of winning, as evident in their string of NFC East crowns. But, they plateaued before winning the “big one” and clearly needed one final piece to push them over the top.
Sound familiar yet?
Well, you know the rest. They brought in Terrell Owens who became an immediate impact on offense and his star power transcended the city. The Eagles started their campaign with T.O. 7-0 and looked unstoppable. They finally got over the NFC championship hump. And while they didn’t win the Super Bowl, it certainly wasn’t due to Owens’ efforts as he finished the game with 9 receptions for 122 yards. (In this analogy, Joel Embiid is Donovan McNabb. So, if the Sixers do make the NBA Finals, I’ll take my chances that Joel isn’t throwing up in timeouts.)
Flash forward to today and the Sixers have hit a similar plateau as the early 2000’s Eagles. They’ve clearly built a winning foundation that began when they drafted their franchise cornerstone in Joel Embiid. They’ve drafted well recently with Daryl Morey and have a respectable coaching staff in place. Surrounding Embiid, are a handful of capable role players. The result has been multiple 50 win seasons.
But, after falling in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in 3 of 4 seasons, it had become painfully apparent that the Sixers were a piece away from truly becoming contenders. Fresh off a season as the 1 seed where they lost to the inferior Hawks due to offensive woes in Game 7, something had to change.
In steps James Harden. Much like Owens, there are certain red flags surrounding Harden. But also like Owens, Harden’s star power and acclaim is well warranted. A team in desperate need of fire power gets their wish. The final weapon needed for battle.