Why James Harden is not a good costar for Joel Embiid

Why James Harden is not a good costar for Joel Embiid: Isolation-heavy ball

Harden is a player who likes to spend most of his possessions in isolation. Isolations account for 33.3 percent of Harden’s possessions since 2015, averaging 9.5 per game. He has been inefficient in this area, shooting 40.5 percent on 7.5 shots per game.

Harden has averaged 10.25 points per game in isolation – 33.9 percent of his scoring output. When Harden is in isolation, he likes to have at least three of his teammates standing behind the arc to give him more room to get a good look at the basket.

For example, Chris Paul, Eric Gordon, and PJ Tucker took over 47.5 percent of their shots from behind the arc during the 20117-18 season, as they averaged at least 3.8 attempts per game.

At first glance, Embiid spending more time behind the arc is okay, as he is shooting 35.8 percent this season on 3.7 attempts. Unfortunately, this season has been the only campaign where he has been an average shooter. Embiid shot 32.9 percent on 3.5 attempts over his first five seasons.

Therefore, the best solution in this situation would be to stagger both players. Staggering both players will allow them to accentuate their strengths with minimal sacrifice. In conclusion, Harden’s desire to play with Embiid is strange due to their playstyles.