James Harden and Joel Embiid will dominate with free throws

The James Harden experiment in Philadelphia is off to a roaring start, with the Philadelphia 76ers earning a 133-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Harden ended the night with 27 points, eight rebounds, and 12 assists, Joel Embiid tallied 34 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyrese Maxey put up 28 points as well.

Everything went according to plan and they were able to get a win over a quality team poised for the playoffs. But the one aspect of the game that stood out were the free throws.

James Harden and Joel Embiid will dominate with free throws

Both Harden and Embiid are known for getting to the line seemingly a million times per game. And in their first game on the same team, that fact was emphasized.

As a team, they shot 36 free throws on the night, of which they made 30. Harden ended up taking nine and Embiid shot 13 on the game.

Embiid is notorious for getting to the line in post-up situations, and Harden can easily draw a four-point play at a moment’s notice. He even managed to earn one in his debut with the Sixers.

The thought of Embiid and Harden drawing fouls on the same team is enough to cause nightmares for any opponent. And if their first game together is any indication of how the rest of the season, it’s going to be a long one.

In fairness, the Timberwolves average the most fouls per game in the entire league, so that also had something to do with the high number of free throws.

But regardless, seeing both Embiid and Harden get to the line that many times was terrifying. Especially considering the fact that Embiid is first in the league in free throws attempted per game and Harden is fourth.

Once the pairing finds a rhythm, they should be able to dominate the league from the free-throw line alone. It’s going to be enough to make opposing coaches pull their hair out.