Hoops Habit
Fansided

5 make-or-break legacies that depend on the 2023 playoffs

By Michael Shearer

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 08: Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns anf Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers look on during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center on February 08, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 08: Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns anf Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers look on during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center on February 08, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
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Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, and Joel Embiid, NBA
Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, and Joel Embiid (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

4. The Philadelphia 76ers

No team in the league collectively needs a lengthy playoff run as much as the 76ers’ three-headed hydra of James Harden, Doc Rivers, and Joel Embiid.

Harden is (perhaps unfairly) regarded as the preeminent choke artist in the NBA. With three blown 3-1 playoff series leads, Rivers is the least well-regarded championship coach in the league. And Embiid, for all his public campaigning/whining about MVP, has had less playoff success than Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo. They all are in desperate need of an image makeover.

Harden, a former MVP himself, may be the most underappreciated star of this generation — but he’s done himself no favors. His ability to torture the rulebook has alienated fans, and a long history of fading in the playoffs has tarnished his legacy.

The Beard has shed his iso-scoring skin and evolved into the best pass-first point guard in the NBA. Now leading the league in assists and shooting the second-best three-point percentage of his career, he looks to be the perfect second piece on a championship squad. A ring casts his career in a new light: the phoenix who rose from the ashes of the house he burned down to become the ultimate sidekick.

Rivers has quietly had one of his best regular-season coaching campaigns. He’s managed to coax better defense from lightning bug Tyrese Maxey by pinning him to the bench until he improved. He has the Embiid-Harden pairing surrounded by shooters and defenders most times. It took a while but he’s finally given Paul Reed the leash to play through mistakes. And Rivers is even getting solid ball movement out of a second unit filled with play-finishers, not playmakers.

Rivers’ reputation has rested on the strength of his 2008 championship with the Boston Celtics for a decade and a half. Only 14 NBA coaches have ever won two or more titles, so regardless of his foibles and past failings, another ring would cement Doc’s legacy as one of the league’s greatest coaches.

Rivers and Harden, at least, have made it to the Finals. Embiid is still searching for that hallowed ground. But one happy byproduct of Embiid’s previous playoff failings is that he’s never stopped improving. He’s a fully-formed kaiju now, an unstoppable three-level scorer with bursts of electric passing and earth-shattering defense.

Injuries have sapped his playoff effectiveness in the past, leading to disappointing personal and team results. A tough playoff test awaits, but if he can lead the Sixers past the monsters in Milwaukee and beasts in Boston, there will be no more questioning his playoff credentials.