Brooklyn, not Sixers, are the East favorite, admits Daryl Morey

Hey, do not forget that very long time in the past when Daryl Morey went all in on James Harden for half a decade and the Houston Rockets canned him for it? Appears to be like just like the Nets star’s former GM nonetheless has him in his thoughts:

Morey: “I feel Brooklyn’s going to enter these playoffs the favourite, however we’re proper there.”

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) March 26, 2021

Coming off the heels of a scorching-hot Nets run (they’ve received 16 of their final 19 video games), the now-general supervisor of the Japanese Convention-leading Philadelphia 76ers waxed poetic over the workforce’s division rival.

The Sixers currently sit 1.5 video games forward of the Nets within the Japanese Convention standings, however are at risk of dropping that high spot within the wake of MVP-candidate Joel Embiid. The Nets, in the meantime, have managed their trio of stars effectively, with the ability to rotate them out and in of the lineup for relaxation with out dropping a lot of their scoring punch.

The important thing so far has been Morey’s former favourite son James Harden, who together with his latest play has planted his own flag as a official candidate on this yr’s MVP race (25.3 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 11.2 APG, 24.3 PER).

Philadelphia, who largely appeared to disappoint final season, has loved the highest spot within the Japanese Convention for a lot of this yr. This success has been largely predicated on the newfound synergy between stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, who’ve flourished in developed roles.

Earlier than the Nets traded for James Harden, after all, rumors and hypothesis swirled about their probabilities in opposition to any of the East’s premiere contenders. However now, the Nets are coming at Philadelphia with a traditionally nice offensive assault, one which Daryl Morey is loads aware of.

Whereas the GM’s phrases are usually not precisely encouraging for the Sixers’ roster or followers, he’s merely acknowledging a risk. He is aware of how harmful Harden could be, and by extension, he is aware of how harmful these Nets could be.