James Harden's Philadelphia 76ers debut: Three keys for the revamped Eastern Conference contender

Shortly after James Harden was introduced as the newest member of the Philadelphia 76ers, the superstar guard was asked the question dominating the NBA world after the blockbuster trade deadline swap with the Brooklyn Nets for Ben Simmons:

How will this partnership with Joel Embiid work?

«I think we complement each other,» Harden said early in his news conference on Feb. 15. «Obviously, the whole world knows how great Joel has been playing.»

A few hours later, Embiid was asked the same question.

«As you look at the teams that have won in the past, whether you look at the Golden State [Warriors] teams, even the [Los Angeles] Lakers and Milwaukee [Bucks] last year, they just move the ball,» he said.

"[Harden is] probably up there as far as the best playmakers out of the pick-and-roll, so obviously you got to add that even more to our offense."

Friday night offers the first glimpse of the Harden-Embiid dynamic, when the 76ers go on the road to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. It will be the first of a 24-game sprint to the regular-season finish for the third-place Eastern Conference 76ers and their new All-Star duo, who must figure things out on the fly in the hopes of delivering Philadelphia (35-23) its first NBA title since 1983.

To get a sense of how Philly's experiment could play out, we asked scouts, executives and coaches around the league what pressure points they're watching in Harden's debut and throughout the rest of 2021-22.

For the partnership to work between the 2018 MVP and the front-runner for this season's award, it's going to require both to shift away from the typical styles they've enjoyed throughout their careers — being the center of their team's universes.

«I've got to become more of a pick-and-roll