Despite Media Attacks on James Harden, Magic Johnson Comes to the Rescue for ?MVP? Joel Embiid and His Co-Pilot

After finishing Game 1 on a strong note, Philadelphia 76ers superstar James Harden struggled to get to the double-digit mark in their next faceoff. The Sixers defeated the Brooklyn Nets on Monday to go up 2-0 in the series. While teammate Joel Embiid maintained a steady game with 20 points and 19 rebounds, three-time scoring champion Harden scored just 8 points. This prompted several media personnel to criticize “The Beard” for his poor display of skills but ended up getting defended by Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.

The Philadelphia 76ers are currently in the lead in their playoff series against the Nets. After defeating Brooklyn with a 20-point deficit in the previous game, Embiid led his team to their second victory by 96-84. The Nets will need to pull off something special to have a chance of extending the series.

Magic Johnson extends his support to James Harden

When the Sixers acquired James Harden, Philly fans had thought the former Nets star would be a great addition to lead the team alongside Joel Embiid. To his credit, Harden has put up some of the greatest games during the regular season, but the same cannot be said about the playoffs. Harden’s single-digit score in Game 2 caused several media personalities to slam the 2018 MVP.

Colin Cowherd was among the first ones to call Harden out by saying, “James Harden now is a glorified role player with a shoe deal and lots of fashion.” Whereas, analyst and podcast co-host Brian Scalabrine praised Tyrese Maxey for his game-high performance while simultaneously taking a jab at Harden. He said, “I’m taking Tyrese Maxey over James Harden.”

Meanwhile, Magic Johnson continued to show his faith in both Embiid and Harden. Already referring to Embiid as the “MVP”, the Los Angeles Lakers legend commended the two players for their leadership qualities.

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Shortly after the game against the Nets concluded, Magic took to Twitter and wrote, “I like the leadership of MVP Joel Embiid and his co-pilot James Harden. They are committed to trying to bring a championship to Philadelphia this season!”

Joel Embiid leads the MVP race

For the major part of the season, Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic was the frontrunner in the MVP race. However, it seems like the Serbian international might just lose the award to Sixers’ Joel Embiid. The Athletic‘s Sam Amick and Josh Robbins recently conducted an anonymous player poll where Embiid ended up as the winner.

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The six-time NBA All-Star finished with 50% of the total votes, whereas, Jokic received 25.5 %. Both of them deserve the award, but only one will get it. Who do you think will win the MVP award? Moreover, is James Harden not a star anymore? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.