Pascal Siakam Discusses Difference in Joel Embiid With James Harden

For the first half of the 2021-2022 NBA season, Joel Embiid was a solo superstar on the Philadelphia 76ers. In past years, Embiid's primary co-star was the three-time All-Star, Ben Simmons.

But after a disappointing showing in the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs, Simmons decided that his time in Philadelphia was up and demanded a trade. When the Sixers couldn't grant Simmons' wish as early as desired, the star guard decided to hold out from the 76ers throughout the season.

The first time Joe Embiid faced Philadelphia's first-round playoff opponent, the Toronto Raptors, this year, Embiid was surrounded by Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, Seth Curry, and Tyrese Maxey.

While his supporting cast was productive enough to complement Embiid's 36-point outing and allowed the Sixers to pick up their lone win against the Raptors during the regular season, the five-time All-Star didn't have another All-Star on the floor with him.

Later on down the line, that changed. Eventually, the absent Ben Simmons got his wish and moved to Brooklyn via trade. While Seth Curry and Andre Drummond went with him, the Sixers received another All-Star in return in James Harden.

The Harden and Embiid pairing is still a work in progress, as they've had little time to put everything together over the last couple of months. However, Toronto Raptors standout Pascal Siakam knows that regardless of whether Embiid and Harden perfected their pairing or not -- the ten-time All-Star guard makes the five-time All-Star center a better player these days.

"It’s someone coming off the pick and roll that can shoot the three, that can attack, and can pass," Siakam told reporters after practice on Wednesday. "He can do everything and that makes it harder to cover Joel because it’s tough to help off James. How many years and the level that he’s played at and how great he is as a player, just makes Joel even tougher and we already know how great Joel is. Those two are definitely a tough matchup."

The Raptors are fortunate to have two wins and zero losses against the Embiid-Harden combination in Philly. As they held Embiid to just 21 points and kept Harden under 20 points in the March 20 matchup, the Raptors came out on top with a 93-88 victory.

A couple of weeks later, the Raptors allowed Embiid to get his average of 30 points but kept Harden to just 13 points as he had a lousy shooting night going 3-12 from the field. Although the Sixers had control of the game for most of the matchup, the Raptors clawed their way out of a 15-point deficit and defeated the Sixers once again 119-114.

Although Toronto has found success against Harden and Embiid during the regular season, the Raptors and the Sixers are beginning an entirely new season on Saturday. Therefore, a 2-0 record won't be enough for Siakam and the Raptors to believe they have Philly's superstar combination all figured out.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.