I didn't get a chance to watch last night but Maxey has been pretty awesome this season. Not really getting enough National NBA attention.
Doc likes to cut his player usage to eight in the playoffs but this team seems better when he goes deeper and gives Shake Milton more run. Harden can’t go 40 minutes and be effective in the fourth quarter. Not any more. Doc knows this. Morey doesn’t. I wonder how that will play out.
If I was a betting man I'd just take Phoenix and watch the East beat itself up to bits
I think he is feeling some initial trade pressure to deliver some heroics. That close out offense will be deadly if he figures out that his best value is as a distributor and secondary scorer in late game situations.
I haven’t looked back but is this a real thing? Doc used his bench more than most in LA and regularly went 9 deep with the Clippers and here as well. Are you referring to his time in Philly?
I mentioned this in the other thread, Harden also missed 2 FTs with PHI trailing by 1 and 2:26 left. That and the two TOs + one charge that Harden committed to start the 4Q made me wonder if PHI is trying very hard to avoid BRK in the first round by dropping to the 4th seed. Although if this were true, it would be funny if the Basketball Gods decreed that MIL ended up the 1 seed, PHI the 4, CHI (fully healthy) the 5, and BRK the 8.
Yes. His bench is thinner now after trading away Drummond and Curry. We are back to the bench killing them when Embiid takes a blow. Doc has threatened to shorten his rotation in the playoffs but you’re right. He has usually played at least nine players throughout his career. Since the trade, this is the second biggest concern for Doc, trusting his thinner bench. Jordan has been virtually worthless as Embiid’s caddy.
The flagrant was awful. From what I have seen, Harden regularly puts his head down and bulls to the basket. Head down, not looking to pass. Right now, he seems unsure of what’s best for this new team he’s on. BigSoxFan said it best a few posts up. Harden needs to distribute more and shoot less.
He still has time to figure this out.
The Raptors are an awful matchup for the Sixers. Maybe this is better for the Gambling thread but let’s just say that I’m REALLY hopeful of this being a first round matchup.
Scottie Barnes is a defensive problem for Harden. While I didn't watch much of the 76ers/Raptors game, Toronto has so many long-armed defenders that can mess with Harden's coma dribblefest drives
Umm, isn't that just an invitation for TOR to hack his hand as much as possible?
Maybe it’s just so inviting a target anyway that it’s worth broadcasting so the officials / League office are sure to hear as well?
What can the officials or league officials do when a player chops down on Embiid’s arm/hands? That’s standard contact when a scorer has the ball.
I don't think the goal is to change the definition of a foul, but more raise it as 'point of emphasis'.
The only way for that to be the case would be if the Sixers won the championship this year with Joel sidelined. I love Embiid, but I'd sign up for that in a heartbeat. If the Harden-Maxey Sixers run the table from this point on with Joel watching in street clothes, you, Simmons, and every other GD C's fan can make all the jokes about how Joel is overrated for all I care. Our graying last championship's baby clock has been ticking for so long she's looking for egg donors at this point.
To be clear, I wasn't trying to intimate that Joel is overrated and was not making light of the injury or its impact on the Sixers. Just saying that you have to hold out hope because you just never know. I'll be rooting for the 76ers unless and until they run up against the Celts.
No worries, I get that. I was just pointing out that Simmons' Ewing Theory came from the Knicks run in the 1999 playoffs, which he believed proved that Ewing was overrated, because they played better without him. Joel may be unlucky, but I don't think anyone would argue that he's overrated. (Or that the Sixers will be better off without him on the court.)
The Ewing Theory isn’t about the player being overrated. It is about the phenomenon that occurs when the team who is missing the star plays with more purpose and energy while the opponent has a mental letdown from going up against a team missing its star. It is very real too.
Agree to disagree. Simmons definitely intends a little slam on the player whenever he invokes this.
Strong disagree. The overrated (or at least) overhyped aspect of the star is definitely part of a real Ewing Theory situation. Part of the premise is that the "quote" star is actually something of a fraud. From Simmons' Page 2 days, the criteria are:
Doc spent the day of that game throwing guys he coached 19 years ago under the bus in press conferences... he was VERY in his head about not blowing this lead.
When does Doc pull Embiid…..
