Well, I know what Milwaukee is and they are better than Philly if everyone is healthy bc they have been for years. I thought Philly might have a shot at being better than Boston bc I thought Boston might be in turmoil/I’m just not sold on them, but after a game where Philly gave them their best shot and it wasn’t close to good enough I’m as sold as possible after one game. is that a guarantee or anything? No. But looks to me like Vegas got the odds right there.
I didnt see the game, but when the other team shoots 56% from the field, you lose the rebounding battle (35 to 31), the other team wins in assists (24 to 16) and finally, you turn the ball over more (14 to 10), your are not going to win. I would say their defense was more the problem than not scoring enough.
Their defense is what's going to kill them. Everyone is so slow to rotate. Seeing Embiid plodding slowly to close out on a 3 is hilarious. The two J's were getting everything
I would agree that Bucks and Celtics should be the ECF favorites. Can’t agree that Philly gave Boston their best shot. Embiid was pretty garbage until some extreme late game stat padding and their bench added essentially nothing to that game. I don’t think Harden will play like the GOAT every game, but I don’t think Embiid and their bench will be that bad.
Yeah- but Harden was really really good. I bet combined output for Harden and Embiid is about on the good side of what you’d normally expect. I’m not saying it’d be a sweep but if you played 7 games I’d have Boston as a heavy favorite right now. They are better than I expected them to be right out of the gate.
I think their lineups are just bad. They will probably figure it out during the season Tobias and tucker are both 4s at this point since neither are quick enough to guard consistently. Doesnt matter who but one of them needs to come off the bench. It also helps kick niang out of the rotation
Yeah Doc and his questionable rotations aren’t helping anything, but if they want to maximize their shot at winning it all they need to find a way to move Tobias for another defensive wing. They don’t need what he brings on offense, especially for the price. But Tobias makes so much money and they don’t have much more pick flexibility so I don’t know how realistic a trade like that will be. Even if a trade doesn’t materialize I think they have still look like a 3 seed lock with top 1 or 2 potential depending on how things go.
Harden shot the ball well and as usual his playmaking was excellent. But he didn't look much more explosive to me than he did last season. This looked like many of the 30+ scoring games he had with the Nets and 76ers last season, when he shot the ball well and got to the line. One key difference between Harden last season and 2020 and prior is his ability to finish in the paint. Harden had some nice dribble moves on the perimeter, but with the exception of a nice drive on Grant Williams for a layup, he didn't display any of the explosion, iso penetration to the rim he was once known for. But if he continues shooting well and further utilizes the mid range game/floaters, with his playmaking skill, he can still be one of the top 10-15 best players in the league.
no way would Harden drop 35 on a defense as elite as Boston’s last year everything looked improved from his fitness, to his movement, to his handle he had Tatum twerking last night on that 1 move
Yeah, but that's the problem. Tucker doesn't have to be Steph Curry from the corner...but you also can't let the opposing team's two best players get 35 each. The fact that you needed defense instead of offense, yet Thybulle can't see the floor at all in the first game of the season, is extremely telling. Either Rivers doesn't trust him or he's not showing enough in practice or something. My point about scoring is, if you're going to concede so many points to the other team, then your primary offensive weapons are going to have to show up and be consistent every night. Maxey and Embiid didn't really show up to the game.
That's what I always picked on Embiid's game while others touted him as the next skilled Center since Keem. He isn't that fluid and fast.
How you can say with a straight face he dosent look more explosive then last season is beyond me. Just go watch last nights fourth quarter
