Except when he's up 3-1 then loses the series... then jumps ship and joins the same team that beat him. Other than that yeah.
Agreed with this. Instead of playing the PnR with Embiid which, imo, is actually unstoppable, Harden just drove into the paint into 2+ defenders, threw the ball up at the rim and hoped for a call. On almost every drive. That style of basketball isn't going to win games in the playoffs. Then, on the plays he didn't drive, he tried to shoot himself out of his slump. You can do that when you're down by like, 5 points or so. But when you're down by 15+, it's time to try something else. I expect the Sixers to do a lot better if/when they see the Nets again.
No doubt it's a bargain and we'd be pretty set at the gaurd position. Murray still has good upside too. Would you still do it if we landed #4 and Smith/Chet/Banchero were taken? I am 85% sure I would. Murray is still on a good contract too
As long as we get a top 4 draft pick this year I’m starting to not care so much of the Brooklyn pick. I do admit it’s been fun tracking it this year.
it was painful to watch maybe BK was slapping or hitting him on the arm or wrist when he was deep in the paint, but after the 3rd time of it not getting called, just stop and go to something else instead of continuing to drive into 3 defenders hoping a foul is called
That's interesting because then you're pretty much staring down Ivey at 4...which wouldn't be the end of the world given the articles/reports I've read. I MIGHT pass up a Murray deal for Ivey but wouldn't be mad if Stone decided to logjam us at the guard position with Porter/Green/JC/Ivey/Murray. One of those guys will probably have to be traded with other assets down the road to acquire a big though.
Unfortunately that's Harden's M.O.--he doesn't adjust in-game very well. That also has a domino effect on other players because if he's not producing to score or create, his teammates are left there standing and waiting for nothing.
PnR won't work either in the playoffs if your starter is Maxey (41% from 3 on 4.7 attempts) and Thybulle shooting 29% from 3 on 2.4 attempts per game. Thybulle defender lags off and helps clog the paint. I would force Maxey to have to shoot 8 or more attempts per game and carry the team.....because me clogging the paint with those two extra defenders are going to hamper the Harden-Embiid production. And I don't fear Tobias Harris killing me from 3 either. Not consistently each game for a whole series. Losing Curry hurt the 76ers. This is why I want most Rockets being proficient from 3 on about 8 attempts per game if need be. And I'm not a fan of Sengun in the post. I'd rather have him operating near the 3-pt line like we did with Olynyk. Sengun was good in the post on a few attempts; but so was Melo before we cut him.
cont'd from post #1190 Play type: Post Up... possessions.....freq......ppp....NBA percentile Sengun:.....................................2.3.....................21.7%.....0.91..............47.1.............. Melo (Rockets 18/19).........2.2.....................15.7%.....1.41..............98.0.............. per NBA.com (stats)
I agree that the 76ers would obviously rather have Curry than go without Curry. But the PnR will work because Embiid is Embiid. If Harden's PnR partner was someone like Capela who might struggle to finish over a defender, Embiid is skilled and strong enough to finish in traffic over 2 guys (Harden's switched defender and the guy sagging off a Thybulle). Harden either blows by the bigger defender and scores, passes to Embiid who scores over the little defender or passes to Embiid who gets fouled. It's unstoppable if it's executed well. As far as Maxey and Thybulle: since the Harden trade, Maxey has gone 19/33 from behind the arc (57.5%) and Thybulle, 4/14. You're right that Thybulle isn't a fantastic shooter, but if/when he and Harris find their offense (not necessarily 3s), the offense will unlock.
I don't see anything wrong with KD's decision he did it in an above board manner and was true to his objective of trying to win a ring. Did MJ leave the Bulls just cuz he had Pippen, Rodman, one of the best coaches ever and a super deep roster to go to the worst team in the L to win his rings? Or did he ride that power team all the way to the top multiple times and beat up everyone else to the point they didn't even get a G7? The narrative is super dumb lots of times. Lebron James didn't go to the team that beat him, he created his own team to challenge existing super teams and he got hated on for that. KD didn't create his own super team, he joined an existing super team and he got hated on for that. Steve Nash was super loyal to his team and didn't leave until he was washed, he got hated on for not winning a ring his entire career. MJ and Kobe basically relied on their GM's brilliance to hand them super teams, but that's ok somehow. Like it's better to have something gifted to you, than you actually put in work to give yourself a fighting chance.
KD made the right decision, but joining the team you blew a 3-1 lead to and becoming an overwhelming favorite excludes you from any “rising to the challenge” categories.
Lmao imagine calling Chris Paul and James Harden chokers and then applauding KD's decision to go to GS...sheesh
Your example of Jordan doesn't make any sense. Obviously, Jordan didn't leave the Bulls dynasty...just like KD didn't leave a Warriors dynasty. KD went to the dynasty. Durant is regarded in some circles as the best basketball player in the world. Before he joined GSW, after he joined GSW and even today, with the Nets. So for KD to leave his small-market team in OKC and go to a superteam where even without you, they were projected to win another title(s), is extremely questionable. Of course it was above board - that doesn't make it easy to stomach. Amazon could buy up a bunch of land and small businesses and completely renovate them into warehouses for its own company. That's above board, but it just doesn't feel great at all. KD didn't force his way out or anything. But that move single-handedly destroyed the parity of the western conference for about 3-4 years. Truth be told, if KD stayed healthy against the Raptors and never left GS, the Warriors would have beaten Toronto in 2019, would have beaten the Lakers and the Heat in the bubble in 2020, would have beaten Milwaukee last year and still be heavy favorites for the title in 2022. That's how scary the Durant / Curry / Thompson / Green squad was. That's what people have a problem with. It's not that some random scrub had the power to go to the Warriors and lucked into winning X titles. It's one of the best players in the world destroying any sort of competition by going to one of the best teams in the world.
In theory yes, but it doesn't work without 3-pt shooters providing space. Now maybe next season they get the shooters around them.....then look out league. Two extra defenders in the paint screws up the PnR exchange just like a quarterback and running back exchange near the O-line during a jail house blitz that's broken thru the line. Too many defenders for two players in the space of an elevator. You think the Nets didn't already game plan accordingly? Blew them out as a result. 76ers are going to need other to knock down 3's consistently in the Playoffs.
Lol, why are y'all sour. He made a career decision to secure ships first before he is leading a team again. I see no problem with that. It's what you do first and what do you do second. I view his burner account gate as far more serious.
