Around the League Discussion - 2018-2019 (Playoffs)

[the_process]

I can't watch this game without thinking we should be in the finals. I'm salty.

Don't torture yourself and think of it that way. The Sixers shouldn't be in the Finals. If a horrible call by a ref screwed the Sixers over in the final minute or something, or Embiid got hurt and had to leave the game in the 4th quarter, you could say "Damn, we had it!"

The Sixers have no one to blame but themselves. If they were good enough they'd have won the series. Great teams find a way.They had it and choked. They didn't deserve to be in the ECF, and certainly don't deserve to be in the NBA Finals.

There have been plenty of times in my Philly sports life where I felt we "should" have done so and so, awful calls, injuries, etc. The Saints vs Eagles most recent playoff game was one of them. But the Raptors series was not. It was there for the taking, they weren't good enough. Maybe next year.

And I hope Toronto re-signs Kawhi, I think they deserve to keep him after making the trade.

You don’t need to beat the best to be the best. You just have to be the last one standing. Kawhi staying makes it that much more unlikely the Sixers ever reach the Finals, nonetheless win a title, during Embiid’s career.

[76ciology]

We dont deserve it. Sure Biid has been a + on court for the entire playoffs. But Biid and Ben aren’t equipped for playoff basketball. Biid didnt play like an alpha in the same tier like Giannis or Kawhi. Their game took a step back in the playoffs.

Guys like Kawhi and Lowry stepped up. In G7, those vets didnt play like teenagers on their first dates.

[FireMorey]

I can't watch this game without thinking we should be in the finals. I'm salty.

Don't torture yourself and think of it that way. The Sixers shouldn't be in the Finals. If a horrible call by a ref screwed the Sixers over in the final minute or something, or Embiid got hurt and had to leave the game in the 4th quarter, you could say "Damn, we had it!"

The Sixers have no one to blame but themselves. If they were good enough they'd have won the series. Great teams find a way.They had it and choked. They didn't deserve to be in the ECF, and certainly don't deserve to be in the NBA Finals.

There have been plenty of times in my Philly sports life where I felt we "should" have done so and so, awful calls, injuries, etc. The Saints vs Eagles most recent playoff game was one of them. But the Raptors series was not. It was there for the taking, they weren't good enough. Maybe next year.

And I hope Toronto re-signs Kawhi, I think they deserve to keep him after making the trade.

You don’t need to beat the best to be the best. You just have to be the last one standing. Kawhi staying makes it that much more unlikely the Sixers ever reach the Finals, nonetheless win a title, during Embiid’s career.

If they can't get past Kawhi, then they don't deserve it and weren't good enough anyway. If the Sixers don't want to have to deal with Kawhi for the next 5 years then they should have traded for him themselves. Toronto went for it, and it would be a just outcome if they kept him IMO.

[Steelo Green]

I think with a growing Embiid & Simmons, and Toronto (Kawhi staying hypothetical), Philly & Milwaukee will be doing a ring around for the title for the next 5 years.

[Detective]

Im happy for Raps. Great fanbase and city. They deserved it.

Thank you as well, for giving us a ****** magnificent legit series. And hosting us so kindly here on the Sixers board, with intelligent conversation and easy and respectful banter. I will never forget that Philly series for the rest of my life. It was an absolute, no holds barred, war.

Much respect, from the Raps fam

[Foshan]

We dont deserve it. Sure Biid has been a + on court for the entire playoffs. But Biid and Ben aren’t equipped for playoff basketball. Biid didnt play like an alpha in the same tier like Giannis or Kawhi. Their game took a step back in the playoffs.

Guys like Kawhi and Lowry stepped up. In G7, those vets didnt play like teenagers on their first dates.

Lowry has been crapping the bed for years in the playoffs. I think you are over reacting a little that we are going to lose to them forever because we lost here. Leonard had a transcendent series against us. Really no other way to describe it. If he had a series against us like he did against the Bucks (really good, not but not transcendent), we win. And that is with Embiid not 100%.

Granted, this year would have been an amazing year to get there with the trade, with GS maybe not at full strength, etc etc. But I just can't embrace all the doom and gloom I'm reading on the board recently.

[Wilfried]

I think with a growing Embiid & Simmons, and Toronto (Kawhi staying hypothetical), Philly & Milwaukee will be doing a ring around for the title for the next 5 years.

If Embiid can stay healthy, I feel we are in much better position while we are spending the big dollars on our star players, while the Bucks put themselves in this hard position with the big dollars on Bledsoe, Snell, Ilyasova and George Hill next season, while they also need to pay Middleton, Lopez and Brogdon.

They will lose at least 1 of those 3 this summer.

That's why I'm ok with keeping Butler and Harris, you give the dollars to your best players, not to Bledsoe or Snell. That's how you put yourself in a hole.

Retaining Harris and Butler, would give us the best option the next season(s) in the east (not knowing what NY is going to be like), given the fact Toronto has a lot of older players too on their team (and we had them on the verge of elimination).

But it will all depend on Joel's health

[76ciology]

We dont deserve it. Sure Biid has been a + on court for the entire playoffs. But Biid and Ben aren’t equipped for playoff basketball. Biid didnt play like an alpha in the same tier like Giannis or Kawhi. Their game took a step back in the playoffs.

Guys like Kawhi and Lowry stepped up. In G7, those vets didnt play like teenagers on their first dates.

Lowry has been crapping the bed for years in the playoffs. I think you are over reacting a little that we are going to lose to them forever because we lost here. Leonard had a transcendent series against us. Really no other way to describe it. If he had a series against us like he did against the Bucks (really good, not but not transcendent), we win. And that is with Embiid not 100%.

Granted, this year would have been an amazing year to get there with the trade, with GS maybe not at full strength, etc etc. But I just can't embrace all the doom and gloom I'm reading on the board recently.

Until proven otherwise, Sixers isnt going to make it to finals with their alpha not playing like a superstar in the playoffs.

[76ciology]

Will the Raps visit the Whitehouse if they win the championship?

[Bum Adebayo]

We dont deserve it. Sure Biid has been a + on court for the entire playoffs. But Biid and Ben aren’t equipped for playoff basketball. Biid didnt play like an alpha in the same tier like Giannis or Kawhi. Their game took a step back in the playoffs.

Guys like Kawhi and Lowry stepped up. In G7, those vets didnt play like teenagers on their first dates.

Lowry has been crapping the bed for years in the playoffs. I think you are over reacting a little that we are going to lose to them forever because we lost here. Leonard had a transcendent series against us. Really no other way to describe it. If he had a series against us like he did against the Bucks (really good, not but not transcendent), we win. And that is with Embiid not 100%.

Granted, this year would have been an amazing year to get there with the trade, with GS maybe not at full strength, etc etc. But I just can't embrace all the doom and gloom I'm reading on the board recently.

Until proven otherwise, Sixers isnt going to make it to finals with their alpha not playing like a superstar in the playoffs.

This, he has to prove he can be a huge difference maker on offense. We know his impact on defense is amazing, but this is not enough if you want to win the title with him as your best player. He is capable of more and I expect him to show up in better shape and with improved skills next season, if not then I will be disappointed.

[Embiid P]

Will the Raps visit the Whitehouse if they win the championship?

Nah I'm guessing they would visit Trudeau since they play in Canada.

[Sixerscan]

We dont deserve it. Sure Biid has been a + on court for the entire playoffs. But Biid and Ben aren’t equipped for playoff basketball. Biid didnt play like an alpha in the same tier like Giannis or Kawhi. Their game took a step back in the playoffs.

Guys like Kawhi and Lowry stepped up. In G7, those vets didnt play like teenagers on their first dates.

Lowry had 10 on 4-13 in our game 7 lol.

This thing about one team did or didn’t “deserve” a series that was decided on a game 7 buzzer beat is silly. Do agree that Ben and Jo have some maturing to do, which is normal for players at their stage of their careers, and I’m not sure if there’s a better possible motivation than how their season ended. Should be resoundingly clear to them now that every little detail matters.

[mjkvol]

We dont deserve it. Sure Biid has been a + on court for the entire playoffs. But Biid and Ben aren’t equipped for playoff basketball. Biid didnt play like an alpha in the same tier like Giannis or Kawhi. Their game took a step back in the playoffs.

Guys like Kawhi and Lowry stepped up. In G7, those vets didnt play like teenagers on their first dates.

Lowry has been crapping the bed for years in the playoffs. I think you are over reacting a little that we are going to lose to them forever because we lost here. Leonard had a transcendent series against us. Really no other way to describe it. If he had a series against us like he did against the Bucks (really good, not but not transcendent), we win. And that is with Embiid not 100%.

Granted, this year would have been an amazing year to get there with the trade, with GS maybe not at full strength, etc etc. But I just can't embrace all the doom and gloom I'm reading on the board recently.

Completely agree. The Raptors needed Kahwi playing at a level rarely seen to get to the finals, and we went seven games with them while playing really well in maybe two of those games.

The Sixers need to run it back - with an entire off season, training camp, and regular season for this group to mesh, it's hard to imagine that we wouldn't be better than either the Bucks or Raptors, even if Kawhi stays.

[LloydFree]

I can live again! I don't have to live in a world where a team with Brook Lopez, Nikola Mirotic and Eric Bledsoe as starters, gets to an NBA Finals.

[sixers hoops]

I can live again! I don't have to live in a world where a team with Brook Lopez, Nikola Mirotic and Eric Bledsoe as starters, gets to an NBA Finals.

Why Bledsoe? He is a very good starter. Very good defensively. Has some offensive skills. I’d imagine he could be the 4th best player on a championship team, removing the warriors roster as an outlier.

[sixers hoops]

We dont deserve it. Sure Biid has been a + on court for the entire playoffs. But Biid and Ben aren’t equipped for playoff basketball. Biid didnt play like an alpha in the same tier like Giannis or Kawhi. Their game took a step back in the playoffs.

Guys like Kawhi and Lowry stepped up. In G7, those vets didnt play like teenagers on their first dates.

Lowry had 10 on 4-13 in our game 7 lol.

This thing about one team did or didn’t “deserve” a series that was decided on a game 7 buzzer beat is silly. Do agree that Ben and Jo have some maturing to do, which is normal for players at their stage of their careers, and I’m not sure if there’s a better possible motivation than how their season ended. Should be resoundingly clear to them now that every little detail matters.

If Kawhi missed that shot against us, would our starters be big time losers with no future in the east?

Embiid did play like crap for two games. If completely healthy, we are pretty competitive with the Raps or Bucks. I do think we will struggle with Embiid spending most of the offensive possessions on the perimeter, so we have adjustments to make. Nevertheless, we have the potential to win the east next year. However, we will need a lot of things to go right over the next year.

[LloydFree]

I can live again! I don't have to live in a world where a team with Brook Lopez, Nikola Mirotic and Eric Bledsoe as starters, gets to an NBA Finals.

Why Bledsoe? He is a very good starter. Very good defensively. Has some offensive skills. I’d imagine he could be the 4th best player on a championship team, removing the warriors roster as an outlier.

You're right. Being too hard on Bledsoe. Mirotic though... Peeeeyew.

[youngcrev]

Prediction: Lebron doesn't land any of the big fish in free agency and has them make an awful trade for CP3.

[D.Brasco]

Will the Raps visit the Whitehouse if they win the championship?

The Warriors didn't even visit the Whitehouse.

[Detective]

Will the Raps visit the Whitehouse if they win the championship?

The Warriors didn't even visit the Whitehouse.

Raps will likely visit Justin Trudeau at the Parliament of Canada.