GDT: 76ers (1-3, 0-1 away) vs Raptors (2-2, 1-0 home)

[Kova]

This would have been such a blowout if we weren't so talented offensively. However, defense is what wins you games and our defense is probably the worst in the league right now. No boxing out, no transition defense, poor closing on cutters, poor closing on three point shooters, just all around mess. We couldn't get 2 stops in a row if our lives depended on it.

[M2J]

It feels like promises were made to some of Morey's incoming players. Of course there were promises for Tucker. Promises for and by Harden who helped facilitate them. But they really need to add Melton to the starting lineup. Or quickly bring him in. They need more minutes, with more athleticism and he can get off more shots than Tucker while also facilitating more offense. Also more Thybulle.... More Tucker at center

[phillynative]

I want to know what the game plan is offensively and defensively. What exactly are they trying to do out there? Training camp must of been fail

[ankle420breaker]

Embiid has been our best player today by a huge margin, what are you talking about?

I'm talking about 5 rebounds, getting stripped repeatedly, and not even reacting to Siakam taking a cheap shot at his head on the heels of him breaking his face.

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He's mentioned having challenges boxing out because of his finger injuries. Not an excuse, but I'm guessing that's waht he's going through. Being a 11 reb career average, he definitely needs to fix that.

I say the players are tanking to get Doc fired, least I hope so lol.

Not boxing out because his finger hurts only validates claims of him being the softest player on the roster. At what point does Joel stop getting a pass for this.

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[76ciology]

The summary for me.

Raps can’t collapse the defense much, but they need little separation for them to shoot over the defender.

Sixers can collapse the defense well, but they need a lot of separation to shoot.

Think how many point blank baskets Tucker had that he can’t finish because he got intimidated of Raps size. Or how many drive and kick to open shooters but our shooters cant shoot it because there’s a giant closing out on him.

Oh and transition defense?

Adam Silver should issue us a warning for tanking if he saw our transition defense.

Read on Twitter

[ankle420breaker]

It starts with Embiid and his conditioning/effort again being called into question. Its pretty clear he's not the Alpha we thought he was and without that mentality it's hard to imagine him being the guy to lead us through a finish line.

We're also totally unprepared. Defensive confusion, missed rotations, teammates not on the same page, etc. Doc and Dan Burke have been pitiful out of the gate and we'll continue to struggle with both PJ and Tobias starting together. Two immobile PF's starting together in today's NBA was a terrible idea from the start.

Lastly, all of the "dogs" we just signed have changed nothing in terms of our toughness and mentality. Siakam was in PJ's ear all night and even took another cheap face shot at Joel. We just collectively cowered with no fight or physicality. Major buyer's remorse early on.

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[Bum Adebayo]

I'm talking about 5 rebounds, getting stripped repeatedly, and not even reacting to Siakam taking a cheap shot at his head on the heels of him breaking his face.

Sent from my SM-S901U using RealGM mobile app

He's mentioned having challenges boxing out because of his finger injuries. Not an excuse, but I'm guessing that's waht he's going through. Being a 11 reb career average, he definitely needs to fix that.

I say the players are tanking to get Doc fired, least I hope so lol.

Not boxing out because his finger hurts only validates claims of him being the softest player on the roster. At what point does Joel stop getting a pass for this.

Sent from my SM-S901U using RealGM mobile app

This finger injury is really bad and doesn't let you do many things, I guess you haven't experienced it?

[ankle420breaker]

He's mentioned having challenges boxing out because of his finger injuries. Not an excuse, but I'm guessing that's waht he's going through. Being a 11 reb career average, he definitely needs to fix that.

I say the players are tanking to get Doc fired, least I hope so lol.

Not boxing out because his finger hurts only validates claims of him being the softest player on the roster. At what point does Joel stop getting a pass for this.

Sent from my SM-S901U using RealGM mobile app

This finger injury is really bad and doesn't let you do many things, I guess you haven't experienced it?

We clearly have different standards

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[eyeatoma]

I'm talking about 5 rebounds, getting stripped repeatedly, and not even reacting to Siakam taking a cheap shot at his head on the heels of him breaking his face.

Sent from my SM-S901U using RealGM mobile app

He's mentioned having challenges boxing out because of his finger injuries. Not an excuse, but I'm guessing that's waht he's going through. Being a 11 reb career average, he definitely needs to fix that.

I say the players are tanking to get Doc fired, least I hope so lol.

Not boxing out because his finger hurts only validates claims of him being the softest player on the roster. At what point does Joel stop getting a pass for this.

Sent from my SM-S901U using RealGM mobile app

He's not, but it's why he's not right now. Probably doesn't want to reinjure himself. Plenty of players play cautiously because of injuries. He'll get over the mental block soon enough. If he doesn't he's a worse player for it and his dreams of MVP will go out the window.

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[76ciology]

Spacing.

The common mindset is surround shooters around Embiid. Sure, Seth Curry is a better shooter than Precius Achiuwa. But relative to defense. Achiuwa is a better shooter with seth curry closing out on him than Seth Curry is as a shooter with Achiuwa closing out on Seth Curry.

My point? You are better off with someone who has size to help your transition defense, halfcourt defense and rebounding who has questionable shooting than a 6’4” PF with a dog mentality who can’t finish and shoot against lengthy defenders

If you watch the tape. Raps collapse on purpose because they are confident they can rotate. Raps is so long that they can lure u into traps in passing lanes or lure you to shooters/scorers who are non threat against a Raps defender closing out on him. (I.e tucker)

[rocketsfan100]

So rivers wants pace but he keeps calling for Embiid half court slow iso plays? Got it

[rocketsfan100]

Harris takes only 5 shots and looks as nervous as Simmons passing up shot after shot. This man is stealing money at this point for what he is giving. Harrell has no business seeing another second with his abhorrent defense and limited offensive capabilities

Niang and House failed to take advantage of hardens passes out of double teams the Raptors were throwing at him in the third quarter

[mjkvol]

Not watching the games is working out swimmingly

I broke down last night because I just needed to see if it really was the same ol' same ol'.

It is.

Won't make that mistake again.

[mjkvol]

This would have been such a blowout if we weren't so talented offensively. However, defense is what wins you games and our defense is probably the worst in the league right now. No boxing out, no transition defense, poor closing on cutters, poor closing on three point shooters, just all around mess. We couldn't get 2 stops in a row if our lives depended on it.

It really is astounding with a veteran group and a veteran coach what a poor defensive team this is. The amount of wide open looks given up, unseen backdoor cuts, tip ins, and second chance points would be embarrassing and not tolerated by most coaches rated in the Top 15 of all time.

[mjkvol]

After watching (suffering through) an entire game for the first time all season, these things, many of which have been stated ad nauseum here, are crystal clear:

1. Melton should be starting and Maxey coming off the bench as 6th man. Not only does it make a ton of sense in that it maximizes Maxey's strengths, but it provides desperately needed balance in the starting lineup.

2. Harris and Tucker cannot play together. Problem here is the dearth of actual solutions since athletic wings are something that evidently was not believed to be a need in the off season. Reed or (dare I say it) Thybulle might be worth trying here, but Glenn clearly doesn't want to step on any toes, and has a mental block when it comes to Reed.

3. We need to see more small ball with Tucker or Reed as the 5, and not only in desperate 4th quarter situations when throwing things at the wall to see what might stick. This is the only time we see some actual energy, and having Harden, Maxey, and shooters on offense will provide a jolt, something this team needs in a big way. This is another area where Glenn would have to risk pissing off Embiid, which is why it's unlikely to happen with any regularity.

4. Harris cannot continue to be seen as a foundation piece that has to start and be on the floor at the end of close games. He needs to be treated as just another player who earns time by producing, and not because he makes more damn money than anyone on the roster. He is far too often just a body on the floor offering very little on either end.

All of these are things that a creative coach would consider and implement while trying to find something to wake this team up, and are therefore things that Glenn will only do out of desperation, if at all.

[vini_vidi_vici]

Heres what I dont understand.

Why do you guys refuse to get into transition (despite always being efficient in it)?? You have Maxey hes built for it, yet the team is always near the bottom of volume. I get you have Joel, and Harden is slow, but man.

We short. Atleast danny can run the floor and space it.

Maxey would run down the floor and you have 3 lengthy guys chasing him.

I think we need to run Maxey-Harden-Melton trio like our starting 5 in the playoffs. Or let Maxey sit on the bench and have Melton or Reed to play more size.

The thing is, you guys push to settle for a long HC possession. In fairness I dont watch all your games, and hence why I asked, but last night it was egregious. Its not just about Maxey.

Spoiler:

*This is from Synergy directly (the one on NBA.com), the blue numbers are volume, the PPP = points per possession.

You push the ball 35 possessions, to only get 13 finishes in transition. PHI is scoring at 123.1 points per 100 possessions, its buoying the offense and it feels like they would rather reset the offense and get a long HC possession.

It looks like our offense under Dwayne Casey, in that ball handlers come back to rebound. You even have enough capable ball handlers to push with multiple guys. As an anecdote, 6 DREBs for Tobias and he pushed the ball only 2 times, hes more than capable to push it even if hes slow. Precious Achiuwa pushed the ball up twice, so its not like you need to force it to the lead guys. I just feel like this team leaves points on the floor.

I just think a Melton/Harden/Maxey is not good enough defensively, even if Embiid is great. PJ isnt the answer IMO.

I think you will win alot of games making a HC slog, mainly because you have some great top end talent and youre good at it, but youre limiting the margin for success esp come the POs.

[youngcrev]

Heres what I dont understand.

Why do you guys refuse to get into transition (despite always being efficient in it)?? You have Maxey hes built for it, yet the team is always near the bottom of volume. I get you have Joel, and Harden is slow, but man.

We short. Atleast danny can run the floor and space it.

Maxey would run down the floor and you have 3 lengthy guys chasing him.

I think we need to run Maxey-Harden-Melton trio like our starting 5 in the playoffs. Or let Maxey sit on the bench and have Melton or Reed to play more size.

The thing is, you guys push to settle for a long HC possession. In fairness I dont watch all your games, and hence why I asked, but last night it was egregious. Its not just about Maxey.

Spoiler:

*This is from Synergy directly (the one on NBA.com), the blue numbers are volume, the PPP = points per possession.

You push the ball 35 possessions, to only get 13 finishes in transition. PHI is scoring at 123.1 points per 100 possessions, its buoying the offense and it feels like they would rather reset the offense and get a long HC possession.

It looks like our offense under Dwayne Casey, in that ball handlers come back to rebound. You even have enough capable ball handlers to push with multiple guys. As an anecdote, 6 DREBs for Tobias and he pushed the ball only 2 times, hes more than capable to push it even if hes slow. Precious Achiuwa pushed the ball up twice, so its not like you need to force it to the lead guys. I just feel like this team leaves points on the floor.

I just think a Melton/Harden/Maxey is not good enough defensively, even if Embiid is great. PJ isnt the answer IMO.

I think you will win alot of games making a HC slog, mainly because you have some great top end talent and youre good at it, but youre limiting the margin for success esp come the POs.

They're really slow, so that's certainly part of it.

I'd say the main thing right now is that running requires effort, and that's not something this team is willing to provide right now, whether it be in transition (offensively and defensively), playing defense, or getting after loose balls.

[76ciology]

Heres what I dont understand.

Why do you guys refuse to get into transition (despite always being efficient in it)?? You have Maxey hes built for it, yet the team is always near the bottom of volume. I get you have Joel, and Harden is slow, but man.

We short. Atleast danny can run the floor and space it.

Maxey would run down the floor and you have 3 lengthy guys chasing him.

I think we need to run Maxey-Harden-Melton trio like our starting 5 in the playoffs. Or let Maxey sit on the bench and have Melton or Reed to play more size.

The thing is, you guys push to settle for a long HC possession. In fairness I dont watch all your games, and hence why I asked, but last night it was egregious. Its not just about Maxey.

Spoiler:

*This is from Synergy directly (the one on NBA.com), the blue numbers are volume, the PPP = points per possession.

You push the ball 35 possessions, to only get 13 finishes in transition. PHI is scoring at 123.1 points per 100 possessions, its buoying the offense and it feels like they would rather reset the offense and get a long HC possession.

It looks like our offense under Dwayne Casey, in that ball handlers come back to rebound. You even have enough capable ball handlers to push with multiple guys. As an anecdote, 6 DREBs for Tobias and he pushed the ball only 2 times, hes more than capable to push it even if hes slow. Precious Achiuwa pushed the ball up twice, so its not like you need to force it to the lead guys. I just feel like this team leaves points on the floor.

I just think a Melton/Harden/Maxey is not good enough defensively, even if Embiid is great. PJ isnt the answer IMO.

I think you will win alot of games making a HC slog, mainly because you have some great top end talent and youre good at it, but youre limiting the margin for success esp come the POs.

We can’t push it because we’re short and slow. And maxey is the only guy pushing so he’s getting multiple raps defender chasing him down.

The way to do that is if Maxey is paired with atleast Melton or atleast Thybulle or Reed. Someone who is quick and can attack in group.

[FireMorey]

I didn’t watch the last couple games, but from what I’ve seen this season, it’s clear Embiid right now either isn’t the defender he used to be or is saving his energy more for offense this season. If Embiid isn’t going to be a top level defender or rim protector, this defense is toast. He was the lynchpin of the defense.

[76ciology]

I didn’t watch the last couple games, but from what I’ve seen this season, it’s clear Embiid right now either isn’t the defender he used to be or is saving his energy more for offense this season. If Embiid isn’t going to be a top level defender or rim protector, this defense is toast. He was the lynchpin of the defense.

Joel Okafor. Just kidding. But its partly that and partly because teams have gotten longer.

Think about it, Celts werent playing Robert Williams in 2018. Raps werent running a Boucher Koloko Siakam Achiuwa Barnes 5 man unit. Even the Warriors have Wiseman, Draymond, Kuminga and Wiggins now.

While we are playing catch-up, we’re now in the pre 2020, small ball era trying to beat Klay thompson, harrison barnes and steph curry