SixthStreet wrote:Those are mostly regular season problems. Harden is trying to thread the needle between playing while load managing (he's not playing a particularly taxing style of basketball right now) and integrating himself with the roster.
I prefer this approach.
That's certainly logically sound and consistent with a lot of what we're seeing, but it's inconsistent with his apparent inability or unwillingness to "turn on the juice" and become more explosive in the clutch, when the team needs him to win. Conceivably if he's playing instead of taking time off for load management, he's doing it to help the team win, and so his customary playing style should be available in the clutch for that purpose if he's not injured.
Bum Adebayo wrote: He is washed up after his last injury and being much older now.
I know you're a troll but this is also for everyone doing this idiotic narrative.
I wish every washed up player could post 22 pts and +10 assts on 61% TS
Do we need him taking more shots and attacking the rim more often? obviously, his 3P% is also a bit suspicious and may be pointing to a subtle decline.
However, people who expect Houston Harden are being delusional. Embiid is our offensive hub and is, supossedly, on the Harden Houston role.
Harden USG% is already around 25%, he's super involved on the offense. Embiid, however, has been posting a 35% USG this 8 games WITH Harden. One of the problems this team has is precissely Embiid dependancy and the fact Embiid USG has not dropped even by inserting Harden points to problems we already knew: depth chart (We have a full roster right now with 6 players out of the rotation: Korkmaz, Millsap, Charlie Brown Jr, Reed, Joe and Bassey)
The only bench players getting consistent minutes right now are Danny, Niang and DAJ. Even Shake has averaged less han 5 minutes lately. Niang being our only decent shooter means he has to share minutes with Tobias, which means our bench is even shorter than before and makes our defense drop even harder
Our defense is bad even when anchored by Joel and that's mostly on two things: we cannot stop PnR because driving to the rim is free and our 3p defense is atrocious.
Our defense gets even worse with Embiid on the bench because he's the only defense we have, plus asking him to anchor our defense with that stupid USG is madness. This gets worse because Embiid USG means we don't have offense with him on the bench, our bench problems means Harden doesn't have anyone to play with once Embiid goes to the bench nor he has spacing to drive to the rim.
I don't believe it would solve even a significant portion of the team's problems by any means, but I do think they need to return to using Korkmaz off the bench. He's a player who often got hot from the field and energized the team in that way, and I'd put up with his off days for the mere chance at having some of his on ones. It's not like some all-world player is taking his minutes.
I kinda think Doc is just giving Furk a break to work through his slump and reset his head. Dude clearly lost all confidence in his game and hopefully he can return to the lineup with a little more juice.
On Harden, I get that he’s still a very good player but I’m just not that confident that he can turn it up a level in the playoffs. That is what’s really underlying my concerns about some of his recent performances.
phillynative wrote: We match up well because they don't have a wing to dominate us. There bigs are good but still can't do anything with Embiid.
That’s analogous to saying in the NFL “we match up well because they don’t have a quarterback to dominate us.”
The teams with the best wings are also the best teams in the league. All teams are being dominated by them, and the only way to contend with it is to have one or more of your own.
Your point?
Well...To be fair, what exactly was yours? You got this started.
Just got around to watch the game, really liked how Tobias played most of the game. He either shot quick or attacked all the way to the basket. I only remember one or two loooong dribbles to nowhere. Which is a big improvement.
Ferry Avenue wrote:That’s analogous to saying in the NFL “we match up well because they don’t have a quarterback to dominate us.”
The teams with the best wings are also the best teams in the league. All teams are being dominated by them, and the only way to contend with it is to have one or more of your own.
Your point?
Well...To be fair, what exactly was yours? You got this started.
Got what started?.. I dont really see anything about my post that's hard to decipher.
My point was the sixers have trouble with wing scorers and the cavs dont exactly have one unless your counting Levert who can not seem to stay on the floor. Their bigs are good athletic defenders but Embiid is still a problem for them. I think those two factors play a part on how well the sixers play them.
ExplosionsInDaSky wrote:You guys can complain all you want, but Cleveland is a playoff team that has beaten a lot of good teams this year that we haven't beaten. They are no slouch and we've beaten them three times in a row. It's an impressive win all things considered. They took the lead in the third and in the past we would have caved and that would have been ball game. Respect to Embiid because he's grown up big time. Definitely the MVP this year, no doubt about that.
We match up well because they don't have a wing to dominate us. There bigs are good but still can't do anything with Embiid.
Well this is a great point, in a series...if it happens, and we have to deal with Brown and Tatum....we are in a world of hurt.
All we can do is watch the standings and go from there, Jojo will get his against the Celtics but we know Thybulle will get in foul trouble quick in that matchup. Then what? All we can do is hope Harden goes nuclear, which he hasn't done in a Sixer uniform.
Dominant wings in any uniform will be an issue for us.
Personally I thought Harden was a baller tonight... Just dictated the tempo and threw dimes all night. A casual 21&11, also +18. He's just transformed into a prime Chris Paul on offense and not Houston Harden and that's okay.
I liked Harris on offense tonight. Shot 6 threes and most of them were quick fires off the catch. I thought he was a super soft on the glass though and slow to react to loose balls.
Jo was dominant. Another MVP showcase.
Cons:
Bench.
Isaiah Joe is losing me. A lot of being successful in this league is about having that "it" factor. He just never makes plays when he gets the opportunity. Could see him washing up and out of the league in a few years.
DAJ. Trash can.
Matisse Thybulle. Shocking offense performance tonight. Not even asking for much, he just needs to be a willing shooter and do rudimentary stuff like make layups around the rim.
If Harden wants to be a prime Paul, he needs to watch turnovers. He started great but those TOs are increasing as his games played with us are increasing.
I agree with what you have said, this bench needs assistance, my prayer for Shake is really disappearing. If minivan is hitting 3s that night they look great, otherwise they are a zero. Doc will have to get Tobi with the bench as much as possible from now forward, we know who are the top 4 are now, and at least 2 of them will have to be on the court at all times.
Agree with you, but 4 turnovers for 11 assists isn't a bad ratio at all. Teetering on a 3:1 assist to turnover.
Jokic, for who everyone acts like reinvents the wheel because he throws lead passes in transition to his wings that sprint all game long is averaging 8.1 assists to 3.8 turnovers (2.13 A:T), Westbrook this season is at 7.1 assists to 3.9 turnovers (1.82 A:T).
Harden since coming to Philadelphia is dishing out 10.5 assists per game to 3.2 turnovers (3.28 A:T).
Paul is at 10.7 assists to 2.4 turnovers (4.45 A:T). Which is nutty.
But then again Chris Paul is averaging 14.9 points per game to Harden's 22.7.
Harden is an elite baller that we're lucky to have even if he isn't scoring 47 points a night.
Oh I agree with what you said, that's why I said he needs 'to watch turnovers'. Didn't say they were bad yet, but its also a very small sample size that appears to be going up. They were 4.8 with the Nets, with them being 4.0 the previous season.
phillynative wrote: We match up well because they don't have a wing to dominate us. There bigs are good but still can't do anything with Embiid.
Well this is a great point, in a series...if it happens, and we have to deal with Brown and Tatum....we are in a world of hurt.
All we can do is watch the standings and go from there, Jojo will get his against the Celtics but we know Thybulle will get in foul trouble quick in that matchup. Then what? All we can do is hope Harden goes nuclear, which he hasn't done in a Sixer uniform.
Dominant wings in any uniform will be an issue for us.
Exactly
If only we could find a real young guy with lots of energy, maybe 6’10 plus whose only job is to come in and give elite wings a hard time. Even if he did make a bone head play every once in a while, surely would be better than being torched consistently.
76ciology wrote:I like how we played this game. It’s like everyone was talking more. Even DAJ was trying to coach Maxey and Thybulle. They say our team had a long film session before this game and it showed
76ciology wrote:I like how we played this game. It’s like everyone was talking more. Even DAJ was trying to coach Maxey and Thybulle. They say our team had a long film session before this game and it showed
That kind of player involvement in a leadership capacity with his teammates is actually far more valuable than the effect a head coach can have in that regard as long as 1) the player leader is an exemplar of effort and dedication to the team -- i.e., he leads by example, and 2) the player's teammates can count on him to spearhead the team when it faces adversity -- i.e., he makes plays at key moments in important games. Only then will the player have the status in the eyes of his teammates to be a leader of them, and only then can he have the inspirational effect on them a true leader can have.
If you've seen the movie "Braveheart," you've seen this kind of inspirational leadership in action. This is human nature, and it functions similarly in all groups of people who work together in pursuit of a common goal.
In terms of the effect of inspirational leadership, Ray Lewis is far more valuable to a team than Vince Lombardi. Michael Jordan is more valuable than Phil Jackson. If Harden remains dedicated to the team and leads by example as well as vocally as in the above video, the team will have a key element of winning at a high level that distinguishes it from other teams with similar levels of physical talent.
That's the stuff that wins you game seven in the playoffs.
76ciology wrote:I like how we played this game. It’s like everyone was talking more. Even DAJ was trying to coach Maxey and Thybulle. They say our team had a long film session before this game and it showed
