Team fitness is a problem

[Arsenal]

The biggest takeaway from looking at the Finals teams is they are in superior physical shape. Able to run, press, defend, and move on offense nonstop all-game. Especially the star players.

Joker has insane stamina and is in great shape, unlike when he first came into the league as a doughboy. And we all know about "Heat Culture" where they measure players' body fat and force them to be in perfect shape, and bench them if not.

I think all of those things are missing with the Sixers. Guys are overweight and sluggish. Our stars ALWAYS get winded down the stretch of tough playoff games. And fatigue makes cowards of us all.

Can Nick Nurse bring a culture of extreme fitness to this team? Seems like he did in Toronto to squeeze everything out of mediocre talents. Hope he prioritizes that here.

[Zumramania]

For me it is absurd that in 2023 players in an NBA team are not in absolute prime shape, especially considering that these guys earn so much.

[Ferry Avenue]

That shouldn't be something a coach or the organization at large has to enforce. That should be something highly-paid NBA players who want to play at maximum levels and win a championship achieve on their own. That kind of thing is accomplished far better by personnel selection and acquiring players with that mentality than it is by "policing" players and enforcing a culture surrounding that in that way. Nobody had to police Kobe Bryant in that way.

The players will create their own culture. The main thing is to have player leaders who exemplify what you're striving for. Then when you have slackers who don't keep themselves in tip-top shape, they'll experience themselves as going against the grain of the player culture, and the player leaders will take over and get the message across, just like Moses Malone did with Charles Barkley. That's all the "enforcement" you need in that regard.

[Arsenal]

That shouldn't be something a coach or the organization at large has to enforce. That should be something highly-paid NBA players who want to play at maximum levels and win a championship achieve on their own. That kind of thing is accomplished far better by personnel selection and acquiring players with that mentality than it is by "policing" players and enforcing a culture surrounding that in that way. Nobody had to police Kobe Bryant in that way.

The players will create their own culture. The main thing is to have player leaders who exemplify what you're striving for. Then when you have slackers who don't keep themselves in tip-top shape, they'll experience themselves as going against the grain of the player culture, and the player leaders will take over and get the message across, just like Moses Malone did with Charles Barkley. That's all the "enforcement" you need in that regard.

Wrong. Leadership needs to come from the top. Management, the front office, and the coaching staff first. Players can help but if there's zero organizational emphasis, results will be lacking.

[Mik317]

I think the issue is that Biid loses his fitness after small breaks lol.

so when he gets hurt and misses a few games it takes forever to get that back.

Again I also think scaling back his involvement in everything is key.

Jokic doesn't work as hard on defense. Giannis gets to roam rather than bang or defend on ball. Jimmy and Kawhii haven't guarded the best players for years.

AGAIN not obsolving Jo for his effort or lack thereof...but him being the whole offense and also having to run the whole defense is why he runs out of juice so often IMO. No one else is doing that. Most top options don't anchor both ends of the floor....hell most can't do it on one end constantly. Steph is a in incredible shape and constantly moving but he still needs to take possessions off and can thanks to Draymond being the ball handler or Klay running some sets.

The key is to make things overall easier on Biid so when he does have an off night the team can still function somewhat. Jimmy got carried by all world performances from randos this post season and while again Jokic is better than Biid...Murray, Gordon and randomly Bruce Brown also could carry the load for small stretches.

Look at Luka. A supreme talent capable of carrying a team for sure....he's not going to win anything the way he plays IMO. Harden also found that out the hard way. Bron is in the GOAT convo....he never won it with ONLY BRON TIME ball either (got close tho lol)

[Ferry Avenue]

That shouldn't be something a coach or the organization at large has to enforce. That should be something highly-paid NBA players who want to play at maximum levels and win a championship achieve on their own. That kind of thing is accomplished far better by personnel selection and acquiring players with that mentality than it is by "policing" players and enforcing a culture surrounding that in that way. Nobody had to police Kobe Bryant in that way.

The players will create their own culture. The main thing is to have player leaders who exemplify what you're striving for. Then when you have slackers who don't keep themselves in tip-top shape, they'll experience themselves as going against the grain of the player culture, and the player leaders will take over and get the message across, just like Moses Malone did with Charles Barkley. That's all the "enforcement" you need in that regard.

Wrong. Leadership needs to come from the top. Management, the front office, and the coaching staff first. Players can help but if there's zero organizational emphasis, results will be lacking.

Wrong. Organizational leadership can be lacking, and Moses Malone can still inspire Charles Barkley to lose weight and become one of the best players in history. Why? Because Moses Malone wants to win the championship. The drive to win at the player level can overcome just about anything.

[GoSixersBro]

Imagine how good Harden would still be if he lived the life of a disciplined athlete. This is why bringing back him would be a horrific mistake that will shut the door on what remains of Joel’s prime. But with the clown show FO does it even matter?

[Ferry Avenue]

Imagine how good Harden would still be if he lived the life of a disciplined athlete. This is why bringing back him would be a horrific mistake that will shut the door on what remains of Joel’s prime. But with the clown show FO does it even matter?

That's precisely the problem on this team. When the players who comprise the tip of your spear as a team have lifestyles that aren't consistent with winning championships, it's incredibly difficult to develop a culture consistent with winning at that level. And there is nobody in the organization who has the power to make James Harden (or Embiid, or Ben Simmons) live a different lifestyle. You simply have to engage in better player selection and let that create your winning culture at the player level.

[Arsenal]

That shouldn't be something a coach or the organization at large has to enforce. That should be something highly-paid NBA players who want to play at maximum levels and win a championship achieve on their own. That kind of thing is accomplished far better by personnel selection and acquiring players with that mentality than it is by "policing" players and enforcing a culture surrounding that in that way. Nobody had to police Kobe Bryant in that way.

The players will create their own culture. The main thing is to have player leaders who exemplify what you're striving for. Then when you have slackers who don't keep themselves in tip-top shape, they'll experience themselves as going against the grain of the player culture, and the player leaders will take over and get the message across, just like Moses Malone did with Charles Barkley. That's all the "enforcement" you need in that regard.

Wrong. Leadership needs to come from the top. Management, the front office, and the coaching staff first. Players can help but if there's zero organizational emphasis, results will be lacking.

Wrong. Organizational leadership can be lacking, and Moses Malone can still inspire Charles Barkley to lose weight and become one of the best players in history. Why? Because Moses Malone wants to win the championship. The drive to win at the player level can overcome just about anything.

"Exceptions exist therefore the general rule is invalid."

Mark of a low IQ (or a troll).

[Ferry Avenue]

Wrong. Leadership needs to come from the top. Management, the front office, and the coaching staff first. Players can help but if there's zero organizational emphasis, results will be lacking.

Wrong. Organizational leadership can be lacking, and Moses Malone can still inspire Charles Barkley to lose weight and become one of the best players in history. Why? Because Moses Malone wants to win the championship. The drive to win at the player level can overcome just about anything.

"Exceptions exist therefore the general rule is invalid."

Mark of a low IQ (or a troll).

Your premise here is the exception to the rule. Players, not front offices, determine team cultures all over the league. As soon as you pay a player more than anyone in the organization other than the owner -- and that's true for every team in the league -- the players have the power.

[Negrodamus]

It's weird seeing Embiid called out for lack of leadership and, in the same point, Moses Malone ripping on Charles Barkley and calling him fat is the pinnacle of vet leadership.

Embiid qualified the end of season with "I have to be better" before saying everyone else has to be better. Basically a Charmin soft way of putting the notice to his teammates that they need to play better. The media, the casual NBA fans, the lame Sixers fans all unite to rip on Embiid for "blaming" teammates.

[phillynative]

We were a slow podding team from the start with our 2 best players having questionable conditioning.

[Ferry Avenue]

It's weird seeing Embiid called out for lack of leadership and, in the same point, Moses Malone ripping on Charles Barkley and calling him fat is the pinnacle of vet leadership.

Charles Barkley will tell you himself that Malone -- specifically in that regard -- was the biggest influence on his career:

Watch on YouTube

[Negrodamus]

It's weird seeing Embiid called out for lack of leadership and, in the same point, Moses Malone ripping on Charles Barkley and calling him fat is the pinnacle of vet leadership.

Embiid qualified the end of season with "I have to be better" before saying everyone else has to be better. Basically a Charmin soft way of putting the notice to his teammates that they need to play better. The media, the casual NBA fans, the lame Sixers fans all unite to rip on Embiid for "blaming" teammates.

Charles Barkley will tell you himself that Malone had a bigger positive effect on him than any other player he played with:

Watch on YouTube

Yea, we know. We've heard the story a thousand times.

If Embiid said to Niang "you're too fat, lose 30lbs and put on some muscle" everyone would cry about how toxic Embiid is. It's a different era and leadership looks different now.

[Ferry Avenue]

It's weird seeing Embiid called out for lack of leadership and, in the same point, Moses Malone ripping on Charles Barkley and calling him fat is the pinnacle of vet leadership.

Embiid qualified the end of season with "I have to be better" before saying everyone else has to be better. Basically a Charmin soft way of putting the notice to his teammates that they need to play better. The media, the casual NBA fans, the lame Sixers fans all unite to rip on Embiid for "blaming" teammates.

Charles Barkley will tell you himself that Malone had a bigger positive effect on him than any other player he played with:

Watch on YouTube

Yea, we know. We've heard the story a thousand times.

If Embiid said to Niang "you're too fat, lose 30lbs and put on some muscle" everyone would cry about how toxic Embiid is. It's a different era and leadership looks different now.

Embiid would first have to exemplify that himself. Only then would he have any cred in demanding maximum fitness out of anyone else.

You can't be a leader without leading by example. Kobe Bryant would most certainly demand more dedication from James Harden. That isn't a function of "era."

[Negrodamus]

It's crazy to think Embiid isn't in shape. He's not Ben Simmons level endurance, but he's also 7'2 and carrying a heavy frame of muscle. And it's also everyone is different: some people can run forever and others can't.

All of these points are unimportant though. The overarching point I'm alluding to is that no one on here knows what leadership in an NBA lockerroom really looks like.

[Ferry Avenue]

All of these points are unimportant though. The overarching point I'm alluding to is that no one on here knows what leadership in an NBA lockerroom really looks like.

Certainly we do. We saw it on the court when PJ Tucker exhorted Joel Embiid in the playoffs this year, for example. We heard Charles Barkley talk about it in the video above. It consists of nothing other than a certain kind of communication among people.

[GoSixersBro]

It's crazy to think Embiid isn't in shape. He's not Ben Simmons level endurance, but he's also 7'2 and carrying a heavy frame of muscle. And it's also everyone is different: some people can run forever and others can't.

All of these points are unimportant though. The overarching point I'm alluding to is that no one on here knows what leadership in an NBA lockerroom really looks like.

Fair point. And like many have suggested on this forum lately Embiid needs to be utilized less on offense. Every trip down can't start with him receiving the ball at the top of the key or elbow. It's predictable, stagnates ball/player movement, and is just so damn slow. I am so, so tired of watching 7'2 Kobe on so many possessions. And this ties back to fitness bc not many guys let alone centers can do this for 40 minutes a night in the playoffs.

[Negrodamus]

All of these points are unimportant though. The overarching point I'm alluding to is that no one on here knows what leadership in an NBA lockerroom really looks like.

Certainly we do. We saw it on the court when PJ Tucker exhorted Joel Embiid in the playoffs this year, for example. We heard Charles Barkley talk about it in the video above. It consists of nothing other than a certain kind of communication among people.

Perfect example of you taking 48 minutes of a game and conflating it into an entire team's locker room presence. What if PJ Tucker is bullying the **** out of Paul Reed or Jaden Springer in practice and its negatively affecting them? Is that leadership?

Speaking of PJ, where is he "exemplifying" for his teammates when he's honestly one of the worst starter, statistically, throughout the season.

[Negrodamus]

It's crazy to think Embiid isn't in shape. He's not Ben Simmons level endurance, but he's also 7'2 and carrying a heavy frame of muscle. And it's also everyone is different: some people can run forever and others can't.

All of these points are unimportant though. The overarching point I'm alluding to is that no one on here knows what leadership in an NBA lockerroom really looks like.

Fair point. And like many have suggested on this forum lately Embiid needs to be utilized less on offense. Every trip down can't start with him receiving the ball at the top of the key or elbow. It's predictable, stagnates ball/player movement, and is just so damn slow. I am so, so tired of watching 7'2 Kobe on so many possessions. And this ties back to fitness bc not many guys let alone centers can do this for 40 minutes a night in the playoffs.

Yea, I don't disagree with that. And I won't knock Embiid for having the weight that he has because that allows him to be elite on defense when he's not absolutely gassed from running up and down the court at 7'2 and scoring 30+ppg. I'm completely fine with him going for 23-25 and aiming for DPOY instead.