The Sixers Look Scary

[jstross]

Doc just doesn't trust young players. I totally agree on playing Bassy more. HE's a solid defender and good rebounder.
He also can play above the rim on those lob passes. No brainer imo. Doc just doesn't trust young players.

Sixers’ shots are going to fall or it’s gonna be a foul fest for your team because both Harden and Embiid can generate fouls off iso and it’s easier to generate fouls off pick and roll.

Sixers transition is also a lot better because Maxey and Thybulle have elite speed then you need specific defenders for Embiid and Harden, this lead to a lot of crossmatch issues and miscommunications.

Biggest problem i see for now is the lack of secondary rim protector outside embiid and rebounding problem. And this is worse when Doc runs Milsap at center when this could be a lot better with Charles Bassey

Doc rivers is making a big mistake trying to play Milsap. He’s washed. Better to play bassey especially if harden is on the floor to generate his own offense with the second team while embiid is off the floor.

Anyone who watched the end of the third quarter/beginning of the 4th with the Knicks as they took a small 3 point lead. They had 6 layups with embiid on the bench. 5 layups in a 90-120 second span in the fourth quarter alone. Zero rim protection or deterrent. The min embiid re entered the games. Guys on the Knicks were less aggressive driving and dribble around embiid more.

That’s the effect embiid has when he’s in the game. Just his presence will do that. Milsap in the game. Knicks guys saw a wide open lane.

[Raps in 4]

Seeing Embiid play with an actual star really puts into perspective how overrated Simmons was.

[Tottery]

Seeing Embiid play with an actual star really puts into perspective how overrated Simmons was.

Simmons simply isn't a scoring guy. He's a really good defender that can grab 15 points. He is better suited as a 3rd option, or even fourth. It's why I think the Nets will be great if Kyrie ever plays fulltime again.

Harden and Embiid are about to tear through the east this season.

[76ersForLife]

Seeing Embiid play with an actual star really puts into perspective how overrated Simmons was.

Well, Simmons is an all-star that plays incredible defense. He also isnt even in his prime yet.

Whereas Harden is a superstar and one of the most unstoppable offensive players in league history with tons more experience than Simmons.

It doesn't make Simmons overrated he just isnt on the same planet as Harden in a half court offense.

The thing that has surprised me about Harden is his court vision passing. Never realized he was that good of a passer especially his kick ahead passes to create easy fast breaks for teammates.

[Raps in 4]

Seeing Embiid play with an actual star really puts into perspective how overrated Simmons was.

Well, Simmons is an all-star that plays incredible defense. He also isnt even in his prime yet.

Whereas Harden is a superstar and one of the most unstoppable offensive players in league history with tons more experience than Simmons.

It doesn't make Simmons overrated he just isnt on the same planet as Harden in a half court offense.

The thing that has surprised me about Harden is his court vision passing. Never realized he was that good of a passer especially his kick ahead passes to create easy fast breaks for teammates.

Simmons is a Draymond Green-like all-star. He's an elite role player.

Harden played PG in both Houston and Brooklyn. He's always been a great passer.

[rocketsfan100]

Seeing Embiid play with an actual star really puts into perspective how overrated Simmons was.

Well, Simmons is an all-star that plays incredible defense. He also isnt even in his prime yet.

Whereas Harden is a superstar and one of the most unstoppable offensive players in league history with tons more experience than Simmons.

It doesn't make Simmons overrated he just isnt on the same planet as Harden in a half court offense.

The thing that has surprised me about Harden is his court vision passing. Never realized he was that good of a passer especially his kick ahead passes to create easy fast breaks for teammates.

Harden and Lebron are the greatest dual threat(playmaking/scoring) guards of all time.

[MVP1992]

Well, Simmons is an all-star that plays incredible defense. He also isnt even in his prime yet.

.

Last season, not sure if due to niggling injuries, but to my eye Simmons lost some quickness off the mark. Just seemed sluggish. Like he was overweight?

Considering he relies on athleticism, and as a player I think he is what he is. I think his prime was his first 2 years in the league.

Just my opinion based on eye test. I don't do algorithms.

[kuclas]

Seeing Embiid play with an actual star really puts into perspective how overrated Simmons was.

Well, Simmons is an all-star that plays incredible defense. He also isnt even in his prime yet.

Whereas Harden is a superstar and one of the most unstoppable offensive players in league history with tons more experience than Simmons.

It doesn't make Simmons overrated he just isnt on the same planet as Harden in a half court offense.

The thing that has surprised me about Harden is his court vision passing. Never realized he was that good of a passer especially his kick ahead passes to create easy fast breaks for teammates.

Harden and Lebron are the greatest dual threat(playmaking/scoring) guards of all time.

And harden vision has unlocked Maxey. Instead of embiid or Harris trying to make the outlet pass on the secondary fast break. It’s harden. A completely different vision of passing.

There was the sixers home loss to wizards a few weeks ago. Very close at the end. Harris has the ball after rebound. Completely missed a streaking Maxey wide open ahead of everyone. Harden absolutely makes that pass to Maxey and he gets the layup for tie or lead (or something like that ). Instead u got Harris dribbling too much up the floor.

[ConstableChaos]

no more excuses for Embiid. sure it may have been affecting him but down the stretch everybody is dealing with something. he's played well at times but he needs to elevate his game more in the playoffs. the best credible excuse thus far in his career is Simmons bringing him down and not having a good ballhandler in the 4th quarter messing up the offense. not saying they need to win a ring because that's a ridiculous assertion but he's got to come in and play as well as he has thus far in the RS and elevate his game even more in the playoffs. no excuses.

Hmm, another post about how Embiid has supposedly been bad in the PO. I'm not an Embiid fanboy and am pretty aware of his limitations (esp in close-out situations) but that's not a thing, he's been pretty dominant in the PO recently and has generally been distinctly better in the PO than in the RS the last couple years. There seems to be some narrative that he's played like 75% of himself and there's nothing to base it on, it's confusing. (He had the rough TOR series but we've already gone over that, and in any case it was years ago now and he's had enough of a track record for that to be the exception and not the norm.)

You could say that he hasn't proven himself to be an ATG guy who becomes a legit superhero in the PO, that's valid enough. But he's been extremely good by any measure short of that. Unless you're trying to be one of those a-hole aggro fans it feels a lot more fair to say 'Embiid has shown he can be a legit dominant force in the PO, but he needs to show now he can be one of this generation's great winners.'

Embiid was a +90 in the 7 game Toronto series, including +10, in 46 minutes in game 7.

Thats more a greg monroe stat. backup C behind embiid has been terrible till drummond

[LloydFree]

Hmm, another post about how Embiid has supposedly been bad in the PO. I'm not an Embiid fanboy and am pretty aware of his limitations (esp in close-out situations) but that's not a thing, he's been pretty dominant in the PO recently and has generally been distinctly better in the PO than in the RS the last couple years. There seems to be some narrative that he's played like 75% of himself and there's nothing to base it on, it's confusing. (He had the rough TOR series but we've already gone over that, and in any case it was years ago now and he's had enough of a track record for that to be the exception and not the norm.)

You could say that he hasn't proven himself to be an ATG guy who becomes a legit superhero in the PO, that's valid enough. But he's been extremely good by any measure short of that. Unless you're trying to be one of those a-hole aggro fans it feels a lot more fair to say 'Embiid has shown he can be a legit dominant force in the PO, but he needs to show now he can be one of this generation's great winners.'

Embiid was a +90 in the 7 game Toronto series, including +10, in 46 minutes in game 7.

Thats more a greg monroe stat. backup C behind embiid has been terrible till drummond

Then you don't understand +/ ... And I really don't know how that's possible in 2022.

Embiid's +/- has nothing to do with a player that he never shared the court with at anytime.

[HardenGoat]

The most surprising and perhaps most dangerous revelation after adding Harden is the threat Maxey poses. He is a legit third head of a developing monster. The speed he plays at and his willingness to unleash it puts defenses on their heels. That is what is allowing Harden and Embiid to set up their 1-2 punch so effectively. Once Morey and Doc iron out the corner situation the vision will be complete. What’s left will be the ideal backup center for Harden to operate the second unit. Millsap is not it. Bassey has potential but probably needs more development. One thing is for sure though, Harden and Embiid look hungry and an ideal fit.

[Wilfried]

Seeing Embiid play with an actual star really puts into perspective how overrated Simmons was.

Well, Simmons is an all-star that plays incredible defense. He also isnt even in his prime yet.

That's the sneaky part, I'm really not sure we haven't seen the prime of Ben Simmons already.
He never actually improved as a player, only on the defensive end but I don't think he can improve there.
And I just see him hide even more on offense with the Nets

[Snotbubbles]

Seeing Embiid play with an actual star really puts into perspective how overrated Simmons was.

Well, Simmons is an all-star that plays incredible defense. He also isnt even in his prime yet.

That's the sneaky part, I'm really not sure we haven't seen the prime of Ben Simmons already.
He never actually improved as a player, only on the defensive end but I don't think he can improve there.
And I just see him hide even more on offense with the Nets

Simmons numbers have been pretty consistent his entire career. What improvements is he going to make now? He's going to a team with Irving and Durant, are you taking the ball out of their hands to give it to Ben? As a fan of an opposing team, I hope the Nets do that.

[Eyeamok]

I like the narrative of the 76ers and their GM are trash.

[SecondTake]

Seeing Embiid play with an actual star really puts into perspective how overrated Simmons was.

Well, Simmons is an all-star that plays incredible defense. He also isnt even in his prime yet.

Whereas Harden is a superstar and one of the most unstoppable offensive players in league history with tons more experience than Simmons.

It doesn't make Simmons overrated he just isnt on the same planet as Harden in a half court offense.

The thing that has surprised me about Harden is his court vision passing. Never realized he was that good of a passer especially his kick ahead passes to create easy fast breaks for teammates.

Harden and Lebron are the greatest dual threat(playmaking/scoring) guards of all time.

Prime Westbrook says hi

Sent from my SM-G950W using RealGM mobile app

[Tacoma]

Well, Simmons is an all-star that plays incredible defense. He also isnt even in his prime yet.

That's the sneaky part, I'm really not sure we haven't seen the prime of Ben Simmons already.
He never actually improved as a player, only on the defensive end but I don't think he can improve there.
And I just see him hide even more on offense with the Nets

Simmons numbers have been pretty consistent his entire career. What improvements is he going to make now? He's going to a team with Irving and Durant, are you taking the ball out of their hands to give it to Ben? As a fan of an opposing team, I hope the Nets do that.

And that's the problem with Ben on your team - you don't have to defend him from beyond 10-feet, so you can cheat & double up on Irving or Durant with impunity. Nash is going to have to find a way, maybe Ben plays more like a C starting from the inside where he's more of a threat to score. Nash will have to earn his pay to make this work.

The other problem is how many games will Durant-Irving-Simmons actually get to play together? With Ben still unable to play and Kyrie only playing away games, the runway for the Nets trio to learn playing together as a unit is much much shorter.

And BKN doesn't have the luxury to coast in 1st round playoffs either. They're currently 8th seed and assuming they win the play-in, their first round playoff opponent will likely be one of the top East teams. Embiid-Harden will have around 20 games to learn to play together which is sufficient time, and the Sixers look scary. The Nets may have handed the Sixers the 2022 Championship.

[RoyceDa59]

Embiid, Harden and Doc have all faded in the playoffs before, so let’s see how they do it when it really matters.

But yeah, they have an amazing squad.

[Snotbubbles]

That's the sneaky part, I'm really not sure we haven't seen the prime of Ben Simmons already.
He never actually improved as a player, only on the defensive end but I don't think he can improve there.
And I just see him hide even more on offense with the Nets

Simmons numbers have been pretty consistent his entire career. What improvements is he going to make now? He's going to a team with Irving and Durant, are you taking the ball out of their hands to give it to Ben? As a fan of an opposing team, I hope the Nets do that.

And that's the problem with Ben on your team - you don't have to defend him from beyond 10-feet, so you can cheat & double up on Irving or Durant with impunity. Nash is going to have to find a way, maybe Ben plays more like a C starting from the inside where he's more of a threat to score. Nash will have to earn his pay to make this work.

The other problem is how many games will Durant-Irving-Simmons actually get to play together? With Ben still unable to play and Kyrie only playing away games, the runway for the Nets trio to learn playing together as a unit is much much shorter.

And BKN doesn't have the luxury to coast in 1st round playoffs either. They're currently 8th seed and assuming they win the play-in, their first round playoff opponent will likely be one of the top East teams. Embiid-Harden will have around 20 games to learn to play together which is sufficient time, and the Sixers look scary. The Nets may have handed the Sixers the 2022 Championship.

Sixers tried using Ben around the basket. It wasn't very successful. Ben isn't a great offensive player, he's a guy who excels in transition. If the game gets slowed down to a half court game he's useless on the offensive end. It's why I think the Sixers would roll the Nets if they met in the playoffs because the Sixers will shoot a ton of foul shots which limit the transition game so they can play 5 v 4 on defense.

[John Murdoch]

Will be a tough out for damn sure. Bucks are slightly more balanced imo

[Raps in 4]

Well, Simmons is an all-star that plays incredible defense. He also isnt even in his prime yet.

Whereas Harden is a superstar and one of the most unstoppable offensive players in league history with tons more experience than Simmons.

It doesn't make Simmons overrated he just isnt on the same planet as Harden in a half court offense.

The thing that has surprised me about Harden is his court vision passing. Never realized he was that good of a passer especially his kick ahead passes to create easy fast breaks for teammates.

Harden and Lebron are the greatest dual threat(playmaking/scoring) guards of all time.

Prime Westbrook says hi

Sent from my SM-G950W using RealGM mobile app

Westbrook wasn't an elite scorer.