Game 38: Bulls vs 76ers....Embiidless

[mjkvol]

Doc did pivot to Matisse, but Matisse got burned tonight too and on top of that, he's a complete zero on offense when Harden isn't out there to get him the ball. The three still isn't falling for him and that's going to be his downfall in this league. Until he can get that shot down, he's nothing more than a dart throw in hopes of shifting the momentum. He has his uses, you can put him in there some nights and he turns up. On nights like tonight, he's frustrating to watch because he never finds a rhythm on either end.

Hasn't this been the deal with Thybulle from day one? It's four years later and we're saying the exact same thing. The time to pull the plug on him was last year, but like this franchise does way too often they held onto a plummeting stock which will be worthless come the end of the season.

Why is it other franchises can schiitcan a failing coach and cut bait on players who have clearly shown they are not worth keeping, but the Sixers hold on for dear life and go down with the ship every time? That's rhetorical, of course.

[Jay555]

Didn’t watch. But knew Bulls are tough as they were 8-1 against Celtics, Bucks and Nets before this game. Plus the Bulls killer Biid isn’t available. With Biid, this is a W.

Get a back up center who can grab a board would be a priority.

[Mik317]

not a contender w/ Harden either

I'd take the better future over this.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

The Harrell signing was a bad move.
.

I dont' think it was. We aren't exactly paying him a ton of money. There were really no better options out there and he has great chemistry with James Harden. I just think Harrell has to be used a certain way. He's effective against teams that don't have a ton of size and athleticism, and he's a solid regular season player who can help preserve Embiid. Thing is right now, he's being asked to do more than he should. Harrell should be an instant offense, hustle type of player that you put out there when the matchup is best served. Keep in mind he was a late offseason addition...Almost bottom of the barrel to be honest. We completely ignored the backup center conundrum despite it being a crystal clear guarantee that Embiid IS going to miss at least 20 games. There are some names out there that can help with the rebounding issues. Hassan Whiteside and Cousins both fit the description. Morey wont do it though. It's not his motto. A trade is possible at the deadline, but I'm not sure about that either. Who exactly are we going to move?

True.

From a value standpoint, what you said is right.

But from a fit standpoint, a guy like Whiteside probably makes more sense.

If we’re gonna play with a handful of guards or not athletic forwards, then you need a C who can carry the team’s interior defense and rebounding. And if it’s not enough, you may even need another big at 4, then run a 3 guard unit.

Agree on Whiteside. It can't hurt to add him. I mean...Instead of Saben Lee, why not look at Whiteside?

[Murray_17]

The Nets won but Denver is killing the Cavs too

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

Doc did pivot to Matisse, but Matisse got burned tonight too and on top of that, he's a complete zero on offense when Harden isn't out there to get him the ball. The three still isn't falling for him and that's going to be his downfall in this league. Until he can get that shot down, he's nothing more than a dart throw in hopes of shifting the momentum. He has his uses, you can put him in there some nights and he turns up. On nights like tonight, he's frustrating to watch because he never finds a rhythm on either end.

Hasn't this been the deal with Thybulle from day one? It's four years later and we're saying the exact same thing. The time to pull the plug on him was last year, but like this franchise does way too often they held onto a plummeting stock which will be worthless come the end of the season.

Why is it other franchises can schiitcan a failing coach and cut bait on players who have clearly shown they are not worth keeping, but the Sixers hold on for dear life and go down with the ship every time? That's rhetorical, of course.

I don't disagree, but in regards to prospects/players...I feel like we damn ourselves either way. We let Christian Wood go and I know people don't like him on here, but he's exactly what we need to pair with Embiid along with our reserve unit right now. I didn't see a better available fit at the time and we prematurely gave up on him. That was a huge miss. After that we draft Mikal Bridges and trade him for Zaire Smith. Can you imagine Bridges on this roster RIGHT NOW? We'd be a 65 win team with him and a lock for the Finals. Wood and Bridges letting slip through the cracks are both going to haunt us right along with the Markelle Fultz debacle. Oh...We also traded Jerami Grant for basically nothing at this point. Ersan isn't even in the league anymore, meanwhile Jerami Grant is a versatile 2 way wing player who's scoring 20+ PPG in Portland. So really, this franchise is bad on both ends. We let talented players walk, we sign the wrong ones, we trade the wrong ones, and we hold on to guys that we think are going to break through that never do. Every now and then we get a hit with a Shake Milton or Tyrese Maxey, but it's been tough sledding overall. I'd rather not talk about Doc Rivers right now. I think he gets canned at the end of the year, but don't expect a big time addition to the team as a replacement. Sam Cassell would be my top choice, but I think he leaves with Doc unfortunately...As will Dave Joeger. Like I said, it's neither here nor there with him right now. I'm just venting.....Say it out loud...Mikal Bridges, Jerami Grant, Christian Wood....NBA Finals.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

not a contender w/ Harden either

I'd take the better future over this.

Yeah, I was pro Haliburton this time last year. Harden was too old for my liking. With that said, Harden is not the problem with this team. He's just no longer a one man wrecking crew on offense like he was in Houston. Can you believe Charles Barkley at one time said that Harden was the better offensive player than Michael Jordan? I do believe he said that back in 2018.

[mksp]

Doc did pivot to Matisse, but Matisse got burned tonight too and on top of that, he's a complete zero on offense when Harden isn't out there to get him the ball. The three still isn't falling for him and that's going to be his downfall in this league. Until he can get that shot down, he's nothing more than a dart throw in hopes of shifting the momentum. He has his uses, you can put him in there some nights and he turns up. On nights like tonight, he's frustrating to watch because he never finds a rhythm on either end.

Hasn't this been the deal with Thybulle from day one? It's four years later and we're saying the exact same thing. The time to pull the plug on him was last year, but like this franchise does way too often they held onto a plummeting stock which will be worthless come the end of the season.

Why is it other franchises can schiitcan a failing coach and cut bait on players who have clearly shown they are not worth keeping, but the Sixers hold on for dear life and go down with the ship every time? That's rhetorical, of course.

I don't disagree, but in regards to prospects/players...I feel like we damn ourselves either way. We let Christian Wood go and I know people don't like him on here, but he's exactly what we need to pair with Embiid along with our reserve unit right now. I didn't see a better available fit at the time and we prematurely gave up on him. That was a huge miss. After that we draft Mikal Bridges and trade him for Zaire Smith. Can you imagine Bridges on this roster RIGHT NOW? We'd be a 65 win team with him and a lock for the Finals. Wood and Bridges letting slip through the cracks are both going to haunt us right along with the Markelle Fultz debacle. Oh...We also traded Jerami Grant for basically nothing at this point. Ersan isn't even in the league anymore, meanwhile Jerami Grant is a versatile 2 way wing player who's scoring 20+ PPG in Portland. So really, this franchise is bad on both ends. We let talented players walk, we sign the wrong ones, we trade the wrong ones, and we hold on to guys that we think are going to break through that never do. Every now and then we get a hit with a Shake Milton or Tyrese Maxey, but it's been tough sledding overall. I'd rather not talk about Doc Rivers right now. I think he gets canned at the end of the year, but don't expect a big time addition to the team as a replacement. Sam Cassell would be my top choice, but I think he leaves with Doc unfortunately...As will Dave Joeger. Like I said, it's neither here nor there with him right now. I'm just venting.....Say it out loud...Mikal Bridges, Jerami Grant, Christian Wood....NBA Finals.

Embiid would have 2-3 rings by now if Hinkie didn't get canned. Ultimately Josh Harris has no balls, everything that happened happpened, and here were are.

[HardenGoat]

Bad night for Harden. Crazy shooting night for Lavine. Embiid gives the paint presence needed to allow us to stay glued to perimeter shooters. We need him healthy at all costs.

[Embiid P]

Doc did pivot to Matisse, but Matisse got burned tonight too and on top of that, he's a complete zero on offense when Harden isn't out there to get him the ball. The three still isn't falling for him and that's going to be his downfall in this league. Until he can get that shot down, he's nothing more than a dart throw in hopes of shifting the momentum. He has his uses, you can put him in there some nights and he turns up. On nights like tonight, he's frustrating to watch because he never finds a rhythm on either end.

Hasn't this been the deal with Thybulle from day one? It's four years later and we're saying the exact same thing. The time to pull the plug on him was last year, but like this franchise does way too often they held onto a plummeting stock which will be worthless come the end of the season.

Why is it other franchises can schiitcan a failing coach and cut bait on players who have clearly shown they are not worth keeping, but the Sixers hold on for dear life and go down with the ship every time? That's rhetorical, of course.

I don't disagree, but in regards to prospects/players...I feel like we damn ourselves either way. We let Christian Wood go and I know people don't like him on here, but he's exactly what we need to pair with Embiid along with our reserve unit right now. I didn't see a better available fit at the time and we prematurely gave up on him. That was a huge miss. After that we draft Mikal Bridges and trade him for Zaire Smith. Can you imagine Bridges on this roster RIGHT NOW? We'd be a 65 win team with him and a lock for the Finals. Wood and Bridges letting slip through the cracks are both going to haunt us right along with the Markelle Fultz debacle. Oh...We also traded Jerami Grant for basically nothing at this point. Ersan isn't even in the league anymore, meanwhile Jerami Grant is a versatile 2 way wing player who's scoring 20+ PPG in Portland. So really, this franchise is bad on both ends. We let talented players walk, we sign the wrong ones, we trade the wrong ones, and we hold on to guys that we think are going to break through that never do. Every now and then we get a hit with a Shake Milton or Tyrese Maxey, but it's been tough sledding overall. I'd rather not talk about Doc Rivers right now. I think he gets canned at the end of the year, but don't expect a big time addition to the team as a replacement. Sam Cassell would be my top choice, but I think he leaves with Doc unfortunately...As will Dave Joeger. Like I said, it's neither here nor there with him right now. I'm just venting.....Say it out loud...Mikal Bridges, Jerami Grant, Christian Wood....NBA Finals.

Wood likely wouldn't have gotten any time here behind our three headed monster at center at the time (Embiid, Noel and Okafor). Obviously hindsight is 20/20 but more often than not, a guy who was an undrafted FA is going to get released before 3 guys who were high lotto pics. Obviously one can blame Hinkie for that mess by taking centers with three straight top 6 picks though I can understand why he did it given that many assumed that Embiid would never play a game in a Sixers uniform after needing a second surgery on his foot. Both Wood and Grant really developed their games to their credit since they were here. I think that management post-Hinkie really struggled with identity in that it wanted to be competitive by adding vets while simultaneously drafting and developing youth. Turns out the young guys we let go became good players on other teams while most of those we tried to develop became busts (Noel, Okafor, Simmons, Fultz, Zhaire, and now looking like Springer, etc.) at least relative to where they were taken in the draft. Not to mention we squandered future picks on players like Tobias and Horford which has left our cupboard bare.

[76ciology]

Christian Wood is a headcase.

he is one of those delusional players like Andre Blatche, that you wouldnt want on a winning team. While he does not have THAT upside for a rebuilding team.

If you want to talk about someone who we let go and might be a good fit, it’s Jerami Grant.

How can you develop Jerami Grant with Ben Simmons and Embiid?

Christian Wood or Jerami Grant will NEVER be who they are on this team because Ben and Biid have most of the spotlight and usage.

[Rastas]

Christian Wood is a headcase.

he is one of those delusional players like Andre Blatche, that you wouldnt want on a winning team. While he does not have THAT upside for a rebuilding team.

If you want to talk about someone who we let go and might be a good fit, it’s Jerami Grant.

How can you develop Jerami Grant with Ben Simmons and Embiid?

Christian Wood or Jerami Grant will NEVER be who they are on this team because Ben and Biid have most of the spotlight and usage.

Yeah ummm only one of those guys has a usage rate around 35%, the other (your fav to hate on) loves to share the ball at around 20% usage.
But yes Christian and Jerami would not of developed as they did in Philly, there personalities would not put up with being bit players in Embiid Ball play.

[Jhawk03]

Christian Wood is a headcase.

he is one of those delusional players like Andre Blatche, that you wouldnt want on a winning team. While he does not have THAT upside for a rebuilding team.

If you want to talk about someone who we let go and might be a good fit, it’s Jerami Grant.

How can you develop Jerami Grant with Ben Simmons and Embiid?

Christian Wood or Jerami Grant will NEVER be who they are on this team because Ben and Biid have most of the spotlight and usage.

Yeah ummm only one of those guys has a usage rate around 35%, the other (your fav to hate on) loves to share the ball at around 20% usage.
But yes Christian and Jerami would not of developed as they did in Philly, there personalities would not put up with being bit players in Embiid Ball play.

We really do have a lot in common with the Pistons

[M2J]

The Harrell signing was a bad move.
.

I dont' think it was. We aren't exactly paying him a ton of money. There were really no better options out there and he has great chemistry with James Harden. I just think Harrell has to be used a certain way. He's effective against teams that don't have a ton of size and athleticism, and he's a solid regular season player who can help preserve Embiid. Thing is right now, he's being asked to do more than he should. Harrell should be an instant offense, hustle type of player that you put out there when the matchup is best served. Keep in mind he was a late offseason addition...Almost bottom of the barrel to be honest. We completely ignored the backup center conundrum despite it being a crystal clear guarantee that Embiid IS going to miss at least 20 games. There are some names out there that can help with the rebounding issues. Hassan Whiteside and Cousins both fit the description. Morey wont do it though. It's not his motto. A trade is possible at the deadline, but I'm not sure about that either. Who exactly are we going to move?

Drummond was caught walking around with a 76ers shirt on and signed for House type money to Chicago. Some can argue his plus minus as a starter I'm the Celtics center with a broken nets team, but that guy is the perfect backup center this Philly.

To not offer him a deal is a mistake

[ankle420breaker]

We couldn't get stops. LaVine caught fire and we had too many lazy defensive possessions where we allowed him some generously open looks.

Rebounding continues to be a major pain point. I still envision our lack of toughness leading to another early exit despite all of our "dog" acquisitions this summer.

Sent from my SM-S901U using RealGM mobile app

[Kova]

We just didn't gel tonight. No Joel, missed some easy shots and layups, Lavine had the best shooting night of his life, and the game just slips away from you. Credit to Chicago too.

[LeonJordanJr24]

All we gotta do is move Tobias for a costing cutting PF /C like a Collins,siakam or randle and slide Tucker,Thybulle and House to the 3. Our guard rotation Harden, Maxey,Melton and Shake are the league bar already .

[Murray_17]

Spoiler:

Christian Wood is a headcase.

he is one of those delusional players like Andre Blatche, that you wouldnt want on a winning team. While he does not have THAT upside for a rebuilding team.

If you want to talk about someone who we let go and might be a good fit, it’s Jerami Grant.

How can you develop Jerami Grant with Ben Simmons and Embiid?

Christian Wood or Jerami Grant will NEVER be who they are on this team because Ben and Biid have most of the spotlight and usage.

Yeah ummm only one of those guys has a usage rate around 35%, the other (your fav to hate on) loves to share the ball at around 20% usage.
But yes Christian and Jerami would not of developed as they did in Philly, there personalities would not put up with being bit players in Embiid Ball play.

Wood is currently playing with a 37% usage guy. .

The other guy you defend is on max contract with that 20% USG, while being unable to get double digits scoring, and is getting staggered with Nick Claxton. Btw, KD has a usage of around 32% and Kyrie is already on 29.2% this season.

Relax champ

[mjkvol]

After that we draft Mikal Bridges and trade him for Zaire Smith. Can you imagine Bridges on this roster RIGHT NOW?

There may have been bigger and worse mistakes made by the clowns that followed Hinkie after that POS Silver decided to wreck the organization, but the Bridges trade stands out to me as the all time unforced error.

We finally draft the perfect fit, a hometown kid who is an NBA ready version of the type of player that teams are endlessly searching for (including us!), and we trade him for a "raw athlete with potential upside" and a pick that might be valuable if a league rule is changed. At the time I was flabbergasted that a 'win now' team would make that trade - it was like trading a blue chip stock for a speculative start up.

I'm not going to go as far as you and say that Bridges makes us a 65 win team, but plug him in the lineup at the 3 and this group is a much more legit title contender. The need to sign either Tucker or House would have been unnecessary, freeing up money to get a real backup center and point guard, or a rebounding PF, and also to trade Thybulle and Korkmaz for more useful pieces.

[the_process]

not a contender w/ Harden either

I'd take the better future over this.

Don’t worry, Morey has a 5 year 257M (or thereabouts) deal (likely) waiting for Harden to sign.

Would have been so much better off dealing with the Kings last year.