Game 71: 76ers vs Bulls - Mar 20th 7:00pm ET

mjkvol · Post #101 » by **mjkvol** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:16 am

Embiid P wrote:FYI Harden is 5th in the NBA in MPGs this season. And all of the players ahead of him are younger than he is.

Yep, and Glenn's gonna push him and Embiid as long as there's a shot at the 2 seed. I really hope it doesn't come back to haunt us yet again.

phillynative · Post #102 » by **phillynative** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:17 am

I like what I saw from Melton , Maxey and Tobi.
Lack of secondary playmaking and shot creation from the peremiter came to bite.

NYSixersFan · Post #103 » by **NYSixersFan** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:21 am

I trust Embiid and Maxey....that's it.

76ciology · Post #104 » by **76ciology** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:22 am

You saw why its not recommended to have your alpha play locked in defense with how the league is calling fouls. I think we would have won this one with Biid

76ciology · Post #105 » by **76ciology** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:25 am

HardenGoat wrote:Loss is on Harden. Something’s up. Even his last shot he could have tear dropped it

Yup. He usually settles for tear drop or mid range this season

HardenGoat · Post #106 » by **HardenGoat** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:36 am

phillynative wrote:I like what I saw from Melton , Maxey and Tobi.
Lack of secondary playmaking and shot creation from the peremiter came to bite.

Even Melton got hurt. He was clutching his right hand for a long time in the 4th. This was always the risk when getting down the stretch and having such a brutal schedule. The main thing is our two stars have to stay healthy. If Harden can’t play his regular scoring/facilitating game we are screwed.

76ciology · Post #107 » by **76ciology** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:41 am

Maybe the thing we can learn from this game is we need a back-up plan in case Biid gets fouled out.

Is there any actions you guys see that can make it work? Our best bet that game probably was hunting Lavine and letting James cook.

ExplosionsInDaSky · Post #108 » by **ExplosionsInDaSky** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:49 am

It's one bad game. Relax, it's not the end of the world. Harden has to play better, he knows that, we'll be ok. We were due for a loss.

blargh · Post #109 » by **blargh** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:08 am

76ciology wrote:Maybe the thing we can learn from this game is we need a back-up plan in case Biid gets fouled out.

Is there any actions you guys see that can make it work? Our best bet that game probably was hunting Lavine and letting James cook.

I know what was never going to work: having Maxey and Harden set picks for each other over and over again. There’s no advantage to be gained with two similarly sized guards.

If you’re playing Reed, you’ve got to let him set screens. Otherwise, he’s just a worse-passing Ben Simmons, sitting in the dunker’s spot.

76ciology · Post #110 » by **76ciology** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:15 am

blargh wrote:
76ciology wrote:Maybe the thing we can learn from this game is we need a back-up plan in case Biid gets fouled out.

Is there any actions you guys see that can make it work? Our best bet that game probably was hunting Lavine and letting James cook.

I know what was never going to work: having Maxey and Harden set picks for each other over and over again. There’s no advantage to be gained with two similarly sized guards.

If you’re playing Reed, you’ve got to let him set screens. Otherwise, he’s just a worse-passing Ben Simmons, sitting in the dunker’s spot.

The pick was just to generate the small separation with Maxey’s man recovering, so Maxey can use his speed to leave the man trailing. Its nowhere near as effective as the Harden-Biid 2 man game but its been reliable.

Then once Maxey drives, he can kick it to Tobias or Melton and attack the closeout if they’re men are sagging towards the driving Maxey.

But I really think Harden should have stepped up tonight. He’s one of the league’s best ISO players. He was sort of a liability down the stretch because we rely a lot on him and he’s a step slow on everything.

76ciology · Post #111 » by **76ciology** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:18 am

ExplosionsInDaSky wrote:It's one bad game. Relax, it's not the end of the world. Harden has to play better, he knows that, we'll be ok. We were due for a loss.

No, we’re not getting out of the second round unless we continued our winning streak as we head to the playoffs and we blew it tonight :lol:

76ciology · Post #112 » by **76ciology** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:38 am

No Harden postgame tonight — he called for the Sixers’ head athletic train

Rivers noted he was dealing with foot soreness tonight at his presser. Wasn’t moving particularly well/fast in the locker room

Jay555 · Post #113 » by **Jay555** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:42 am

76ciology wrote:No Harden postgame tonight — he called for the Sixers’ head athletic train

Rivers noted he was dealing with foot soreness tonight at his presser. Wasn’t moving particularly well/fast in the locker room

Should have sit him. Would have 1. won the game without Harden 2. Given him more rest.

Not sure why it's worth the risk.

76ciology · Post #114 » by **76ciology** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:22 am

Jay555 wrote:
76ciology wrote:No Harden postgame tonight — he called for the Sixers’ head athletic train

Rivers noted he was dealing with foot soreness tonight at his presser. Wasn’t moving particularly well/fast in the locker room

Should have sit him. Would have 1. won the game without Harden 2. Given him more rest.

Not sure why it's worth the risk.

We won this game and its another story.

We lose this game without Harden, and its also another story.

76ciology · Post #115 » by **76ciology** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:45 am

Watch on YouTube

M2J · Post #116 » by **M2J** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:05 am

Watch on YouTube

ProcessDoctor · Post #117 » by **ProcessDoctor** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 9:21 am

Chicago is oddly a tough opponent for us. Hopefully Harden is ok. Rest him Wednesday and Friday if we need to.

Jailblazers7 · Post #118 » by **Jailblazers7** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 12:13 pm

Yeah if Harden doesn’t have it I’d rather us play McDaniels or something for his defense.

Harden is a uniquely bad decoy. He’s a bad defender mad worse by injury & he’s notoriously reluctant to shoot off the catch.

Embiid P · Post #119 » by **Embiid P** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 12:42 pm

ProcessDoctor wrote:Chicago is oddly a tough opponent for us. Hopefully Harden is ok. Rest him Wednesday and Friday if we need to.

Chicago is basically a less talented version of Boston. Two big wings that can score at will along with secondary guys who can also score and a center that can space the floor which makes them a bad match-up for us. The only difference is that their overall shooting and defense isn't quite on Boston's level.

BTW I know many here won't admit it, but last night also showed the value that PJ Tucker brings to this team.

Bum Adebayo · Post #120 » by **Bum Adebayo** » Tue Mar 21, 2023 1:36 pm

Embiid P wrote:
ProcessDoctor wrote:Chicago is oddly a tough opponent for us. Hopefully Harden is ok. Rest him Wednesday and Friday if we need to.

Chicago is basically a less talented version of Boston. Two big wings that can score at will along with secondary guys who can also score and a center that can space the floor which makes them a bad match-up for us. The only difference is that their overall shooting and defense isn't quite on Boston's level.

BTW I know many here won't admit it, but last night also showed the value that PJ Tucker brings to this team.

Yes, being dead last in ESPN ORPM :nod: