R2G2 - 76ers at Celtics - May 3 8:00pm ET TNT

[Magicman125]

Why do coaches get paid millions if their game plan doesn’t matter in a critical playoff game?

Certainly you don't think only one of the two teams' head coaches is getting paid well?

Yes, so presumably both coaches are important actors that will influence the outcome of the game through strategy, adjustments, rotation decisions, etc. If coaches were irrelevant to the outcome of playoff basketball games, then they’d just hire one of us to sit there for $15/hr.

I'd get paid 15/hr to go to all the games and sit courtside for sure

[M2J]

Very exciting. I think they're playing him to help him get into the flow and in shape. Hope they limit his minutes.

[76ciology]

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Embiid only 20%?!

[HardenToSixers]

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Embiid only 20%?!

The small tear is the notable part if true (which Skip already "reported"). I'm not going to trust the legitimacy of the source's assessment on what percentage Jo will be at. Too many changing variables imo.

[Bum Adebayo]

Outside NBA media and Celts fans still thinks this exist

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Embiid has learned, it makes (and made) zero sense to post up Horford, because Horford is built like a tank with a very strong base. What you need to do is face up and either shoot over him (Embiid is taller and longer) or get past him with quickness (Embiid is quicker).

[Jailblazers7]

Outside NBA media and Celts fans still thinks this exist

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It’s crazy how much better he is now when you watch old games like this.

[Ferry Avenue]

Why do coaches get paid millions if their game plan doesn’t matter in a critical playoff game?

Certainly you don't think only one of the two teams' head coaches is getting paid well?

Yes, so presumably both coaches are important actors that will influence the outcome of the game through strategy, adjustments, rotation decisions, etc. If coaches were irrelevant to the outcome of playoff basketball games, then they’d just hire one of us to sit there for $15/hr.

If both coaches are roughly equal in ability in general, or they're both roughly equal in ability with regard to this particular game, the difference in the game can't possibly be a result of a difference in coaching.

[Murray_17]

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Embiid only 20%?!

If he had a small tear, Shams and Woj would be all over it.

Especially because the team would leak it as a way to reduce expectations

[Ferry Avenue]

When talent between teams is very much equal, as it is in the second round and beyond, emotional factors rule the day.

Yeah, obviously. Match-ups, mismatches, startegies, and calls don't matter, it's the will, and if i wanted with all my heart the ball automatically goes thru the basket.

Sorry if i'm blunt but opinions like this are born of not being able to analyze what you see while watching the game.

How do you know when what you're watching in terms of physical play during a game is or is not driven by emotional factors?

[Jailblazers7]

Certainly you don't think only one of the two teams' head coaches is getting paid well?

Yes, so presumably both coaches are important actors that will influence the outcome of the game through strategy, adjustments, rotation decisions, etc. If coaches were irrelevant to the outcome of playoff basketball games, then they’d just hire one of us to sit there for $15/hr.

If both coaches are roughly equal in ability in general, or they're both roughly equal in ability with regard to this particular game, the difference in the game can't possibly be a result of a difference in coaching.

I can’t anymore with you man lol

If you wanna hand wave away all the interesting parts of basketball so you can reduce it down to “mentality” then have at it.

[76ciology]

Sixers are +470 to win the title.

When Biid went down, it went as high as +1000

[Kova]

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Embiid only 20%?!

If he had a small tear, Shams and Woj would be all over it.

Especially because the team would leak it as a way to reduce expectations

I've had my fair share of knee injuries, and it's pretty straightforward. MCL and LCL are the only knee ligaments that WILL heal on their own even with a full rupture. If it's a grade 2 sprain, it means there's a partial rupture. In any case, Skip 'reporting' that it will likely need 'a clean up procedure in the off-season' just confirms that there's no legitimate source.

[76ciology]

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[Ferry Avenue]

Yes, so presumably both coaches are important actors that will influence the outcome of the game through strategy, adjustments, rotation decisions, etc. If coaches were irrelevant to the outcome of playoff basketball games, then they’d just hire one of us to sit there for $15/hr.

If both coaches are roughly equal in ability in general, or they're both roughly equal in ability with regard to this particular game, the difference in the game can't possibly be a result of a difference in coaching.

I can’t anymore with you man lol

If you wanna hand wave away all the interesting parts of basketball so you can reduce it down to “mentality” then have at it.

By far the biggest factor in this game is Boston's unwillingness to lose two consecutive games on their home floor to start a playoff series. The drive associated with that factor will surmount anything else you could come up with in the world of basketball. That doesn't mean other factors aren't important in the game in general -- it just means they'll all be overridden in this particular game.

[76ciology]

being a sixers fan for more than 10 years should be equal to finishing a medical degree

[Murray_17]

When talent between teams is very much equal, as it is in the second round and beyond, emotional factors rule the day.

Yeah, obviously. Match-ups, mismatches, startegies, and calls don't matter, it's the will, and if i wanted with all my heart the ball automatically goes thru the basket.

Sorry if i'm blunt but opinions like this are born of not being able to analyze what you see while watching the game.

How do you know when what you're watching in terms of physical play during a game is or is not driven by emotional factors?

I can see rotations, tactics and mismatches i can't see emotions.

That's why i focus on the first aspect and not on the second, if you're a mutant and can do it, more power to you, i guess

edit: still remember you talking about how "strong mentally" the Nets and the Suns were last season, only to never mention them again. At some point, it seem you should learn the lesson

[Ferry Avenue]

Yeah, obviously. Match-ups, mismatches, startegies, and calls don't matter, it's the will, and if i wanted with all my heart the ball automatically goes thru the basket.

Sorry if i'm blunt but opinions like this are born of not being able to analyze what you see while watching the game.

How do you know when what you're watching in terms of physical play during a game is or is not driven by emotional factors?

I can see rotations, tactics and mismatches i can't see emotions.

That's why i focus on the first aspect and not on the second, if you're a mutant and can do it, more power to you, i guess

Certainly you can see emotions. James Harden didn't look highly driven and laser focused to you Monday?

[Murray_17]

Certainly you can see emotions. James Harden didn't look highly driven and laser focused to you Monday?

so? he could look focused and miss shots too.

Btw, no you cannot see emotions in a meassured way, you can express emotions yes, but ultimately there is no way to see them in a measured way or metric.

Even less to a point where you can say, they always matter more than how the game is actually played.

Everyone would laugh at you if you try to argue for it

[M2J]

Any sprain to a ligament is generally at least a frays or little tears to them. With an LCL that could still be a grade 1 with some exaggeration of stating there's "partial tear"... So skip may have heard what he heard, but added some speculation in there too

[Ferry Avenue]

Certainly you can see emotions. James Harden didn't look highly driven and laser focused to you Monday?

so? he could look focused and miss shots too.

Btw, no you cannot see emotions in a meassured way, you can express emotions yes, but ultimately there is no way to see them in a measured way.

Even less to a point where you can say, they always matter more than how the game is actually played.

Everyone would laugh at you if you try to argue for it

First, "how the game is actually played" is driven largely by emotion. When one team goes on a 16-0 run over another for example, the team experiencing the run didn't suddenly "get better" physically than the other team, to that degree. Those runs are almost always driven largely by then-current emotional factors in both teams.

Second, emotional factors matter more than physical factors when physical factors are roughly equal between teams, as they are in the second round of the playoffs and beyond. At that point every playoff series and every game within every series has its own emotional narrative if you will, and that largely drives the outcome. Physical factors in the game are certainly important, but when physical factors are roughly equal they can't possibly determine the outcome between two teams.

What you'll see tonight is a team whose physical play is driven to a high degree by its emotional motive not to lose two consecutive games on its own floor to start a playoff series. They'll play better than they usually do because they're driven by that motive -- and that's an emotional factor, not a physical one.