Sixers vs Raptors - Nov. 25th - 7:30pm ET

[A_Toney]

No Lowry, No Ibaka, No McCaw, missing our best 3pt shooter

but ok whatever helps you sleep at night.

Lol

Toronto will end up a 500 team by years end.

We're currently on the 3rd longest streak in NBA history without being under 500.

Good for you but with that roster no one takes you seriously. It was Phillys 3rd game in 4 days. December 8th in Philly it will be a 15 to 20 pt win for Philly. Shooo fly....

[VDT]

I feel so bad for Joel.. Gasol is really an exceptional defensive player on him. And when he is out of the play, they double him.

I also put that on Brett because he needs to be able to give our big man some easy looks.

Gasol is a good post defender but i am not sure how much is him and how much the Raptors defensive scheme. Embiid never has good games when they double him so aggressively. He didnt have a good game against Kanter and Boston this season, and i remember a game against the Hawks that they also doubled him aggressively and he again had a weak game.

Part of it is Embiid's limitations as a player. He can score either by bullying his opponent, or by driving past him or with jumpers. Gasol is strong enough to not get bullied and the doubles took away his driving living him shooting jumpers as the only option. Still i didnt feel he showed much fight and allowed the defense to dictate the shots he took.

Partly though it is the roster construction and the offensive schemes. Players like Embiid need a more structured offense where the teammates will space the floor and everyone will be at the correct spot so that you can punish the double teams. The Sixers offense is more chaotic, to the point that you see multiple players trying to post up at the same time. The problem is that you cant run such an offense with the current personnel, and i am not sure how effective it would be.

Short term i think the issue is that Embiid shouldnt play with Horford and SImmons. Long term the problem is that they should pick a player to build around and construct the whole roster with that in mind.

[daswunderboy]

Embiid, a top 10 player, fails to score in 32 minutes yet Simmons draws more heat.

This forum has jumped the shark.

Embiid was terrible, but how can anyone watch the Sixers play, see Ben Simmons constantly posting up behind people when he doesn't have the ball and think that some of his limitations aren't impeding Embiid. As much as Simmons had the ball he scored 10 points, the assists are nice but they're a function of how much he has the ball, they needed him to take over the game with his scoring and attack the basket in the halfcourt. His own offense is regressing, he's down to 12.9ppg while being top 15 in time of possession with the ball, he and Ricky Rubio are the only 2 guys in the top 15 averaging under 17ppg. Your primary ball handler cannot be a non-scoring threat as a contender, and how he plays does effect Embiid, especially when Joel sees hard doubles which is a direct result of having 1 guy on the floor who will not shoot.

I don't watch Simmons often since I'm a Raps fan, but I was struck at how invisible he was this game. I at least noticed Embiid more. Simmons came out after the half and got two nice drives to the basket that were impressive, and then...he vanished. I'm sure that was partly Toronto's defense, but at a certain point, a guy with his physical tools has to be able to do...something when defenses key in on him. Joel was awful too, but I at least noticed him playing on the court.

[ankle420breaker]

I feel so bad for Joel.. Gasol is really an exceptional defensive player on him. And when he is out of the play, they double him.

I also put that on Brett because he needs to be able to give our big man some easy looks.

Joel is my guy, but I don't feel the least bit bad for him. He's in horrible shape and has become painfully timid when it comes to playing down low. He knows he's a turnover waiting to happen and clearly avoids establishing position like he used to.

His regression has been on display all season with his lackluster defense/deflated attitude and last night it hit a major low point.... albeit in a game Joel should have been fired up to play. He's disappointed on every level.

Not sure if he just prefers spending time with his girl instead of fine-tuning his game, but something snatched the life out of him this summer.

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[SHFT]

What i meant is that the Raptors dont really have a chance to beat us in the playoffs.

About us, it is early to say and a lot will depend on the match ups. We have some issues but i think most teams have issues at the moment. In any case the time of reckoning is nearing, if we dont get to the finals major changes are gonna happen in the summer.

Just out of curiosity...

How is your takeaway from all of this that the Raptors are not a threat in the playoffs? You realize that the Raptors were missing two of their best players right?

Um, because you guys suck and are the definition of a regular season only team? Sry if u think otherwise. DW, philly aint a championship team either, but ur even farther off, way farther

Best player 0 points. Second best player 10 points (3 under his season average so not too shabby) and 7 turnovers and cant shoot. Relied on guys 3-7 to shoot 40% from downtown. Over the cap until 2023 locked into 2 players that got outscore by our undrafted rookie and likely no first rounder this year. Your entire bench outscored our 2 undrafted guys by 1. Rondae HJ has only part of the rotation for 8 games. No Lowry, no Ibaka.

Sorry if you think we are farther off than you lol but I take our situation 10/10.

[Latrell]

Lol

Toronto will end up a 500 team by years end.

We're currently on the 3rd longest streak in NBA history without being under 500.

Good for you but with that roster no one takes you seriously. It was Phillys 3rd game in 4 days. December 8th in Philly it will be a 15 to 20 pt win for Philly. Shooo fly....

Toronto is 32-0 ( NBA record ) vs the Atlantic @ home . That’s dominance .

[ankle420breaker]

Brett better be tougher on these guys behind the scenes. This coddling for the media was acceptable in the early process years, but its just not appropriate anymore.

"Joel was doubled every time.... I thought he did a good job of reading the doubles and made good passes....We give Toronto credit...."

Come on, Brett. We executed like garbage, turned the ball over, missed a million free throws, committed ridiculously stupid fouls, and gave up a 8-0 run.... all down the stretch. I'd argue you have a responsibility to show some anger after a loss like that.

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[A_Toney]

We're currently on the 3rd longest streak in NBA history without being under 500.

Good for you but with that roster no one takes you seriously. It was Phillys 3rd game in 4 days. December 8th in Philly it will be a 15 to 20 pt win for Philly. Shooo fly....

Toronto is 32-0 ( NBA record ) vs the Atlantic @ home . That’s dominance .

Like I said with that roster no one is taking Toronto seriously

[NoDopeOnSundays]

The thing is, you put Embiid with any other all-star playmaking PG/Wing and he's much harder to guard, but when the only options for him are post up or 3 he becomes easier to defend. I don't think people are cognizant of just how much Ben's game hurts Embiid's game, Embiid is used as a rollman as much as Ben McLemore, think about that for a second. Brown saw Embiid struggling and never once tried to get him a feel with a easy roll, because Ben can't really run it since any smart defender would drop under the screen and build a wall knowing Simmons wont shoot.

What the Sixers have right now is Blake Griffin & DeAndre Jordan spacing problems, the problem is that Ben is the DeAndre in that comparison.

I am sure that an actual PG would get Embiid more easy points, but I'm not sure about him being a good roll man. Just because you are a big does not mean that you can do that effectively.
The timing, hands and coordination needed to finish the plays are not Embiid's strengths. I feel like he prefers to be a post threat as well.

Very true. And we might as well trade Embiid For a guy like Capela if we wants him to just be a finisher. Waste of skillset

Nah, It's not about turning him into Capella, just diversify the offense a little and get him some easy points here and there while also trying to establish a little bit of a two man game with him and Simmons. Guys like AD, KAT and Vucevic create offense for themselves and still get chances to score as the rollman, they score 2-3x more per game on the play. There's a space in between him being Capella and where he is right now which is behind Alex Len, Dario Saric, Christian Wood etc for PPG as the rollman.

[VDT]

I mean Embiid is constantly setting screens it just doesnt lead to much most of the times. The issue is that his screens are not very good, that we lack a pnr ball handler and that Embiid is not really a roll type of guy. He could do it for limited possessions but it is not his strength. I also generally think that pnr is easier to shut down in the postseason due to the added physicality and the players actually trying.

[Valard]

Good for you but with that roster no one takes you seriously. It was Phillys 3rd game in 4 days. December 8th in Philly it will be a 15 to 20 pt win for Philly. Shooo fly....

Toronto is 32-0 ( NBA record ) vs the Atlantic @ home . That’s dominance .

Like I said with that roster no one is taking Toronto seriously

No one is taking you seriously.

[Lou_23]

It is possible that Embiid has personal problems?

I cant understand his attitude, he looks disinterested since the beginning of the season.

He isnt the guy that we all know

[ankle420breaker]

It is possible that Embiid has personal problems?

I cant understand his attitude, he looks disinterested since the beginning of the season.

He isnt the guy that we all know

As I said above, something snatched the life out of him this summer.

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[phillthy13]

Toronto was without some key players, we were at full strength and last night we saw how critical game by game strategy is, even in the regular season. Nurse and his staff put together a gameplan that was executed near perfect defensively. As games go by, I fail to see any game by game difference in our gameplan. What great strategic in-game adjustments are being made? Embiid was getting doubled on the pass, sometimes tripled once he made a scoring move and our answer was to remove him from the post and have him around the perimeter/be used as a screener? 17 games in and our coaching staff has yet to figure out how to best utilize 4 guys who create mismatches every game when they're on the court. That Zach Lowe article written the other week was an indirect showcase of how very wrong Brett is for this team. Until our offensive strategy in the half-court is figured out, the ceiling of this team isn't close to a championship. Transition offense is a bad identity I don't want any part of.

[snoopdogg88]

my conspiracy theory is that he's been hiding some sort of chronic pain or something like that.

he's been miserable and out of sorts since the summer.

[76ciology]

Ben simmons 14 assist. Good
Ben simmons 7 TOs. Another day in the office.

[youngcrev]

Ben simmons 14 assist. Good
Ben simmons 7 TOs. Another day in the office.

If he would have had 15 assists and 6 turnovers that would have been a great game out him. He was playing well up until that atrocious pass to Tobi. They should probably just count that shot at the end where he completely lost track of time a turnover while we're at it.

Speaking of terrible shots, and I didn't really think about it until now with all the other awful, but wtf is Tobias doing taking an on the move turnaround, double pump jumper with 10 seconds on the clock?

[Ferry Avenue]

Embiid, a top 10 player, fails to score in 32 minutes yet Simmons draws more heat.

This forum has jumped the shark.

Embiid was terrible, but how can anyone watch the Sixers play, see Ben Simmons constantly posting up behind people when he doesn't have the ball and think that some of his limitations aren't impeding Embiid. As much as Simmons had the ball he scored 10 points, the assists are nice but they're a function of how much he has the ball, they needed him to take over the game with his scoring and attack the basket in the halfcourt. His own offense is regressing, he's down to 12.9ppg while being top 15 in time of possession with the ball, he and Ricky Rubio are the only 2 guys in the top 15 averaging under 17ppg. Your primary ball handler cannot be a non-scoring threat as a contender, and how he plays does effect Embiid, especially when Joel sees hard doubles which is a direct result of having 1 guy on the floor who will not shoot.

I don't watch Simmons often since I'm a Raps fan, but I was struck at how invisible he was this game. I at least noticed Embiid more. Simmons came out after the half and got two nice drives to the basket that were impressive, and then...he vanished. I'm sure that was partly Toronto's defense, but at a certain point, a guy with his physical tools has to be able to do...something when defenses key in on him. Joel was awful too, but I at least noticed him playing on the court.

And there you have the problem of the team in a nutshell -- the glaring inconsistency of the two players the team has chosen to build around.

Show me a period of time in which Steph Curry and Kevin Durant for example were wildly inconsistent. You can count on players like those to show up every night and make their customary contributions. Embiid and Simmons, no.

[Eyeamok]

this current roster and coach have no chance to win a title....I would fire Brett and Brand.

I'd love to hear a contrary viewpoint.

This team is like a brand new baby learning to walk. It starts to crawl you get excited. It gets up on his/her legs, you get excited. It falls down, and gets up, then it falls down again and gets up and it falls again and you're like WTF But that's all part of the process of jelling/learning to walk. You learn from your mistakes and the next thing you know the baby is running around the house and you can't keep up with him/her.

This team is learning to jell. And hopefully they realize they can't just show up. Coach Brown have never struck me as a guy that learns during in game situations. He has to take a minute figure out what went wrong and then implement a scheme to fix it. All the bumps and mistakes this team encounters during the season will only make us better going forward.

And Toronto were missing a few of their key players. But schemed for that, Embiid playing as badly as he did was an added bonus that worked out well for them and horribly for the 76ers because we had no answer for it his bad play.

How's that.

[Eyeamok]

We probably won't win a title this year, but we'll have a shot. Maybe 10%.

We would have to get lady luck on our side regarding matchups.

We need the Lakers to come out of the West and we need the Bucks to get to the Conference Finals. We could conceivably have a good shot at the championship if it unfolds like that. Because between Giannis, Joel, Anthony and LeBron, nobody is taking over in the halfcourt. It will just come down to who can play the best bully ball. @76iology

All of that is very probable.