Kurtz wrote:Brooklyn just beat a healthy Philly team with the same roster that beat us. Turns out that as long as KD is playing, they are still really good.
Much like Memphis without Ja this year.
I think it boils down to winning habits. Brooklyn had been on a hot streak prior to this recent streak so there is a lot of positive momentum, and having one of the likely MVP candidates doesn't hurt. I just worry that Durant will get hurt with the added workload and attention. It is still so early in the season.
I will say that Brooklyn killed it in the draft. They had late picks but Cam Thomas, Kessler Edwards, and Day'Ron Sharpe are all great role players with Thomas being a potential steal where he was picked. The value of late first / early second is seriously underrated. All are cheap contracts and can have some great on-court impact. Once you get into the 40s its a crap shoot.
Philly is having a weird season. They kind of played okay with Embiid out, but they have never really turned a corner with him back. A team with so much talent being only .500 is kind shocking. It is like they need to wake up and remember that they are a contending team.
To me, that Memphis coach should win COY. 18-11 record with Ja out for a portion of games. Their front office always slays on draft night. They are like run by Draft Twitter (Bane, Tillman, Aldama, Tillie, Culver, Ziaire Williams) - those were all deep sleeper prospects that had podcast attention.