VDT wrote:The Hawks were (and are) mediocre,
Agree to disagree. The Hawks were pretty damn good which is why they performed similarly with last year's WC Champion, the Suns. The Suns were clearly one of the two best teams in the WC last year, coming 2nd in the RS and reaching the Finals, so if they performed similarly to them, they really cannot be as mediocre as you claim.
VDT wrote:the Sixers just chocked, otherwise they should have beaten them handedly. My point though is that if you are losing to a team like the Hawks you need a major upgrade. It's not like they lost a tight series against the future champions, where tweaking the roster might have sufficed. They lost against a mediocre, inexperienced team in an embarassing loss.
Right and a big reason why the Sixers choked was Ben Simmons. The post-process 76ers have always struggled with closing out games and a huge reason why is because Simmons puts the team at a clear disadvantage on offense during those periods. The guy simply isn't a threat to score and that forces the team to play 4 vs 5. Replace that with a player who
is a threat to score during those periods and the Sixers would have had a lot more post-season success.
Replacing Simmons with a player who is a threat to score late isn't just a small tweak. It's a necessary upgrade.
VDT wrote:It's not about what they can do but at what level they can do it. I dont trust any of these players in the later playoff rounds. The Sixers, being built around a center, are also even more weak in terms of playmaking and perimeter creation and even Embiid himself has been shaky in the playoffs. It's not like the Sixers have Michael Jordan on the team and just need some good players to contend. An offense based on a center can be pretty limited in this era and this has been the case in all the recent playoff runs of the Sixers.
And I assert that the main thing that limits the Sixers in their playoff runs is Ben Simmons and the problems that he causes for his team's offense in the halfcourt, especially late in games when the pace slows down.
As for the "I don't trust them in later playoff rounds" the last few years have shown us that this argument doesn't hold much weight. Last year, we saw a 3rd-year Kevin Huerter win a game 7 for the Hawks. We saw Jrue Holiday, a very good player who has never been an All-Star and can be seen as being on a similar level with the players I mentioned, be one of the most crucial players for a title team. A year before that, in the bubble, we saw a then 2nd-year Tyler Herro be a key cog to a cinderella run by a Heat team that no one expected and made the Finals. So, no, don't give me that. Yes, star power is still important and will always be important but there's plenty of room for other players to show up in the playoffs and help put their team over the hump.
VDT wrote:Your assumption (that the Sixers will not be able to get a star) may certainly be true but it is not shared by everyone, including the Sixers FO. Not because of their pride or ego but because they might see things differently and think that they have a reasonable chance to land a star.
That can definitely be true.
VDT wrote:You basically take your opinion as a fact and then blame others (Morey in this case) for having a different view.
Not really. I never said that I hold the only truth or that others aren't entitled to their opinion. All I'm doing is stating my opinion. I can definitely be wrong and I never claimed otherwise. I'm not making any authoritative statements here.