Welcome James Harden!

[TheBallsDeeper]

Watching Harden and Embiid start the Nets game more interested in drawing fouls and complaining than scoring is why I hated picking up Harden. I'd rather not see a championship than watch this ****.

[spikeslovechild]

Watching Harden and Embiid start the Nets game more interested in drawing fouls and complaining that scoring is why I hated picking up Harden. I'd rather not see a championship than watch this ****.

The issue has always been shooting.

It hurts the fact we gave up Curry. I still think we should have forced them to do the deal without him.

[elchengue20]

Harden was awfull and todays game revitalized my worries about his leadership and also his fitness.

The other issue its we really lack shooting, defense and overall toughness from our rotations players.

Tobias has to be the 6th man. Maxey looked like hes years away to make a difference in the Playoffs. Thybulle brings much needed defense but cant shoot. We really need good rotation players( a bench shooting guard and couple of reliable 3+D wings).

[sixers4real]

I mentioned that in the game thread, but I LOVE that we got our asses kicked. It’s better then lose 1-2 point.
A very hard punch in the face. We got away with Knicks twice, with Wolves and beat the Bulls.
We were kinda on a roll with smiles and all of that.

That loss will make us stronger going forward.

Harden talks about that.

Watch on YouTube

[rocketsfan100]

Harden was disgraceful. He needs to be a lot better with the ball. He was getting manhandled by the likes of Bruce Brown and other scrubs out there

[Ferry Avenue]

Last night's game illustrated precisely why I was lukewarm on the Harden acquisition.

You have a situation here where a player (Harden) begged off a team to play for another one. The other team then acquires him, which no doubt angers the players on the former team.

When those teams -- which are both contenders for the conference championship -- square off for the first time, it'll no doubt be a situation in which the players on the former team take the court with an extreme hard-on to defeat the "traitor" who left and show him they don't need him to win.

That was the scenario last night, and it's why you saw an extremely driven and intense Kevin Durant and company.

The only possible remedy in that situation is for the acquired player (Harden) to have one of the best games of his career. He has to go out there and spearhead competitiveness for his new team. He has to be the stalwart.

Instead he laid an egg. That's a totally disappointing and demoralizing situation for the Sixers. They now have to hang their heads knowing Brooklyn can simply "turn it on" at will and make them look bad, and they're likely to get something far less than they need from the player who was supposed to be the equalizer.

This is why "dogs" as they call them win championships. Harden is not a dog and has never been one. He's a great player and a first-ballot hall of famer, no doubt, but the mentality Kevin Durant for example brought to the game last night James Harden simply doesn't have.

Durant is a dog and Harden is not. And when talent is roughly equal -- as it is in the advanced stages of the playoffs -- it's the "dog" mentality, intensity, and will to win that prevails.

What we saw last night was a team that could flip a switch with its dog mentality and totally dominate a team that's unable to flip such a switch. And that alone will get this Sixers team bounced from the playoffs rather easily.

They simply don't have the team mentality or team culture to win at that level, and the acquisition of Harden did nothing to help that.

[elchengue20]

I agree, but also Durant is also a way better basketball player than Harden, specially at this particular stage of their carreers.

[Ferry Avenue]

I agree, but also Durant is also a way better basketball player than Harden, specially at this particular stage of their carreers.

Durant is not 25 points and 14 rebounds in 32 minutes, to 11 points on 3 of 17 shooting in 29 minutes, better.

That's the problem -- Harden laid an egg and looked indifferent in doing so. Had he simply provided his typical contribution with some palpable intensity and will to win alongside it, it would've been a much different game.

A loss in a competitive game would've been far more acceptable and far more indicative of this team's ability to win in the playoffs. A blowout at home by a team with an obviously far more dominant will to win is a real death knell for this team.

That was a season killer. The whole league now knows the Sixers will fold in the playoffs. You know it, I know it, the whole league knows it.

[mjkvol]

The overreactions are priceless. Harden just got here, the adjustment period will naturally have bumps in the road, which will be exacerbated against good teams. One awful game and all the good vibes of the last two weeks are gone and everyone is playing amateur psychologist and pronouncing us dead.

News alert - this team, as constructed, was never winning a championship, regardless of the assumption many fans immediately had. A few of us have said all along that this is a badly flawed group that got even thinner by losing two key rotation pieces in the trade.

We have no athleticism and little shooting from our wings, and a kid who has had his role changed dramatically still learning on the fly. We are woefully thin in shooting, rebounding, and defensive depth, and those weaknesses will be most greatly seen against deep, talented rosters like MIA, BRK, MIL, and BOS.

This year is a dry run to get Harden acclimated to playing with Embiid and for Morey to gauge our needs and plan for off season moves. Any noise we make in the playoffs will be gravy. Engaging in game to game conclusions as to what the Sixers will be in the next 2-3 seasons is asinine. We have a legit window to being really good for the first time since the brief Jimmy era, so why not enjoy it instead of being miserable every time something goes wrong like spoiled children.

[Ferry Avenue]

The overreactions are priceless. Harden just got here, the adjustment period will naturally have bumps in the road, which will be exacerbated against good teams. One awful game and all the good vibes of the last two weeks are gone and everyone is playing amateur psychologist and pronouncing us dead.

News alert - this team, as constructed, was never winning a championship, regardless of the assumption many fans immediately had. A few of us have said all along that this is a badly flawed group that got even thinner by losing two key rotation pieces in the trade.

We have no athleticism and little shooting from our wings, and a kid who has had his role changed dramatically still learning on the fly. We are woefully thin in shooting, rebounding, and defensive depth, and those weaknesses will be most greatly seen against deep, talented rosters like MIA, BRK, MIL, and BOS.

This year is a dry run to get Harden acclimated to playing with Embiid and for Morey to gauge our needs and plan for off season moves. Any noise we make in the playoffs will be gravy. Engaging in game to game conclusions as to what the Sixers will be in the next 2-3 seasons is asinine. We have a legit window to being really good for the first time since the brief Jimmy era, so why not enjoy it instead of being miserable every time something goes wrong like spoiled children.

You can tinker all you want with the roster in the effort to construct it with the ideal pieces around Harden and Embiid in mind, and if that doesn't produce dog players with a dog mentality, the team will always be beaten in the advanced stages of the playoffs by teams with roughly equal talent but with that mentality.

That's the problem that was evident last night, that there is a ceiling on what this team can accomplish by virtue of the mental and emotional makeup of its centerpieces. Embiid can be a dog, but he plays the wrong position. He can't spearhead an offense like the guards and wings of the league can, and in fact when the offense is run through him it's woefully limited.

Notice the refrain by the TNT crew during the game was about Harden's disappearances in big games during his career. These former players know what's needed to win at a high level in the league.

[mjkvol]

The overreactions are priceless. Harden just got here, the adjustment period will naturally have bumps in the road, which will be exacerbated against good teams. One awful game and all the good vibes of the last two weeks are gone and everyone is playing amateur psychologist and pronouncing us dead.

News alert - this team, as constructed, was never winning a championship, regardless of the assumption many fans immediately had. A few of us have said all along that this is a badly flawed group that got even thinner by losing two key rotation pieces in the trade.

We have no athleticism and little shooting from our wings, and a kid who has had his role changed dramatically still learning on the fly. We are woefully thin in shooting, rebounding, and defensive depth, and those weaknesses will be most greatly seen against deep, talented rosters like MIA, BRK, MIL, and BOS.

This year is a dry run to get Harden acclimated to playing with Embiid and for Morey to gauge our needs and plan for off season moves. Any noise we make in the playoffs will be gravy. Engaging in game to game conclusions as to what the Sixers will be in the next 2-3 seasons is asinine. We have a legit window to being really good for the first time since the brief Jimmy era, so why not enjoy it instead of being miserable every time something goes wrong like spoiled children.

You can tinker all you want with the roster in the effort to construct it with the ideal pieces around Harden and Embiid in mind, and if that doesn't produce dog players with a dog mentality, the team will always be beaten in the advanced stages of the playoffs by teams with roughly equal talent but with that mentality.

That's the problem that was evident last night, that there is a ceiling on what this team can accomplish by virtue of the mental and emotional makeup of its centerpieces. Embiid can be a dog, but he plays the wrong position. He can't spearhead an offense like the guards and wings of the league can, and in fact when the offense is run through him it's woefully limited.

Notice the refrain by the TNT crew during the game was about Harden's disappearances in big games during his career. These former players know what's needed to win at a high level in the league.

And you can continue to engage in amateur psychology, drawing conclusions after ever game. That's the thing about making the kind of statements you make - it's really hard to win a championship, a lot of things have to fall right and some luck is needed, as we saw with both TOR and MIL. But if the Sixers happen to fall short of a title the next couple of years, armchair pseudo experts like you will be right there with the "I told you so's".

Harden just got here. There is a big adjustment period with a new situation, guys learning tendencies, different roles, and a new scheme - it can take half a season or more for these things to become second nature. This is a flawed, thin Sixers team with a mismatched roster that is 3-4 solid players away from being a legit title contender. Anyone who doesn't see that is either not paying attention or is too busy blathering on drawing instant conclusions.

[FireMorey]

The dog mentality thing is so overrated. Everyone doesn’t have a “dog mentality” until they do. It was a knock for Lebron, Dirk, Giannis until they won. And they didn’t win until they had teams around them good enough to do it. And Harden may not be 100% healthy. He didn’t play great vs the Bulls either. He looked like he had no push off.

And let’s not use Kevin Durant as this poster child for “dog mentality.” He might be the biggest coward in the history of professional sports. He ran away from the Thunder to ride the coattails of a 73 win team. If you listen to true winners of life… people who have overcome the odds and succeeded at the biggest levels of life, people like David Goggins, Jocko Willink, entrepreneurs who’ve come from poverty and built empires; they all say the same thing about what makes someone a winner. And that’s succeeding and performing in adverse situations. Anyone in life can perform in optimal situations. Durant has never succeeded in a suboptimal situation. He’s never won anything without Curry, Klay, Green by his side. He airballed a 3 pointer at the buzzer last year vs the Bucks with the game on the line. He’s so insecure that the guy makes burner accounts to monitor what people say about him on social media and defend himself.

Look, I’m not going to say that Harden is the poster child for champions, but don’t use Kevin Freaking Durant as the example for someone who is. The guy is the epitome of a loser.

[DHM]

I don’t like the fact he goes out and parties after getting his ass kicked. Just not a good look in my opinion.

[mjkvol]

And let’s not use Kevin Durant as this poster child for “dog mentality.”

Thanks, I was going to actually make the point in my earlier response and forgot that's it's quite convenient that Durant's "dog mentality" coincided with joining one of the great teams in league history, one that had already won a championship without him. We haven't seen much evidence of it before or since.

[elchengue20]

I don’t like the fact he goes out and parties after getting his ass kicked. Just not a good look in my opinion.

Even worse when you consider that his bad shape is one of the main reasons he got his ass kicked.

[Ferry Avenue]

The dog mentality thing is so overrated. Everyone doesn’t have a “dog mentality” until they do. It was a knock for Lebron, Dirk, Giannis until they won.

There is certainly a degree of maturation necessary to achieve that mentality and style of play. It took Jordan for example time to accomplish it as well. Certainly Tyrese Maxey for example isn't going to be a dog at age 21.

But if you're 32 and you don't have it, you never will. And if that's the centerpiece of your team and he isn't surrounded by such players, there's a ceiling on what you can accomplish in the way of championships.

[FireMorey]

The dog mentality thing is so overrated. Everyone doesn’t have a “dog mentality” until they do. It was a knock for Lebron, Dirk, Giannis until they won.

There is certainly a degree of maturation necessary to achieve that mentality and style of play. It took Jordan for example time to accomplish it as well. Certainly Tyrese Maxey for example isn't going to be a dog at age 21.

But if you're 32 and you don't have it, you never will. And if that's the centerpiece of your team and he isn't surrounded by such players, there's a ceiling on what you can accomplish in the way of championships.

I mean, they were a Chris Paul hamstring injury away from beating the dynastic Warriors in a series. Just because the Rockets lost their second best player and weren’t able to make the finals doesn’t make Harden suddenly some dog. If Chris Paul stays healthy and they finish off the Warriors, somehow that changes the innate mental makeup of James Harden? That doesn’t make a lot of sense. Winning and losing in sports only ever can be analyzed in context. If altering one small moment makes someone completely change the narrative of an entire player’s career that should be a sign that the narrative was bogus to begin with and formed on shaky ground.

[Prokorov]

I don’t like the fact he goes out and parties after getting his ass kicked. Just not a good look in my opinion.

During our 10 game losing streak, he flew to vegas in between games, not traveling with the team. That i guess was what was the nail in the coffin as even guys like brown and mills had enough

[Prokorov]

And let’s not use Kevin Durant as this poster child for “dog mentality.”

Thanks, I was going to actually make the point in my earlier response and forgot that's it's quite convenient that Durant's "dog mentality" coincided with joining one of the great teams in league history, one that had already won a championship without him. We haven't seen much evidence of it before or since.

How would you characterize his time with OKC or his series vs the bucks?

[Ferry Avenue]

The dog mentality thing is so overrated. Everyone doesn’t have a “dog mentality” until they do. It was a knock for Lebron, Dirk, Giannis until they won.

There is certainly a degree of maturation necessary to achieve that mentality and style of play. It took Jordan for example time to accomplish it as well. Certainly Tyrese Maxey for example isn't going to be a dog at age 21.

But if you're 32 and you don't have it, you never will. And if that's the centerpiece of your team and he isn't surrounded by such players, there's a ceiling on what you can accomplish in the way of championships.

I mean, they were a Chris Paul hamstring injury away from beating the dynastic Warriors in a series. Just because the Rockets lost their second best player and weren’t able to make the finals doesn’t make Harden suddenly some dog. If Chris Paul stays healthy and they finish off the Warriors, somehow that changes the innate mental makeup of James Harden? That doesn’t make a lot of sense. Winning and losing in sports only ever can be analyzed in context. If altering one small moment makes someone completely change the narrative of an entire player’s career that should be a sign that the narrative was bogus to begin with and formed on shaky ground.

You're illustrating the point exactly. Harden needs a dog like Paul around him to win at that level. The presence of Paul doesn't change the mental/emotional makeup of Harden, but it certainly changes the mental/emotional makeup of the team. When Paul goes out injured and you're left with Harden you lose the heart and soul of the team.

Certainly you don't think Chris Paul is likely to come out in that environment last night and lay an egg.