The Overachievers Vs. The Class Clowns, Heat @ Sixers 3/21 7:30pm EST

[mjkvol]

I think the Harden/Embiid PnR has some kinks to work out for sure. Embiid needs to start shooting some of those wide open pick and pops without hesitation. And Harden can gets Embiid an open shot whenever he wants but his own scoring is a work in progress. Usually he uses a lob threat as a threat to get to the rim but can’t with Embiid.

So teams end up blitzing Harden on the pick and gambling that they can recover on Embiid because he’ll pump fake his way out of an open shot. I’m sure they’ll figure it out eventually but it could take a while.

Exactly. When Embiid begins to C&S that money elbow jumper off the P&R without hesitation they'll be forced to come out on him and things will begin to open for Harden as a result. The whole thing is a work in progress that's going to take more than 20 games to get right.

[Embiid P]

Well one of us is going to be wrong, hopefully, it's me. If they do win it will be ugly to watch but a smart move. If they don't win it's going to be another decade of the process. We will know in a few months.

If they don't win this year it's going to be another Process? That is a ridiculous statement, as this team is an unfinished product - anything we get in the playoffs this year is gravy. This was always about the next 2-3 seasons, and even then there is no guarantee of a title, only of building a legitimate contender.

You have set this up to make yourself look like the smartest guy in the room should the Sixers not win the championship this year.
Winning any year still requires good health and good fortune, as we have seen from the MIL and TOR title teams, and there is still a ton of work yet to do on this roster.

Guys like you with an agenda are more concerned about being 'right' than looking at things with an ounce of objectivity and recognizing that this is a flawed group that is still learning to play together. This isn't a video game where you plug someone in and automatically have a finished product. But if being 'right' on an internet forum is that important, please carry on.

What I mean is - I don't think the Sixers can win with Harden. This year is most likely their best chance with a healthy Embiid, so if they can't do it this year I doubt it's going to happen.

Harden is getting older and could decline pretty quickly, Tobias is not going to be traded for anything worthwhile while he is on one of the worst contracts in the NBA. To clear him the Sixers will need to give up assets, not gain some. So in my opinion, if they can't win it this year the likelihood of winning it in the next few years is unlikely, and the team will be choked by a Max contract on an aging star that has proven he is a poor performer when it really matters.

I disagree about Tobias. They could hypothetically move him for a player or combo of players who are better fits on our team but whose contracts are similar in length or longer. If Morey can't find a suitor for him in the offseason I expect him to be moved at next year's deadline at the latest. After all, he's a good locker room guy who is active in the community, so he might be a mentor to a team with a bunch of up-and-coming players for 1.5 to two seasons.

[mjkvol]

I disagree about Tobias. They could hypothetically move him for a player or combo of players who are better fits on our team but whose contracts are similar in length or longer. If Morey can't find a suitor for him in the offseason I expect him to be moved at the deadline at the latest. After all, he's a good locker room guy who is active in the community, so he might be a mentor to a team with a bunch of up-and-coming players for 1.5 to two seasons.

The quintessential tank commander.

[Kobblehead]

He's not a catch and shoot guy.

88.7% of Shake's threes at SMU were assisted. Literally the only reason he got drafted was because he projected as an ace catch and shoot guy.

Him losing confidence and trying to do too much on the ball is why he's become terrible.

Once he circles back to his true calling and what got him drafted in the first place (his catch and shoot abilities), he'll regain form and provide value.