NBA Basketball 2017/18

[Joe K]

Embiid suffering a completely fluky face injury is a total kick in the nuts for this diehard* Sixers fan because I was just starting to talk myself into them hosting Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. (They still could get the 3-seed and things were starting to get very scary for the rest of the East when they blew out Minnesota and Denver in consecutive games.)



* (Since February 2017)

[A_B]

I’m very interested to see how teams play Simmons in playoffs. Less so now because their whole dynamic will be different.

[Joe K]

I’m very interested to see how teams play Simmons in playoffs. Less so now because their whole dynamic will be different.

It’s still *possible*, albeit improbable, that Embiid can return at or near the start of the playoffs. But it’s more likely that they’d have to win the first round without him, which is a tall task. Simmons is a fascinating player because he can’t shoot but masks that with great shot selection and really good rebounding, passing and defense. And any lineup with Simmons, Covington, Saric and Embiid is going to be bigger and more athletic than whoever they play. It’ll be really interesting next year with Fultz in the mix full-time. That dude is obviously rusty now but also clearly athletic as fuck. He had an incredible block on Trey Burke the other night where he got way above the rim.

[Joe K]

To expand on my point about Fultz, like most people I didn’t watch Washington play last year so I didn’t realize just how explosive an athlete he is. He’s not quite on the Westbrook or Wall level, but he’s definitely more athletic than Lonzo and most other PGs. Here are two examples from the last week:

[HaulCitgo]

Guess I'll find out first hand come playoffs but does dude still have yips?

[Joe K]

Guess I'll find out first hand come playoffs but does dude still have yips?

Doesn’t seem like it. I don’t think he’s attempted any 3s yet but he’s 3/4 from the line and has made a number of contested mid-range jumpers.

[A_B]

Kyrie out for year.

[L-Jam3]

Tomorrow night’s Cavs at Sixers (both 48-30) is now the most important regular season game in that building’s history (since 1996-97).

[Joe K]

Tomorrow night’s Cavs at Sixers (both 48-30) is now the most important regular season game in that building’s history (since 1996-97).

For all the shit they got during The Process, I think this Sixers season is somehow flying under the radar. If Embiid makes a speedy recovery from his surgery, they have a non-zero chance of going to the Finals *this year.* (I still think Cleveland is the clear favorite but the Sixers have been playing insanely well since January.) The fact that they’ve gone from a 10-72 team to a 50-win team in just two seasons is remarkable.

[L-Jam3]

For the record, I gave them shit for The Process too. It was deplorable, and I am repulsed that they did it. I’m not convinced that this was the best route to get to where they are.

But if we can be happy for Astros fans, then maybe I’ll soften my stance.

[mister d]

The funny thing is, they completely fucked up atleast two of the picks and it still worked because its such a clear path to contention.

[Joe K]

For the record, I gave them shit for The Process too. It was deplorable, and I am repulsed that they did it. I’m not convinced that this was the best route to get to where they are.

But if we can be happy for Astros fans, then maybe I’ll soften my stance.

It was absolutely the best way to get where they are now. Look at how long less “deplorable” teams like Sacramento, Orlando, Phoenix, New York, Detroit, Charlotte and the Lakers have been stuck in the wilderness.

[mister d]

Kyrie out for year.

[Avram]

For the record, I gave them shit for The Process too. It was deplorable, and I am repulsed that they did it. I’m not convinced that this was the best route to get to where they are.

But if we can be happy for Astros fans, then maybe I’ll soften my stance.

It was absolutely the best way to get where they are now. Look at how long less “deplorable” teams like Sacramento, Orlando, Phoenix, New York, Detroit, Charlotte and the Lakers have been stuck in the wilderness.

It is the only way you can do it with the way the NBA is currently structured. It also takes someone at GM who knows what he is doing. And Hinkie knew exactly what he was doing

[mister d]

Very good at sucking and very not so good at drafting.

[Joe K]

Very good at sucking and very not so good at drafting.

Made some excellent trades and unheralded free agent signings too. Sold high on Carter-Williams when he was the reigning ROY, got a steal in the Saric trade, got a first rounder from the Kings just so they could dump Stauskas, and got Covington for absolutely nothing. And while Okafor is a huge bust, most thought he wouldn’t even fall to #3 overall. I still think Noel could be a useful, Clint Capela-like player on the right team. He just became expendable once the Sixers realized how great Embiid is.

[mister d]

Do you ever imagine the team with Porzingis?

[Joe K]

Do you ever imagine the team with Porzingis?

Not that this justifies the Okafor pick but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who was saying at the time that Porzingis was a safer pick than Okafor. In fact, many media members killed the Knicks for taking Porzingis instead of Mudiay or Winslow (LOL). There were also reports that Porzingis’ agents were doing everything in their power to scare off Philly prior to that draft, including refusing any workouts. And if I had to pick between Porzingis and Embiid for a starting center, I’m taking Embiid.

[Joe K]

Also, if we’re playing if the what if game, imagine if Hinkie was scared off by Embiid’s injury and took a “safe” pick like Aaron Gordon, Dante Exum or Marcus Smart — the three guys picked immediately after Embiid.

[mister d]

Eh, I think you can make a pretty compelling case that Hinkie just autodrafted. Here's Ford's board a week before the draft: http://www.espn.com/nba/draft2014/insid ... ects-tiers

Okafor was the same, but what makes that one extra dumb is in his goodbye novel he talks about how he knew the NBA was going to a running, 3 point style. The tank was smart, accumulating assets was smart, but I think there's a little too much credit given for compiling a team that would have been compiled anyway if you just took the equivalent of CSS's list.

[A_B]

Looking like Tyronn Lue is the problem.

[Joe K]

Looking like Tyronn Lue is the problem.

LeBron is probably going to steal this game late, because that's what he does, but I think Lue is not a good coach. The Cavs have been consistently bad defensively under Lue and he never seems to figure out his rotations. Lue announcing that Jeff Green will start the rest of the way is a puzzling move, when the Nance and Love front-court combo has been dominant for the Cavs.

[Joe K]

Also, I'm thisclose to starting a standalone Ben Simmons thread that no one will read. I feel like the Simmons hype train slowed down with LSU's disappointing year followed by the foot injury. But my god has he had a great rookie year. The all-around stats are obviously great but his impact on winning is even more impressive. Even LeBron had trouble translating his talent into wins doting his first two seasons but Simmons has had an incredible impact on the Sixers becoming a legit playoff threat.

[Brontoburglar]

Also, I'm thisclose to starting a standalone Ben Simmons thread that no one will read. I feel like the Simmons hype train slowed down with LSU's disappointing year followed by the foot injury. But my god has he had a great rookie year. The all-around stats are obviously great but his impact on winning is even more impressive. Even LeBron had trouble translating his talent into wins doting his first two seasons but Simmons has had an incredible impact on the Sixers becoming a legit playoff threat.

this game has been so fun

[L-Jam3]

Cmon. Close this one out. I need to raise the cat.

[L-Jam3]

Covington fucking sucks.

[L-Jam3]

RAISE THE CAT!!!

[A_B]

Also, I'm thisclose to starting a standalone Ben Simmons thread that no one will read. I feel like the Simmons hype train slowed down with LSU's disappointing year followed by the foot injury. But my god has he had a great rookie year. The all-around stats are obviously great but his impact on winning is even more impressive. Even LeBron had trouble translating his talent into wins doting his first two seasons but Simmons has had an incredible impact on the Sixers becoming a legit playoff threat.

this game has been so fun

Fun game for sure. Simmons will be unstoppable if he could develop an 18 foot jump shot. Not even a three. Just stretch it.

[Joe K]

Also, I'm thisclose to starting a standalone Ben Simmons thread that no one will read. I feel like the Simmons hype train slowed down with LSU's disappointing year followed by the foot injury. But my god has he had a great rookie year. The all-around stats are obviously great but his impact on winning is even more impressive. Even LeBron had trouble translating his talent into wins doting his first two seasons but Simmons has had an incredible impact on the Sixers becoming a legit playoff threat.

this game has been so fun

Fun game for sure. Simmons will be unstoppable if he could develop an 18 foot jump shot. Not even a three. Just stretch it.

Simmons is already a star even without a jump shot. Give him a jumper and we’re talking top-10 player of all-time type upside.

[A_B]

Also, I'm thisclose to starting a standalone Ben Simmons thread that no one will read. I feel like the Simmons hype train slowed down with LSU's disappointing year followed by the foot injury. But my god has he had a great rookie year. The all-around stats are obviously great but his impact on winning is even more impressive. Even LeBron had trouble translating his talent into wins doting his first two seasons but Simmons has had an incredible impact on the Sixers becoming a legit playoff threat.

this game has been so fun

Fun game for sure. Simmons will be unstoppable if he could develop an 18 foot jump shot. Not even a three. Just stretch it.

Simmons is already a star even without a jump shot. Give him a jumper and we’re talking top-10 player of all-time type upside.

True. Unless people just start hacking the shit out of him which I think will be a playoff ploy.

[tennbengal]

I would read a Ben Simmons thread.

[Joe K]

I would read a Ben Simmons thread.

This is quite impressive:


I really thought that Embiid’s face injury would kill their chances at a #3 seed and/or a deep playoff run. And it still may. Philly likely needs to win their last 3 to hold on to the #3 seed and even if Embiid only misses 1 or 2 playoff games, that could cost them their first-round series. But the way Simmons has stepped up in Embiid’s absence has really been something. And really that’s been a continuation of season-long improvement. Early on, they consistently struggled with Embiid off the court, even if Simmons played with other starters. But that’s really turned around the last few months, which has taken the team to another level. The Sixers are now 34-11(!) since late December and I believe they have a top-3 point differential and net efficiency over that time for the entire NBA. That’s a big enough sample size that they have to be considered contenders in the East—perhaps even #2 behind the Cavs.

[HaulCitgo]

I'm sure he'll get better but it took Jason Kidd about 15 years to find a jumper. I'm just a sixer hater right now though. Celtics sixers will play a lot of good games over the next few seasons if embiid stays healthy. Maybe even this year? Cs would have to turn that into a street fight which would bode well for a future rivelry.

[tennbengal]

I remember another over-sized guard who stepped up when his center got hurt...

[HaulCitgo]

Magic won an NCAA title so I'll wait and see.

[Joe K]

I didn't get to see much of Magic before his HIV diagnosis, but I do think Simmons is the closest thing to LeBron to have entered the league since. LeBron is a much better shooter than Simmons is now, but he also didn't crack 35% for his 3PT% until his second season in Miami. (Simmons' TS% this season is actually pretty close to where LeBron's was in his early-20s.) And Simmons is averaging more combined rebounds and assists this year than LeBron did in any of his seasons before 2016-17. One really smart thing the Sixers coaches have done, which Cleveland and Miami never did with LeBron, is just making Simmons the starting PG, rather than labeling him a SF and starting someone else at PG. That allows the Sixers to have a big size advantage over their opponents. Other than JJ Redick, everyone in their starting five is at least 6'9".

[tennbengal]

I saw Magic from his State days the through his pre-HIV prime. I’ve never been tempted to think someone could compare to him at PG until now.

[A_B]

Play-in game in the west between T-wolves and Nuggets. Pretty crazy that it worked out that way.

And it looks like the 3-8 seeds are still somewhat fluid in the west.

[Ryan]

Very fun. And aside from Houston and a half-healthy Golden State, I wouldn't consider any first round matchup a sure thing at this point.

[Joe K]

Very fun. And aside from Houston and a half-healthy Golden State, I wouldn't consider any first round matchup a sure thing at this point.

Even half-heathy Golden State can’t love some of its potential first-round matchups. Assuming Curry will miss the entire first round, which Kerr had previously stated, a matchup with Minnesota or OKC could be tricky.