*** -- PROCESSING Your Philadelphia 76ers -- ***

eeriepadave

great trade i think. Glad they got rid of Tucker (did not like him either). Surprised we got Covington back. Draft picks are always nice

Jearlpam0925

What I'll never understand is Harden would've made more money over the rest of what's left of his career if he opted out right?

eeriepadave

Embiid with the DX "crotch chop"

https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1718800174846529933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1718800174846529933%7Ctwgr%5Eff8653ce9ed05e86117c3ece31981f3eecf2073f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2F76ers-joel-embiid-fined-35k-for-crotch-chop-celebration-in-win-over-trail-blazers-221552791.html

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38790541/philadelphia-76ers-joel-embiid-triple-h-wwe-wrestlemania-40

The Juggler

Motion on offense. Hustle on defense. The reigning MVP. A budding superstar. Assets.

We have an enjoyable squad to root for again, gents. Clap 'em. 

Johnny Abruzzo

The Juggler said:

Motion on offense. Hustle on defense. The reigning MVP. A budding superstar. Assets.

We have an enjoyable squad to root for again, gents. Clap 'em. 

They were ballin' yesterday. Fun to watch!

eeriepadave

nice overall win last night, looked real good.

Poncier

2 wins over a tanking Raptors team and third win over an uber-tanking Portland.

It's not like you guys have beaten the likes of the Wizards and Pacers like the Celts have.

Man, there are some shit franchises in the NBA this season.

Next Wed will be fun in your building. Good litmus tests for both teams.

Jearlpam0925

Poncier said:

2 wins over a tanking Raptors team and third win over an uber-tanking Portland.

It's not like you guys have beaten the likes of the Wizards and Pacers like the Celts have.

Man, there are some shit franchises in the NBA this season.

Next Wed will be fun in your building. Good litmus tests for both teams.

For sure, but I think the difference between these two teams are much different now. Boston is loaded with expectation. I don't think the same can be said for the Sixers. Which, in a weird way, makes it 1000% more fun again.

The Juggler

Jearlpam0925 said:

Poncier said:

2 wins over a tanking Raptors team and third win over an uber-tanking Portland.

It's not like you guys have beaten the likes of the Wizards and Pacers like the Celts have.

Man, there are some shit franchises in the NBA this season.

Next Wed will be fun in your building. Good litmus tests for both teams.

For sure, but I think the difference between these two teams are much different now. Boston is loaded with expectation. I don't think the same can be said for the Sixers. Which, in a weird way, makes it 1000% more fun again.

Yeah it kinda does have a late 2010's vibe to it, doesn't it? lol

Jearlpam0925

The Juggler said:

Jearlpam0925 said:

Poncier said:

2 wins over a tanking Raptors team and third win over an uber-tanking Portland.

It's not like you guys have beaten the likes of the Wizards and Pacers like the Celts have.

Man, there are some shit franchises in the NBA this season.

Next Wed will be fun in your building. Good litmus tests for both teams.

For sure, but I think the difference between these two teams are much different now. Boston is loaded with expectation. I don't think the same can be said for the Sixers. Which, in a weird way, makes it 1000% more fun again.

Yeah it kinda does have a late 2010's vibe to it, doesn't it? lol

Really feels like they're playing with house money with the trade, until they either use these picks to parlay a trade this season and/or a free agency signing in the offseason.

The longer Harden was here the more there was this dumb pressure to think of them as contenders while also feeling completely rudderless.

eeriepadave

Battle for first place tomorrow against the Celtics.

Also Clippers (Harden) vs Nets (Simmons) tomorrow

The Juggler

Yeah tonight should be fun. Looking forward to it. 

Poncier

Should be a good one.
Strange scheduling by the NBA, Celts at Philly tonight and again next Wednesday, and no more trips there until playoffs should they meet.
In fact, your guys come here on Dec 1, then there's only 1 remaining meeting for the season after that.

Jearlpam0925

Well that was fun and not fun. Yeesh.

Also, apparently we beat Boston in soccer tonight, too, so we got that goin' for us.

Poncier

Good win for you guys.
It was apparent to me last year Maxey should be running the point (I may have posted it in here). Offense works so much better than Harden slow walking things and running the show his way. Sure, he led the league in assists last year, but the team would get stagnant for long stretches, it flows much better with Maxey and keeps the other 3 guys not named Embiid on the floor engaged on every possession, which was not the case last year.
See you next Wednesday.

Poncier

Poncier said:

Great series, your guys just ran out of gas in the final half.
I think you definitely need to cut KFC loose and let Maxey run the show going forward.

Here it is after game 7 last May.

With Maxey running the offense, even Tobias Harris looks like he is enjoying playing again.

Johnny Abruzzo

I was fortunate to conveniently doze off for the C's 10-0 run and woke up for the last minute of hanging on. Of course it couldn't be easy. Anyway, always nice to beat those guys. They are so much fun to watch this year, even going 0-10 from 3 in the 1st quarter.

Jearlpam0925

Poncier said:

Poncier said:

Great series, your guys just ran out of gas in the final half.
I think you definitely need to cut KFC loose and let Maxey run the show going forward.

Here it is after game 7 last May.

With Maxey running the offense, even Tobias Harris looks like he is enjoying playing again.

It is refreshing to see a coach who wants to move the ball upcourt, instead of acting like half court slugs every time.

Also, to see a coach try new rotations.

I think the Harris/Oubre streaks will end at some point but enjoying it at the moment.

The Juggler

Agreed. Doc was such a waste of time. I love the defensive intensity this year. 

I think having Maxey, Batum, Oubre, Harris and Embiid on the floor at the same time looked great last night. Would've liked that down the stretch instead of Melton being out there. Need him to get it together soon. 

eeriepadave

eeriepadave said:

Battle for first place tomorrow against the Celtics.

Also Clippers (Harden) vs Nets (Simmons) tomorrow

nice solid win. I think we still have at least 3 players averaging 20 points a game so far. I think Oubre dropped down after the last few games.

Also nice to see the Nets without Simmons beat The Clippers with Harden

Johnny Abruzzo

eeriepadave said:

eeriepadave said:

Battle for first place tomorrow against the Celtics.

Also Clippers (Harden) vs Nets (Simmons) tomorrow

nice solid win. I think we still have at least 3 players averaging 20 points a game so far. I think Oubre dropped down after the last few games.

Also nice to see the Nets without Simmons beat The Clippers with Harden

Just happy they are both gone. Seems like everybody here wants to be here, I think.

Honestly I'd like to see how this team can do staying together and gaining cohesion all season. And keep those future 1st rounders. I guess I'm sick & tired of all the "star hunting". The Nuggets didn't go star hunting last year, right.

The Juggler

Johnny Abruzzo said:

eeriepadave said:

eeriepadave said:

Battle for first place tomorrow against the Celtics.

Also Clippers (Harden) vs Nets (Simmons) tomorrow

nice solid win. I think we still have at least 3 players averaging 20 points a game so far. I think Oubre dropped down after the last few games.

Also nice to see the Nets without Simmons beat The Clippers with Harden

Just happy they are both gone. Seems like everybody here wants to be here, I think.

Honestly I'd like to see how this team can do staying together and gaining cohesion all season. And keep those future 1st rounders. I guess I'm sick & tired of all the "star hunting". The Nuggets didn't go star hunting last year, right.

Definitely need another pg behind Maxey at bare minimum.

But Morey's not going to sit on those picks during the prime of Embiid's career. Gotta cash them in before the deadline or the summer. Just need to be smart and not mess with what Maxey and Jo have going on right now though. Making a splash on someone like Lavine might not be the way to go. 

Would be funny if they traded for Butler again.

eeriepadave

eeriepadave said:

eeriepadave said:

Battle for first place tomorrow against the Celtics.

Also Clippers (Harden) vs Nets (Simmons) tomorrow

nice solid win. I think we still have at least 3 players averaging 20 points a game so far. I think Oubre dropped down after the last few games.

Also nice to see the Nets without Simmons beat The Clippers with Harden

looks like Harris is just under 20 PPG now at like 19.3, but still pretty impressive.

The Juggler

Hard to believe the position this team is in now after the summer we just went through

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/38845100/lowe-tyrese-maxey-new-role-lamelo-next-step-genius-draymond

Lowe: Tyrese Maxey's new role as a lead guard, the next step in LaMelo's game and the genius of Draymond

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey's ascension could land him his first All-Star nod this season. Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

• 
  Zach Lowe, ESPN Senior WriterNov 10, 2023, 08:00 AM ET

1. Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers are ... fine?

Every few weeks, one security guard at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia reminds Maxey of the unlikely series of events that led Maxey to the 76ers -- a rare stroke of strange luck for a franchise that has suffered some of the weirdest NBA melodramas: "Shout out Mike Muscala!" the guard chants, according to Maxey.

It is an inside joke, Sixers lore -- code that identifies a hardcore fan. The Sixers selected Maxey with the 21st pick in the 2020 NBA draft -- a pick that belonged to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Sixers acquired it in 2016, traded it away, and then got it back in the deal that sent Markelle Fultz to the Orlando Magic. It contained a twist: Philadelphia would receive it only if it fell 21st or later; otherwise, the Thunder would send two second-rounders.

It came down to the wire in the Orlando, Florida, bubble. Muscala hit two 3s in the final 35 seconds of the Thunder's second-to-last game to help their deep reserves complete a comeback that meant nothing to that specific Thunder team and everything to these current Sixers. With that win, the Thunder pick was capped at No. 21.

Four years later, Maxey's ascension toward his first All-Star nod has the Sixers well positioned to pivot away from a spasm of deals that saw Ben Simmons and then James Harden come and go as would-be co-stars for Joel Embiid. Maxey is that guy now, averaging 25 points and 7 assists on nearly 50/40/90 shooting splits -- taking care of the ball and developing deeper pick-and-roll chemistry with Embiid every game. Maxey being this good is the most important positive thing to happen to the Sixers since drafting Embiid. If the rumblings around Embiid quiet -- if he chooses to ride out his career with the franchise that drafted him -- Maxey will be a big reason.

Philly is 6-1 after edging the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, with the league's second-best net rating. The Sixers' passing numbers are almost identical to last season's. Harden's assists and touches have been redistributed across the roster in a faster and more democratic offense under new coach Nick Nurse.

The Sixers appear much closer to title contention without Harden than perhaps even they projected during the Harden stalemate. If that sustains -- if their championship-level No. 2 option is already in-house -- the pool of players the Sixers can target with the draft picks they received for Harden becomes much wider. Their play may also afford patience: Do they have to burn assets now if they are confident the same player -- or someone better -- might be available later, or even sign into their cap space in July?

Two players the Sixers nabbed in the Harden deal -- Nicolas Batum and "Process" favorite Robert Covington -- are contributing already. The Sixers can slot three switchable wing shooters between Maxey and Embiid in combinations involving Batum, Covington, Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre Jr. and De'Anthony Melton. Patrick Beverley and Paul Reed round out the core rotation.

The formula is working, but the Sixers need one more ball handler to fortify them. They will spend the months before the trade deadline looking, with one eye on the maximum cap space they can carve out this summer.

They have extricated themselves from the Harden morass as cleanly as possible, if not with quite the asset haul they craved. This outcome is better than either losing Harden for nothing or re-signing him to a massive multiyear contract. They have optionality and hope.

"I was prepared for one role if James came back, and if he didn't, I was prepared to be a lead guard," Maxey told ESPN.

He worked and watched film in the offseason with Embiid and Drew Hanlen, Embiid's longtime trainer. When Hanlen visits Embiid in Philadelphia for what are intended to be individual workouts, Maxey volunteers to help as the passer feeding Embiid -- leading to jokes that Maxey is an "intern."

"Joel is the most important player on our team, and I need to know how he likes to catch the ball," Maxey said. "That means post entries, when he's the trail man, everything." (Maxey is a very good entry passer, and he and Embiid love a little pitch-back action when Embiid trails Maxey in transition.)

• 
  

It means lots of pick-and-roll, and Maxey is a much different sort of partner there than Harden. He has worked on slowing down, giving Embiid time to find pockets in the lane. In the opening two games of this season, Maxey was passing early -- with Embiid catching 20-plus feet from the rim. With every game, Maxey hits Embiid more in his sweet spots near the foul line.

The two are honing a mean empty-side pick-and-roll game on the left wing. Maxey loves to reject picks -- zooming away from them -- and does so much more often than Harden. It is a way for him to occupy Embiid's defender, maybe force a switch, and give Embiid daylight for pick-and-pop actions. Maxey is learning to stay in touch with Embiid on those actions -- to not outrun him. Embiid is learning how to make himself available -- when to cut, when to fade for 3s.

Maxey can punish switches with step-back 3s, but he has made a concerted effort to roast bigs off the dribble -- to reorient Philly's offense toward the rim and open up drive-and-kick chances:

Maxey is happy to make the first simple play -- the easy kickout or swing pass that keeps the machine moving. (The Sixers could stand to shoot more 3s.)

He is shooting 54% from floater range on a dizzying variety of runners -- bank shots, high-arching moon balls, hot-potato floaters Maxey flicks even before jumping. That is an important weapon against defenses that sell out to take away any pass to Embiid -- something Boston did in last season's conference semifinals.

"They say the midrange game is a lost art, but it's big for small guards -- especially in fourth quarters," Maxey said.

He has helped stabilize the Sixers when Embiid rests; Philly has outscored opponents by nine points per 100 possessions when Maxey plays without Embiid, per Cleaning The Glass.

Challenges await -- blitzes, complex help schemes, offenses that hunt Maxey. But Maxey seems up to it. He has given the Sixers a chance at stability -- something this franchise has not known for far too long.

"I work so hard every summer to get 1% better," Maxey said. "I'm ready."

Jearlpam0925

Thing I saw on Twitter, and I think is the greatest gain, is that we went from basically having no bench to a really deep bench overnight lol

Jearlpam0925

holy shit this is good:

https://twitter.com/CrossingBroad/status/1723178174756880449?t=VAysa02d8daGM9jtLqTfJw&s=19

eeriepadave

They didn't look so great in the first half. I think they were shooting under 40%. Luckily turned it around in the 2nd half.

Poncier

Jearlpam0925 said:

holy shit this is good:

https://twitter.com/CrossingBroad/status/1723178174756880449?t=VAysa02d8daGM9jtLqTfJw&s=19

Ha. And every bit of it true.

So far in LA with Harden, Westbrook (another team guy lol), Leonard and George in the lineup, they are 0-3, outscored by an average of 13 ppg. They gave up 144 last night. Their backcourt of Westbrook & Harden may be the worst defensive starting backcourt the NBA has ever seen (outpacing previous title holders Harden & Kyrie in their short stint in Brooklyn).

Oh, and while unloading this piece of selfish chicken wing fueled crap last week, Morey also unloaded PJ Tucker who somehow was a -20 in 6 minutes on the floor last night. That's nearly impossible, but PJ pulled it off. And he's supposed to be known for his defense.

eeriepadave

Poncier said:

Jearlpam0925 said:

holy shit this is good:

https://twitter.com/CrossingBroad/status/1723178174756880449?t=VAysa02d8daGM9jtLqTfJw&s=19

Ha. And every bit of it true.

So far in LA with Harden, Westbrook (another team guy lol), Leonard and George in the lineup, they are 0-3, outscored by an average of 13 ppg. They gave up 144 last night. Their backcourt of Westbrook & Harden may be the worst defensive starting backcourt the NBA has ever seen (outpacing previous title holders Harden & Kyrie in their short stint in Brooklyn).

Oh, and while unloading this piece of selfish chicken wing fueled crap last week, Morey also unloaded PJ Tucker who somehow was a -20 in 6 minutes on the floor last night. That's nearly impossible, but PJ pulled it off. And he's supposed to be known for his defense.

I think it got taken down? Clicked on the link and said page doesn't exist.

cutz

h