sixers collapse

[snap infraction]

ugh.

early yesterday morning, my wife asked me if the 76ers game was going to ruin mothers day.  i knew damn well that it probably would but i told her it wouldn't. lol.  

to be brief, as immensely talented joel embiid and james harden are, they are mentally not very strong players.  i've watched nearly every second of embiids career.  while extremely skilled, he can get very moody, especially when things don't go his way.

the celtics are a great defensive team.  in game 5 (which the 76ers comfortably won), they played an extra guard and allowed embiid/harden to pick n roll them to death.  there was just no threat in the paint and the sixers put a lot of pressure on al horford who was bostons only big.  horford alone could not stop the 76ers pick n roll with harden and embiid.  

in game 6, boston made a smart adjustment.  they inserted another center i rob williams in the starting lineup and removed the extra guard.  while this took away a shooting threat, it basically sealed the deal on the 76ers season.  with two bigs, the celtics were able to defend the pick and roll.  horford was able to defend embiid one on one b/c he could cheat a bit knowing that he rob williams to protect the rim if embiid got by him.  harden was unwilling to take the ball to the rim with rob williams roaming around.  b/c boston was putting so much emphasis on protecting the pain, the 76ers actually had space to shoot uncontested threes.   but they just couldn't make the shots.  on the other side, boston made up for the lack of perimeter shooting by having their awesome wing players (tatum and brown)just drive relentlessly to the basket.  they either scored a tough shot in the paint, were fouled or found a wide-open shooter from the collapsing defense.  

back to embiid...what happened in game 7 was embiid wanted to take control of the game.  he wanted to be the man.  but b/c boston was uniquely defending him with two great defensive bigs, he struggled.  once he struggled, the game was over.   he needed to play differently b/c boston was just determined to stop him from taking control.  the 76ers needed to make boston pay for sacrificing perimeter defense in order to stop embiid.  and they just couldn't.  embiid either missed or turned it over.   you can it in his body language.  when things became difficult, he sulked. he needed to find another way to lift the team.  

and don't get me started on harden.  the fishing for fouls is so tiring.  he stops being aggressive as soon as he feels the refs aren't giving him calls.  and it's not how you should play ball.  

as complicated as sports is, it can also sometimes be pretty simple.  boston's stars showed up and flourished.  the 76ers stars did not.  

i think the 76ers still can win a title with embiid b/c he is that good.  but he needs to be paired with a star that can flourish through adversity.  i wish the 76ers kept jimmy butler and he was exactly what they needed.  but ben simmons didn't want butler around.  ugh.  

[Walter]

Not to rub it in, but Butler might be the all around best player in the playoffs this year in either conference.

[oujour76]

May 15, 2023 13:39:27 GMT -5 snap infraction said:

ugh.

early yesterday morning, my wife asked me if the 76ers game was going to ruin mothers day.  i knew damn well that it probably would but i told her it wouldn't. lol.  

to be brief, as immensely talented joel embiid and james harden are, they are mentally not very strong players.  i've watched nearly every second of embiids career.  while extremely skilled, he can get very moody, especially when things don't go his way.

the celtics are a great defensive team.  in game 5 (which the 76ers comfortably won), they played an extra guard and allowed embiid/harden to pick n roll them to death.  there was just no threat in the paint and the sixers put a lot of pressure on al horford who was bostons only big.  horford alone could not stop the 76ers pick n roll with harden and embiid.  

in game 6, boston made a smart adjustment.  they inserted another center i rob williams in the starting lineup and removed the extra guard.  while this took away a shooting threat, it basically sealed the deal on the 76ers season.  with two bigs, the celtics were able to defend the pick and roll.  horford was able to defend embiid one on one b/c he could cheat a bit knowing that he rob williams to protect the rim if embiid got by him.  harden was unwilling to take the ball to the rim with rob williams roaming around.  b/c boston was putting so much emphasis on protecting the pain, the 76ers actually had space to shoot uncontested threes.   but they just couldn't make the shots.  on the other side, boston made up for the lack of perimeter shooting by having their awesome wing players (tatum and brown)just drive relentlessly to the basket.  they either scored a tough shot in the paint, were fouled or found a wide-open shooter from the collapsing defense.  

back to embiid...what happened in game 7 was embiid wanted to take control of the game.  he wanted to be the man.  but b/c boston was uniquely defending him with two great defensive bigs, he struggled.  once he struggled, the game was over.   he needed to play differently b/c boston was just determined to stop him from taking control.  the 76ers needed to make boston pay for sacrificing perimeter defense in order to stop embiid.  and they just couldn't.  embiid either missed or turned it over.   you can it in his body language.  when things became difficult, he sulked. he needed to find another way to lift the team.  

and don't get me started on harden.  the fishing for fouls is so tiring.  he stops being aggressive as soon as he feels the refs aren't giving him calls.  and it's not how you should play ball.  

as complicated as sports is, it can also sometimes be pretty simple.  boston's stars showed up and flourished.  the 76ers stars did not.  

i think the 76ers still can win a title with embiid b/c he is that good.  but he needs to be paired with a star that can flourish through adversity.  i wish the 76ers kept jimmy butler and he was exactly what they needed.  but ben simmons didn't want butler around.  ugh.  

Re: Harden...might be harsh on my part but he's a me first guy and those kind rarely win titles. Because they rarely raise their teammates level of play. The really great players are able to do that and I've never seen that from Harden.

[snap infraction]

May 15, 2023 14:04:37 GMT -5 oujour76 said:

May 15, 2023 13:39:27 GMT -5 snap infraction said:

ugh.

early yesterday morning, my wife asked me if the 76ers game was going to ruin mothers day.  i knew damn well that it probably would but i told her it wouldn't. lol.  

to be brief, as immensely talented joel embiid and james harden are, they are mentally not very strong players.  i've watched nearly every second of embiids career.  while extremely skilled, he can get very moody, especially when things don't go his way.

the celtics are a great defensive team.  in game 5 (which the 76ers comfortably won), they played an extra guard and allowed embiid/harden to pick n roll them to death.  there was just no threat in the paint and the sixers put a lot of pressure on al horford who was bostons only big.  horford alone could not stop the 76ers pick n roll with harden and embiid.  

in game 6, boston made a smart adjustment.  they inserted another center i rob williams in the starting lineup and removed the extra guard.  while this took away a shooting threat, it basically sealed the deal on the 76ers season.  with two bigs, the celtics were able to defend the pick and roll.  horford was able to defend embiid one on one b/c he could cheat a bit knowing that he rob williams to protect the rim if embiid got by him.  harden was unwilling to take the ball to the rim with rob williams roaming around.  b/c boston was putting so much emphasis on protecting the pain, the 76ers actually had space to shoot uncontested threes.   but they just couldn't make the shots.  on the other side, boston made up for the lack of perimeter shooting by having their awesome wing players (tatum and brown)just drive relentlessly to the basket.  they either scored a tough shot in the paint, were fouled or found a wide-open shooter from the collapsing defense.  

back to embiid...what happened in game 7 was embiid wanted to take control of the game.  he wanted to be the man.  but b/c boston was uniquely defending him with two great defensive bigs, he struggled.  once he struggled, the game was over.   he needed to play differently b/c boston was just determined to stop him from taking control.  the 76ers needed to make boston pay for sacrificing perimeter defense in order to stop embiid.  and they just couldn't.  embiid either missed or turned it over.   you can it in his body language.  when things became difficult, he sulked. he needed to find another way to lift the team.  

and don't get me started on harden.  the fishing for fouls is so tiring.  he stops being aggressive as soon as he feels the refs aren't giving him calls.  and it's not how you should play ball.  

as complicated as sports is, it can also sometimes be pretty simple.  boston's stars showed up and flourished.  the 76ers stars did not.  

i think the 76ers still can win a title with embiid b/c he is that good.  but he needs to be paired with a star that can flourish through adversity.  i wish the 76ers kept jimmy butler and he was exactly what they needed.  but ben simmons didn't want butler around.  ugh.  

Re: Harden...might be harsh on my part but he's a me first guy and those kind rarely win titles. Because they rarely raise their teammates level of play. The really great players are able to do that and I've never seen that from Harden.

i actually don't think he's as horrible as his reputation.  he contributed to embiid having a MVP season.  and he is a part of why tyrese maxey is a rising star.  

what he lacks is the toughness to overcome adversity when things are just not going his away.  he just mentally completely checks out.  it's infuriating b/c his talent is pretty unreal.  

[oujour76]

May 15, 2023 14:27:35 GMT -5 snap infraction said:

May 15, 2023 14:04:37 GMT -5 oujour76 said:

Re: Harden...might be harsh on my part but he's a me first guy and those kind rarely win titles. Because they rarely raise their teammates level of play. The really great players are able to do that and I've never seen that from Harden.

i actually don't think he's as horrible as his reputation.  he contributed to embiid having a MVP season.  and he is a part of why tyrese maxey is a rising star.  

what he lacks is the toughness to overcome adversity when things are just not going his away.  he just mentally completely checks out.  it's infuriating b/c his talent is pretty unreal.  

You follow him closer than I do so will defer to you on the subject at hand. Phenomenal talent to be sure.

[daleko]

May 15, 2023 13:39:27 GMT -5 snap infraction said:

ugh.

early yesterday morning, my wife asked me if the 76ers game was going to ruin mothers day.  i knew damn well that it probably would but i told her it wouldn't. lol.  

to be brief, as immensely talented joel embiid and james harden are, they are mentally not very strong players.  i've watched nearly every second of embiids career.  while extremely skilled, he can get very moody, especially when things don't go his way.

the celtics are a great defensive team.  in game 5 (which the 76ers comfortably won), they played an extra guard and allowed embiid/harden to pick n roll them to death.  there was just no threat in the paint and the sixers put a lot of pressure on al horford who was bostons only big.  horford alone could not stop the 76ers pick n roll with harden and embiid.  

in game 6, boston made a smart adjustment.  they inserted another center i rob williams in the starting lineup and removed the extra guard.  while this took away a shooting threat, it basically sealed the deal on the 76ers season.  with two bigs, the celtics were able to defend the pick and roll.  horford was able to defend embiid one on one b/c he could cheat a bit knowing that he rob williams to protect the rim if embiid got by him.  harden was unwilling to take the ball to the rim with rob williams roaming around.  b/c boston was putting so much emphasis on protecting the pain, the 76ers actually had space to shoot uncontested threes.   but they just couldn't make the shots.  on the other side, boston made up for the lack of perimeter shooting by having their awesome wing players (tatum and brown)just drive relentlessly to the basket.  they either scored a tough shot in the paint, were fouled or found a wide-open shooter from the collapsing defense.  

back to embiid...what happened in game 7 was embiid wanted to take control of the game.  he wanted to be the man.  but b/c boston was uniquely defending him with two great defensive bigs, he struggled.  once he struggled, the game was over.   he needed to play differently b/c boston was just determined to stop him from taking control.  the 76ers needed to make boston pay for sacrificing perimeter defense in order to stop embiid.  and they just couldn't.  embiid either missed or turned it over.   you can it in his body language.  when things became difficult, he sulked. he needed to find another way to lift the team.  

and don't get me started on harden.  the fishing for fouls is so tiring.  he stops being aggressive as soon as he feels the refs aren't giving him calls.  and it's not how you should play ball.  

as complicated as sports is, it can also sometimes be pretty simple.  boston's stars showed up and flourished.  the 76ers stars did not.  

i think the 76ers still can win a title with embiid b/c he is that good.  but he needs to be paired with a star that can flourish through adversity.  i wish the 76ers kept jimmy butler and he was exactly what they needed.  but ben simmons didn't want butler around.  ugh.  

To embiid’s defense, there aren’t a lot of players as talented and mentally strong as MJ, Magic, LJ or Bird. but he could benefit from a talent like Magic to fulfill your dream re the sizers. Even Kareem didn’t w w/o the Big O and later Magic. Harden is Embiid only shorter. He needs a strong leader w talent to take control. Plus Doc isn’t the answer. Tough job though in the NBA melding talent.