2018-19 Sixers Season

[Philsmania]

So far, this series has followed the script of the first-round series against the Nets. A Game 1 dud followed by strong if not dominating performances in the next two.

[el-pietro]

So who is getting ejected in game four then?

[zambonir]

The difference between this and the first round is not having home court of course, but that's good news for the moment. You don't want to lose Game 4 and reset the series obviously. No reason to get overconfident knowing that.

[teabag259]

I’ve pretty much disliked/decried Butler all season. He has turned it up a notch in the playoffs and in a SSS is making me eat my words. He has been a difference maker. Hopefully it continues.

[xogfog]

So Simmons gets fined $20,000 for hitting Lowry in the groin, but where is the fine for Siakam for tripping Embid?

[bkeich]

So Simmons gets fined $20,000 for hitting Lowry in the groin, but where is the fine for Siakam for tripping Embid?

Or for Lowry for intentionally bridging Simmons on the play. Simmons was in the air and Lowry continued to work his way further under him, he could have REALLY hurt him on that play.

I couldnt believe some of the stuff Lowry was getting away with, he probably committed 12 fouls in the first half and they were just letting it go. Seemed like the refs knew they missed this one and gave him a bit of a pass.

Glad Simmons didnt get a suspension, he could have.

[el-pietro]

Surpise, surpise, Siakim plays.

Shams Charania (ShamsCharania)

[zambonir]

I think Brown pretty much predicted this. "Doubtful" doesn't mean definitely not. And man, if you look at what other guys around the league are playing through (including one of our own but especially Enes Kanter).

[el-pietro]

Sixers down by three after the first quarter. Given that Kawhi didn't get any rest, and the Sixers had a spell of 6 or 7 straight misses. Very happy with the score.

[kmc1019]

Such a disappointing loss . Sixers could have taken control of series, instead give back homecourt advantage.
-Can't have Embiid not showing up and having Gasol outscore him by nearly 2 to 1.
-Leonard outclassing invisible Simmons
-Team played with less intensity than the Raptors

[phillychuck]

Embiid reportedly had the gastro-intestinal issue again. If he were a drinker I'd blame a hangover, but he doesn't drink. Gotta get a decent dietician to look at his eating habits.

[zambonir]

Could be viral. Could be a chronic disease. Could be nutrition or allergy. Could even be stress. Probably not getting fixed this series so I hope it just goes away or subsides again.

[VoteForKalas]

Very disappointing loss for the 76ers.

Simmons again vanishes when we need him most

Embiid is sick or hurt or both and was not effective offensively

Butler and Redick did everything they could to help us win

Bench was not as good as last two games, Ennis was fine, but Scott had a poor game

Embiid is the first priority; he must be right for us to advance and Simmons needs to stay aggressive and finish much better at the rim.

Must win in Toronto coming up, then we can close it out at home. If the Raptors win Game 5, the series is likely over

[zambonir]

Toronto's got the higher seed, the home court, and the best (and most experienced) star. And if Joel's not fully healthy (which he really hasn't been all post-season) that's that. This is probably going 7 either way, even if they win tomorrow I don't see a repeat of Game 3 back home.

It's, y'know... a process. Is this the week when the two young stars take a leap forward in terms of dominance and consistency, or the next hard lesson?

An acquaintance of mine joked that it would be Sixers-Blazers after their respective Game 3s. The exuberance was real at the time!

[VoteForKalas]

76ers had taken the home court away from the Raptors until Game 4 when they gave it back unfortunately. They have to win again in Toronto and then close it out here at home.

Being a #3 seed vs a #2 seed means nothing in the playoffs once the ball is in play. 76ers have shown clearly they can beat the Raptors IF they play the right way and all come prepared and determined to make it happen.

Leonard is the best star, but the 76ers proved they can win IF they shut down Leonard's teammates. Leonard will get his against anyone, but the problem with Games 1 and 4 is that the 76ers failed to stop Siakam, Lowry & Gasol specifically as well.

I understand the process of figuring out how to win consistently in the playoffs, believe me I've watched the 76ers since the 70's and felt many of those hard lessons. The issue is the 76ers face many tough decisions this off-season and need to show they can advance past the 2nd round IMO to prevent Brown being relieved and ownership from possibly pulling back on spending to build the best roster possible.

[zambonir]

I get it. As the article below says, they would have had an 89% chance to win the series had they won Game 4. Now it's 21%. But that's why the seed does make a difference. It's an evenly matched series and home court is once again the likely difference so now they have to win a game they aren't supposed to win (as the Raptors just did).

Of course extending the series to 7, if it comes to that, should favor the Sixers even w/o home court, but not when their best player seems to have a 35 year-old body.

I have no idea what make of ownership and Brand's plans, or even who is really in charge (especially since Brown was the acting GM for a while). I can't imagine they are going to pull back on spending though. More a question of how they spend it (whether that means Butler and/or Harris, or moving on from Simmons before his next deal).

Personally, I never understood the "win Round 2 or bust" comment Josh Harris made. Unless they really don't show up for the next two games I think the line between losing and winning a close series is too fine, and still an obvious improvement over last year. Throw in Embiid's health, the roster depth and the fact that this starting 5 has barely played together and it's hard for me to make Brown the fall guy, unless it is purely for PR reasons (but the statement itself may have also just been for PR/motivational reasons). Clearly the roster is still a work in progress (both individually and overall).

Under the weather: Joel Embiid needs to be more aggressive...

[teabag259]

Harris needs to knock down open looks as well.

[nycphils]

Can’t waste the chance this year...next year could easily have the Bucks, the Celtics with AD, Kyrie and Horford and the Knicks with Zion, KD and Kemba or the Nets with KD, LeVert and D’Angelo

[VoteForKalas]

I get it. As the article below says, they would have had an 89% chance to win the series had they won Game 4. Now it's 21%. But that's why the seed does make a difference. It's an evenly matched series and home court is once again the likely difference so now they have to win a game they aren't supposed to win (as the Raptors just did).

Of course extending the series to 7, if it comes to that, should favor the Sixers even w/o home court, but not when their best player seems to have a 35 year-old body.

I have no idea what make of ownership and Brand's plans, or even who is really in charge (especially since Brown was the acting GM for a while). I can't imagine they are going to pull back on spending though. More a question of how they spend it (whether that means Butler and/or Harris, or moving on from Simmons before his next deal).

Personally, I never understood the "win Round 2 or bust" comment Josh Harris made. Unless they really don't show up for the next two games I think the line between losing and winning a close series is too fine, and still an obvious improvement over last year. Throw in Embiid's health, the roster depth and the fact that this starting 5 has barely played together and it's hard for me to make Brown the fall guy, unless it is purely for PR reasons (but the statement itself may have also just been for PR/motivational reasons). Clearly the roster is still a work in progress (both individually and overall).

I think Harris clearly laid down a marker not only for Brown, but for the Process itself. Translation: it must finally bear real fruit or I'm going to consider a different direction. His previous moves to short cut the Process speak for themselves - firing Hinkie, hiring Jerry's son, taking over a year to hire a new GM after being forced to dump Jerry's son, hiring Brand who had zero experience, dumping Fultz, bringing in the expensive vets etc.

In Harris' mind, IMO, he has spent a lot of resources and time on this Process and it is due on delivering results. Firing Brown would, in that mindset, be the next logical step and open the door to a roster shakeup to demand accountability.

All the 76ers marketing for years has been of an "emerging power" and "great times are here again". If the team cannot win more than one series a year in the playoffs, that does not match up and the shine starts to wear off.

I could be wrong and hope I am, but I do not have any illusions about why Harris owns a basketball team, that he seems to be a meddling owner and that he is not patient enough, as he has shown before, to let the Process work out unless consistent progress is made.

[zambonir]

That all makes sense, but man, I don't see that a roster shake-up and a new coach would actually get them closer. Unless of course they somehow go after and get one of the big names, but that wouldn't be blowing it up, that would just be getting better.

Can’t waste the chance this year

Maybe, but it's not that good a chance. They haven't looked like a championship team. They are seeded exactly where they should be, and if they'd drawn the Celtics (who obviously have their own problem) that wasn't gonna be a gimme either (but would have been more of a must-win).

If this core group isn't going to be good enough to compete with next year's theoretical remodelled teams for years to come, that's a much bigger problem!

I guess I (and a lot of other people) didn't think they could win this series to begin with so while there may or may not be consequences for that, it won't be a surprise either.