2020-21-22 Sixers Season

[bigegypt0417]

Signing Deandre Jordan was a mistake...the fact that he's seeing significant minutes makes me really excited about a new coach next year.

If you're going to lose, lose with your future.

[zambonir]

Gotta put that one on the GM ultimately. That he miscalculated the hole Drummond would leave (or what would be available to fill it) and that he brought in Jordan to begin with. It's gonna look even worse if he trades Thybulle for something because he could have just kept Drummond if Matisse hadn't been untouchable. I also don't think you can count on Morey to keep any young player besides Maxey as he tries to win a title with Joel and Harden in what might be a short window.

Doc, defensive as ever, says the players wanted DeAndre, including in the second half. Shouldn't really be up to them but also not surprising - a bunch of vets trying to win a championship don't want to "lose with your future" either, even if they're wrong from a competitive standpoint too.

New coach would presumably be D'Antoni right?

[VoteForKalas]

Signing Deandre Jordan was a mistake...the fact that he's seeing significant minutes makes me really excited about a new coach next year.

If you're going to lose, lose with your future.

It really is more the fault of Morey. He traded Drummond in the Harden deal knowing he had no backup plan internally and then signed Jordan who he must have known, as the rest of the NBA did, that he was beyond cooked as a player. Especially considering Embiid's injury history, to have no viable backup C is poor roster management.

Doc's it was the players nonsense is typical blame shifting for a coach that has never made any mistakes, but his hands are tied here.

[zambonir]

The other question is did Morey really think Millsap would help?

In the end DeAndre only played 17 minutes. 17 pretty terrible minutes. But with 48 to fill they are going to have 20 or 30 terrible minutes (plus Reed fouling out) regardless.

[VoteForKalas]

God, I hope not. Relying on a 37 yr old 6' 7" player like Millsap would shake my confidence in Morey.

Perhaps he thought between Millsap & Jordan, Doc could make it work. Not a great idea. Or he thought Harden's production could outweigh the bench flaw in the roster. That is a reach too, but I think in the end he really wanted Harden and these other features of the trade were not worth getting hung up on in his mind.

Jordan finished -22 in those 17 minutes which continues a trend we've seen since he joined the team. Not only do we lose momentum when Embiid goes to the bench, but his replacement is like Santa Claus for the opposition every time. It was eye popping to see the 76ers surge to take a 1 pt lead by halftime with Jordan planted firmly on the bench.

[jimbomill]

Gotta put that one on the GM ultimately.

Agree, GM brought in a dud.

[zambonir]

Of course I'm not sure Morey really thought he could win a title this year. It was something to try for especially given the season Joel was having, though that is also quickly becoming moot. But Harden deal was about the bigger picture, including shedding Ben.

[phillychuck]

The GM brought him in, undoubtedly at the request of the coach. Honestly, after the Harden trade few alternatives presented themselves (of course, other than playing the young guys...).

[zambonir]

Well, probably true given their history. And of course he'd also played with Harden and Harris. Never an easy thing to navigate, but if the coach wants a player that is bad, it's not going to end well. Or at least, it won't if they end up having to play a lot. (Same goes for Joe and Torreyes and Didi really.

[xogfog]

Down 0-2, Can Embiid save the day?

[phillychuck]

They will get a boost from being home, but without Jo they will be lucky to win one game.

[VoteForKalas]

At this point, it becomes a decision on whether Embiid plays or not.

I think we need to assume he is not going to fully recover from the fracture & concussion before this series is out of reach or over.

In the short term, that means putting him on the floor with multiple issues and looking to him to pull the team out of the 0-2 hole. That is a lot to expect. And this is only the second round; even if Embiid does lead the 76ers to a comeback victory in this series (which would need to go 6 or 7 games) there is a whole other series to play vs Boston or Milwaukee before reaching the Finals.

In the long term, we want Embiid to play his entire career here and have other chances to win the ring. He is already going to have surgery on his thumb. Orbital fractures and concussions are not things to mess with, depending on the severity of course.

In that context, I think there are valid reasons to hold him out, give him a full offseason to build himself back up again and keep developing his game and come back strong for next season.

My sense is the 76ers and Embiid will find a way for him to play in this series. I'm just not sure that is smart for either the short or long term.

[phillychuck]

If the doctors tell Joel that it won't endanger him or get worse (the orbital fracture), I think it would be really difficult to keep him from trying to come back. His competitive nature would not allow it. So, my guess is he will either be shut down by the medical staff or be playing; it won't be a decision made by the basketball people.

[zambonir]

If the only reason for Joel to play is if the Sixers have a chance to win (or even make) the finals he probably could have just gone ahead and had the ligament surgery too. But of course he is going to want to play. And if he is over the concussion and the orbital fracture is not a risk for further injury due to anything other than extreme circumstances he will.

Assuming he can play in Game 3, that is. If he's still out and they are down 3-0 is there any point? Will home court and a rusty, thrice-injured Joel even be enough.

I'm just afraid in the end Joel is an Eric Lindros talent with Roman Quinn's injury pattern (of course Eric had his own issues but those were almost wholly concussions).

[VoteForKalas]

Assuming he can play in Game 3, that is. If he's still out and they are down 3-0 is there any point? Will home court and a rusty, thrice-injured Joel even be enough.

That's the point I was getting to, but I'm already there at 0-2. If we go 0-3, he should not play IMO.

[VoteForKalas]

If the doctors tell Joel that it won't endanger him or get worse (the orbital fracture), I think it would be really difficult to keep him from trying to come back. His competitive nature would not allow it. So, my guess is he will either be shut down by the medical staff or be playing; it won't be a decision made by the basketball people.

A medical decision can be influenced by TPTB, the player and surrounding pressures. We've seen it all the time in sports.
Embiid will definitely have a big say, but that is part of my argument. At what point should the 76ers protect the player from himself and for for the future.

[zambonir]

I hear ya, but let's face it, Joel is the most powerful person in the organization, and the team is probably also more likely to be hoping the doctors clear him than not. Odds are they will be on the same page, right or wrong.

There's also the team to consider of course. That shouldn't be a reason to force the issue either but the reality is he will also want to be on the court for his teammates if he can be. You can't just tell Harden and the others that the series is pointless and they can't win a title anyway.

I guess I'd like to at least find out if the series has any shot at extending. If Joel is out or limited we'll know it probably doesn't pretty quick.

[zambonir]

76ers are listing All-Star Joel Embiid as out for Game 3 vs. Heat on Friday.

— Shams Charania ( @ShamsCharania ) May 5, 2022

[zambonir]

Sources: Embiid (out) status may change for G3

[bkeich]

It was a fun year