2023-2024 Sixers Season

[VoteForKalas]

They must close the door tomorrow night at home. Get it done. Miami will still be tough as we know from last year, but the 76ers are playing better now. Either Denver or Phoenix will be a tough out in the Finals.

[gmwannabe]

are the Sixers bringing in Andrew Toney to ring the bell before tomorrow night's game? it Would enhance the excitement from the crowd early (not that it will be needed).
gm

[zambonir]

Who should ring the bell before the Sixers' Game 6 matchup with the Celtics?

He's on there

[bkeich]

I know it isn't technically a must win tomorrow, but it feels like it. Yes, so far the Sixers are 2-1 in Boston in this series, but I would not want to have a game 7 in the Garden, the history is just not something to mess with.

Besides, we need the extra couple days to "repair" Embiid, hopefully the other series goes 7.

[zambonir]

I'm just happy the other series is going six, and hell yes Thursday is a must-win. Far too much Celtics and Sixers history says you can't have Game 7, or another game in Boston.

[phillychuck]

But there is this:

[gmwannabe]

The "Strangler"! what a shame his career was cut short.
gm

[kmc1019]

No shortage of culprits in losing Game 6 and squandering the chance to finish out the series at home:
-Tobias Harris: 2 pts in 42 minutes
-James Harden: 13 pts in 43 minutes, 4-16 from the field, 0-6 from 3-point range
-Benches: Sixers outscored 25-11
Sad.

[zambonir]

Yep that was a real dud from Harden and Jo was not going to carry them tonight, much as he tried. You can see he didn't have the same spring..defense was eh. Refa were eh.

[Philsmania]

Celtics are to the Embiid era Sixers what the Devils were to the Lindros era Flyers.

[allentown]

The Celtics are to the Embiid-era Sixers quite similar to what they were to the Wilt-era Sixers.

[zambonir]

I think the Celtics are a measuring stick for the Sixers because of the Fultz trade (and the fact that Tatum was also miles better than Simmons). The actual playoff series losses don't really feel that painful. Team wasn't ready in 2018 and 2020 wasn't normal. Both the Hawks and the Heat losses far more irksome (and to lower seeds). And the Raptors most painful of all, back when the Process still had promise and picking Ben over Jimmy (which was more the truth than Tobias over Jimmy) didn't seem that crazy

Missed opportunity to say the least but they could have also easily lost this thing in five after Games 2 and 3. Now they are back to par, eventually. The road underdog, and, unfortunately, the team with the least consistent (or at least consistently healthy) stars.

At least there is an extra day of rest, and no reason to feel like they can't play up there.

[xogfog]

I don't expect the Sixers to win game 7 in Boston. I think they really blew there chance in game 6. After Maxey had to reshoot the two foul shots because the ones Embiid shot were mistakenly allowed and Maxey made them both, the Sixers had two straight possessions where they could have increased the lead to anywhere from 4 to 8 points, they came up with zero and the Tatum woke up and the Sixers deflated. I hope Doc can convince them that they can win there, as they have done twice already, but that is a tall order to beat a team three times in a seven game series on their home court...

[phillychuck]

You are 100% right about the re-administration of the free throws and the subsequent plays being a turning point. It really broke the Sixers' momentum. Being there in the stands, it took forever and the players were visibly irritated by the goof-up.

It is no harder to win game 7 in Boston having won two previous games than it would be having won 0, 1, or 3 there. That is a form of "Gambler's Fallacy" reasoning. The positive results do not make the next positive result less likely; in fact they make it more likely. It is unlikely prior to a series to predict winning three times on the road, but those odds are pre-series, prior to the previous games.

The Sixers may not win game 7 in Boston, but it wown't be because of the difficulty of beating a team 3 times in their own building. As of now, they only have to think about beating them once.

[BostonRoss]

The Celtics have been the main obstacle for the Wilt, Dr. J, and Embiid eras. At least the first two did result in (single) championships.

The Sixers must be considered fairly heavy underdogs on Sunday, but if everyone has a good game they can still win despite Joe's current limitations. It's hard to imagine a larger standard deviation among a single player's performances in a series that what Harden has done so far. But if he swings back to the good James, and other key players like Maxey perform at their best, they can win. The Celtics have had a few wide swings in performance themselves (Tatum, Horford).

[zambonir]

I think the confidence of having won in Boston twice, and on the road in general, ought to count for a lot this time compared to previous seasons.

The Celtics haven't won a championship with this group, and only did it (with our current coach) once in the past 38 years. Whereas the Devils won three Cups during the Lindros (and lingering post-Lindros) era.

I feel like The Process era has been equal-opportunity in terms of there always being a better team (whether that is a team that beat us directly or the Bucks). Which is actually more galling than being owned by a single dominant team. Of course had the Sixers actually not had The Process, or been good before the rebuild, they would have just lost to LeBron's team every year.

Jo seemed more hindered last night compared to Game 5 and maybe that threw James off too (both in terms of his own game and his failure to involve him more). They need a Game 5-like performance from both, or at least enough of that to get a close win.

[VoteForKalas]

Strange game, 76ers came out well and had the lead and momentum until the flagrant foul call on Harden and then the bizarre double tech call against Brown & Niang. That sequence clearly energized the Celtics and deflated the 76ers. The second half was an absolute blowout; the Celtics never missed a shot and we could not hit or create anything.

This team blew the series in Game 6; still not sure how an offense with the MVP, a future HOF and several other very good players can only score 86 pts at home.

This tweet sums it up pretty well for me at this juncture:

The Sixers chose Ben Simmons over Jimmy Butler.

They selected Fultz instead of Tatum.

They gave Tobias Harris a max contract.

They decided Colangelo was smarter than Hinkie.

I mean… are we really so shocked that they can’t make it out of the second round?

[zambonir]

It's pretty astonishing how bad they actually were/are at at drafting, developing, hiring and trading. And that list leaves out all of the failed Process picks before before Joel as well as the minimal trade return for, well... .everyone.

And yet when I read that list, I can't say choosing Simmons over Butler and choosing Fultz over Tatum was actually dumb at the time (though the trade was). And Tobias only got that contract because of his age and the Bird rights; there weren't really other options (besides Jimmy of course but point 1 more salient there).

As with all the Philadelphia teams it starts above the front office. The Eagles have a good owner. The Phillies owner started to figure it out. The other two teams not so much. With the Colangelo thing being the hugest failing of all, since that was all ownership (whether they wanted the move or kowtowed to the NBA).

The huge flop today made it feel like they were just as devastated and dysfunctional as any of the other years, even though I don't think they were.

And I'm afraid it always comes back to Joel too. Was he hindered by injury? Probably. But that's always gonna be the case. And they never seem to have quite the right offense and players around him. He was the MVP but he was not as his best. Harden's a HOF but it's not 2019. And just as Harris has never truly been the third start Maxey not quite ready to be the second one (but god knows he was at times).

So... Monty Williams? Cut Harden loose (he can also cut himself loose)?

[xogfog]

Now the question is how much are they going to blow this up. Harden is hard to get a read on, he had two epic games two okay games and two bad games. Harris is at a point in his contract that he might be movable. The bench was better than last year, but obviously not championship worthy. I think Doc could be gone, but if they really blow it up and Harden and Harris are gone, they better end up with a legitimate third star to go along with Embiid and Maxey.

[zambonir]

The fashionable rumor du jour is already both Monty Williams and Chris Paul. Would be fine with the former, dunno about the latter.

Surely Harden is going to opt out regardless, and if so there is no way the Sixers give him a Bird rights/max deal. And the smoke about him wanting to go back to Houston is just too thick.

Morey is obviously not going anywhere just yet, so yeah, he'll have to deal again. He might be able to wait to move Harris until later in the season though. You're certainly not going to get much for him, his value is the expiring contract more than this play (I mean, he's fine, but what team that could use him is going to give you back a better player unless it's because that player has a longer $$$ window).

Marcus Hayes (reliably bomb-throwing) did echo bkeich's notion that Joel might be ready to move on (and play for the Heat). But I don't really see it. He's not going to play that card, and the Sixers would actually be heading into a rebuild (if not a Process) should they do that. The city would probably let Joel go (and then hate him) but would never let the Sixers trade Joel.