Embiid’s tears are delicious.tears from Joel. Someone needs a Cryin' Jordan side-by-side.
Embiid’s tears are delicious.tears from Joel. Someone needs a Cryin' Jordan side-by-side.
I’d be surprised if Harris stays. He never seemed like he fit in Philly. I think Butler stays.After a brutal ending like this with something conceivably to prove the next year, does this make Butler and Harris more likely to stay in Philly?
Perfect example of why Danny won’t hesitate on AD. It’s become near impossible to legit compete for a title without a top 6-8 player on your roster. Just get him and take your shot.We certainly weren’t envisioning Kyrie throwing a giant grenade into the process, that’s for sure. But, man, Kawhi was there for the taking unless the Spurs wanted a more experienced guy in DD.
Embiid is an elite post player. This sort of analysis belongs with the "good face" approach to evaluating baseball players imho. Toronto did a good job on him down lowStop with the sickness. Get in the post and score.
Yeah, Harris is going to get paid by someone. With all the other Sixers commitments he can’t be a priority.I’d be surprised if Harris stays. He never seemed like he fit in Philly. I think Butler stays.
Even if they did a good job on him, he has to post up even if just to draw a double and get a mismatch somewhere else. Why would they just abandon him down there? It made no sense.Embiid is an elite post player. This sort of analysis belongs with the "good face" approach to evaluating baseball players imho. Toronto did a good job on him down low
Lowe reported that Jaylen would have likely done it.Like, seriously, I need to know the cost of getting Kawhi last summer. Tatum? Jaylen?
We’ll never know.
There was little time, so they were effectively doubling Kawhi to give him no room to drive, and make sure the shot was contested either direction that Kawhi went. Embiid got a great contest. It was good coaching, good execution, and a better shot.I'm no basketball tactics expert, but help me out on this one -- Simmons was covering Kawhi when he received the ball on the final play, was moving his feet well, and seemed to be in proper position when Leonard turned up court to head to the corner for his shot. It appeared to me that Embiid stepped in Simmons way to take over the coverage on Leonard, and in the switch Kawhi gained a little daylight.
Was Embiid supposed to pick up Kawhi, taking over from Simmons, or was that hero ball?
To clarify, I don't doubt that the radio/takes crowd will single out Embiid's low scoring total and struggles in the paint as proof of some flaw with the guy. You are right about that. But the guy was Philly's leading scorer which kind of exposes the real story of this series and the 76ers falling short -they have limited shooting. Toronto exploited this by focusing on Embiid and the better shooters and forcing Philly into what they do poorly. Both teams struggled from the floor tonight but Toronto can get away with it because they are an elite defensive team whereas the 6ers are middle of the road.Even if they did a good job on him, he has to post up even if just to draw a double and get a mismatch somewhere else. Why would they just abandon him down there? It made no sense.
Thanks very muchThere was little time, so they were effectively doubling Kawhi to give him no room to drive, and make sure the shot was contested either direction that Kawhi went. Embiid got a great contest. It was good coaching, good execution, and a better shot.
Siakam was listed as Doubtful for G4 with his calf injury and likely wouldn’t even be playing in these games if it were the regular season. He’s clearly not 100%.very disappointed in Siakam's disappearance for the most part, glad he will get another series.
Tobias Harris may be a good offensive weapon, but you leave yourself vulnerable in exactly that way. Their starting 5 didn't need more offense, it needed someone to do the little things.16 OREB in one game? sheesh
I thought he looked good again in the previous game, but maybe you're right.Siakam was listed as Doubtful for G4 with his calf injury and likely wouldn’t even be playing in these games if it were the regular season. He’s clearly not 100%.
Damn that shot is all kinds of brilliant.I mean, this is why we follow sports, so so good:
Firing him seems bad—management didn’t give him nearly enough to work with in terms of bench and shooting. I thought he did quite a good job in terms of adjustments, and his only big failure was not having the team mentally jacked up to play game 5.I thought Embiid got away with murder with those officials. There was one play near the end of the game where he absolutely decked Lowry and got the blocking call. I thought it was close to a flagrant 1 on Embiid.
So, does Brett Brown get fired after that kind of game 7 loss?
Firing a coach following a G7 4-rim bounce buzzer beater would be such a SoSH thing to do though. LolFiring him seems bad—management didn’t give him nearly enough to work with in terms of bench and shooting. I thought he did quite a good job in terms of adjustments, and his only big failure was not having the team mentally jacked up to play game 5.
Doesn't he deserve some blame, though, for the two shot clock violations in a row followed by a bad pass with time waning on the shot clock late in the 4th quarter?Firing a coach following a G7 4-rim bounce buzzer beater would be such a SoSH thing to do though. Lol
The ball is in the cylinder in that shot. His frown has a faster reaction time than eveyone’s cheers, It is cool though.I like Simmons' reaction. He knows.
I don't think they need him to get past POR without Nurkic and presumably Hood, I'll be surprised if that goes past 5, but they will need him in the Finals IMO.Kevin Durant is out for at least Game 1 of the WCF, source tells ESPN. He’s not being re-evaluated until Thursday so it’s “unlikely “ he plays Game 2 either.
I think this series will be closer than it seems without Durant as long as Lillard can make a comeback. Curry doesn't seem 100%, CJ is on fire and Portland has caused lots of regular-season problems for GS during their reign.I don't think they need him to get past POR without Nurkic and presumably Hood, I'll be surprised if that goes past 5, but they will need him in the Finals IMO.
Not to go down a V&N road, but I imagine Canada is far more US-aligned than Turkey-aligned. Also, didn’t Kanter play road games against the Raps the past couple years?Wonder what would happen with Enes Kanter if Portland played Toronto in the Finals. Would he just not go to Toronto for fear of being deported?
They also played in the playoffs in 2016 and 2017 and the Warriors were 8-1 across those series. Granted, the Warriors had Durant in 2017, but in 2016 they didn't, and Curry even missed three of the games; the Warriors were 2-1 without Curry. Lillard and McCollum have probably improved since then, but I don't think Portland is nearly good enough defensively to beat the Warriors in a seven-game series. And a key guy like Kanter, who is third on the team in scoring and minutes during the playoffs, is basically unplayable against the Warriors.I think this series will be closer than it seems without Durant as long as Lillard can make a comeback. Curry doesn't seem 100%, CJ is on fire and Portland has caused lots of regular-season problems for GS during their reign.
Calves can be debilitating. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Warriors knew he was out until deep into The Finals or even for the year. It doesn’t benefit them to share any actual timeline for his return.I think they should sit Durant unless they get down 3-1
I'm interested in the Kanter aspect: the non-KD Warriors have places for Portland to hide him on defense for 10-20 minutes a night, and he is the post scoring threat against switches that Houston lacked. He's less playable than against OKC, but there are some spots to get him in I think.They also played in the playoffs in 2016 and 2017 and the Warriors were 8-1 across those series. Granted, the Warriors had Durant in 2017, but in 2016 they didn't, and Curry even missed three of the games; the Warriors were 2-1 without Curry. Lillard and McCollum have probably improved since then, but I don't think Portland is nearly good enough defensively to beat the Warriors in a seven-game series. And a key guy like Kanter, who is third on the team in scoring and minutes during the playoffs, is basically unplayable against the Warriors.
Depends on the severity. Interestingly, the last time these two teams met in the playoffs, KD missed all of Game 2 and Game 3 and played only 20 minutes in Game 4 due to ... wait for it ... a strained calf. Young Patrick McCaw started in his stead, and the Warriors swept the series easily. Both teams have changed a fair bit in two years, so I'm not drawing any conclusions or making any predictions — just noting that calf strains can be mild, and the fact that KD has dealt with them before gives reason for optimism (for KD/Warrior fans). Fwiw, GS beat writer Connor Letourneau says they're optimistic he'll be back for Game 3. Fingers crossed.Calves can be debilitating.
He's been averaging 33 minutes/game in the playoffs so far. The last time he played the Warriors in the playoffs (2016 when he was on OKC), he played 12.2 minutes/game and became increasingly unplayable as the series went on (17 mgp over the first 3 games, 8.6 mpg over the final 4 games).I'm interested in the Kanter aspect: the non-KD Warriors have places for Portland to hide him on defense for 10-20 minutes a night, and he is the post scoring threat against switches that Houston lacked. He's less playable than against OKC, but there are some spots to get him in I think.