They have to be working hardcore behind the scenes to lure Klay, right? Obviously you shoot your shot with Lebron and PG this offseason but man Klay just fits what they need so perfectly.
Cheesesteaks vs. Chowdah Part I - The Sixers/Celtics Series Thread
- Thread starter BigSoxFan
- Start date
Simmons will be better.
They have the fifth most cap room this off-season. They will get a max FA.
Yeah, I agree with this. It's hard to be down on the Sixers, unfortunately. They probably under achieved in the playoffs and over achieved a bit in the regular season. They're built to last.
Yeah you got LeBron and PG this year and potentially Kawhi or Klay the year after.
I'm not sure either of the later too leave, but warriors do have limits to payroll and who knows with kawhi
76ers have:
1. tons of cap flexibility to move/receive players
2. cap room to sign a max free agent
3. several good to great youngsters in Simmons, Embiid, Saric.
4. a good chance at a lottery pick in a deep draft.
5. overseas stash in Bolden.
6. Fultz, who they could package in a deal for something very useful.
If Paul George or Lebron walk through that door they will be Eastern favorites.
Celtics could lose Marcus Smart or trade Rozier to try to maximize value (either/or will hurt).
Last edited:
Good series and hope to see the Sixers again next year. I learned that I love Saric and I learned that Embid is a twat. Or in 2018 SoSH lingo, a dick. If I'm the Sixers, I figure out a way to bring Redick back and I also find more playing time for Justin Anderson. If Brad had him, he'd be getting fairly regular use. He's a tough kid.
Buck is have best player. Buck is win. NO. Sixer is have best player. Sixer is win. NO. Calf is have best player. Calf is win. NO.
1. Easier said than done landing Max FA
2. You made the same point twice
3. True.
4. Late lottery. Fine.
5. Who?
6. No they can’t.
Bonus
No they won’t walk through that door
Cs won’t lose either of those assets for nothing.
Cs have
1. Kyrie Irving returning
2 Gordon Hayward returning
3. Better coach
4. Better GM
5. Good young players
6. Chance at a high lottery and mid lottery pick next year
Adv: Boston
Sixers shot better from the field, FT line and 3pt line tonight. They also outrebounded the Celtics by 9 boards.
The difference in this series was Brad vs. Brown
The difference in this series was Brad vs. Brown
They will not be Eastern favorites with Paul George, sorry, especially with Redick leaving. Only LeBron makes them favorites. Even then, dude has to slow down at some point...right?
Is Brad switching teams or something?
Agree that the Celtics have the advantage and ALL of your Celtic points.
As far as the Sixers, I was answering the question "if a Sixer fan should be optimistic".
and here is my rebuttal
1. only 5-6 teams have max cap space. None of them are as good as Phila
2. having the ability to make trades because the Sixers are not locked into many bad contracts is not the same as having the flexibility to sign a max contract
3. yep
4. it could be a 1 or
5. Jonah Bolden. Drafted last year. Played in Israel this year, a 4 that can shoot. A potential cheap rotation player
6. I don't trust Fultz but there are plenty of rebuilding teams that would offer a lot in return to see if Fultz pops.
Last edited:
Isn’t it 1 or 10-13? They’re at 10 now. Lotto is for picks 1-3 so they can only move up to 1 or down from 10 if the teams currently behind them move up.
I was calling for Anderson more for sure esp over Balinelli.
Saric is so funny you can only hate him literally as you are playing him. He's goofy, competitve, fun, smart and does a bit of everything, he's a Swiss army knife.
One thing for the whatever the sixers suck crowd, the team had multiple people have a bad series. If that's all you have seen of them then yup. I understand.
Covington is a streaky shooter who was awful and his defense was bad. By every metric he was excellent all year. Asking him to cover Rozier was pretty unfair.
Simmons played some of the best defense for a rookie ever all year. He was not good this series, I don't know why. For example Lowe had his all defense I think third team.
If you are saying Simmons can't play defense then you only watched this series, understandable but wrong.
Sixers are behind now of course.
All but the first game we're close and could easily have gone either way.
I don't see any Chowdah there? Did Mike Babcock not leave any for Brett?
"I tell you the truth, one of you will betray my asset accumulation"
Whoever called series in 5, that was right on the money.
Holy shit, my night is now 100x better.
"I tell you the truth, one of you will betray my asset accumulation"
There are only 2 All Defensive teams, not 3. Zach Lowe did not vote Simmons on either of them. He did vote Covington and Embiid on 2nd team tho.
Simmons got 1 All D team vote - 2nd team - from Paul Flannery (SB Nation). There may be other votes for Simmons, but they aren't all public yet, so we won't know for sure until June.
I am with reggie. For a five game series, that felt like a war.
Nothing but respect for Embiid, Simmons and Saric in particular. Brown had his ups and downs this series too. However he has a lot of inexperience to work with (again, including this season, Embiid played in just over a the equivalent of a full NBA season given his injuries. And his first three seasons as a pro were for a franchise that was openly tanking). Assuming everyone stays healthy, Simmons improves his shooting and they can add a piece or two, they are going to be a tough out for years to come. And if Fultz bounces back...
Again, as with reggie, glad that is over with...
Nothing but respect for Embiid, Simmons and Saric in particular. Brown had his ups and downs this series too. However he has a lot of inexperience to work with (again, including this season, Embiid played in just over a the equivalent of a full NBA season given his injuries. And his first three seasons as a pro were for a franchise that was openly tanking). Assuming everyone stays healthy, Simmons improves his shooting and they can add a piece or two, they are going to be a tough out for years to come. And if Fultz bounces back...
Again, as with reggie, glad that is over with...
That was exhausting. Exhilarating, but exhausting.
I can't imagine the 6ers are not going to learn from the lack of veteran leadership thing, and it's hard not to see what that shit can mean for a team...
I really want them to take down Thanos.
I can't imagine the 6ers are not going to learn from the lack of veteran leadership thing, and it's hard not to see what that shit can mean for a team...
I really want them to take down Thanos.
But they didn't shoot enough 3s for the pct to matter. (That was stevens's plan, so maybe that goes to your point).
It sure appeared like Embiid walked off the court and straight to the locker room as time expired. Usually that doesn’t bother me as NBA teams seem to do that often at the end of a series. However, if the rest of your team stays out to shake hands you better too.
More importantly, if you’re going to act like a jackass the entire series shoving people around and flapping your gums like an idiot, you better have the balls to man up and shake hands with the other team when you lose. Pretty gutless move by someone who acted like a punk the entire series.
More importantly, if you’re going to act like a jackass the entire series shoving people around and flapping your gums like an idiot, you better have the balls to man up and shake hands with the other team when you lose. Pretty gutless move by someone who acted like a punk the entire series.
Wow, that is quite the overreaction. They have the trifecta: young but inexperienced talent, loads of cap room, at least one more high pick coming. I'm still a beliver in Fultz, though without his shot developing he's not a long term answer next to Simmons. We haven't seen the best that Simmons and Embiid have to offer. This team has as bright a future as any team in the east except, maybe, Boston.
This year they relied heavily on one-dimensional players like Reddick and Belinelli, and Boston exploited that.
Last edited:
End of the day, Embiid is a front runner in the Dwight Howard mold. He’s a much better offensive player than Howard ever was but nowhere near as good on defense, which is something he needs to work on. Much of his behavior this series stemmed from immaturity. He’s going to need to grow up fast for the Sixers to reach their potential. Simmons seems to “get it”. Embiid is still a clown. Will be interesting to see how much he dedicated himself this summer.
Philly has a TON of reasons to be super optimistic about the future. I bet they keep Redick, but even if they don't, they'll land another shooter. This playoff run is great experience for their young guys (Embiid is still young, even at 24. He's just not Tatum young.). And if Fultz can ever put it together, that's a huge piece they'd be adding.
But let's not forget that this playoff run has been great for the Celtics' young guys too. Tatum is an actual rookie. Brown is in his second year. Rozier his third. Smart is only ten days older than Embiid.
Moreover, Boston is returning two legitimate all-stars next year in Irving and Hayward. They've made it to the ECF without their two best players. In a star-driven league, that's incredible. I've said this before but it bears repeating. Their starting lineup next year of Irving-Brown-Tatum-Hayward-Horford will essentially feature five all-stars. The only reason all five won't make the all-star team is because their individual stats will look worse than other guys' because all five of them have only one ball to go around. They can't all average 20 points and 5 assists. Just not possible. So other guys on other teams will make the all-star team but make no mistake, all five of these guys will basically be all-star players.
Holy crap these two teams are going to kill each other for years and it's going to be absolutely amazing.
But let's not forget that this playoff run has been great for the Celtics' young guys too. Tatum is an actual rookie. Brown is in his second year. Rozier his third. Smart is only ten days older than Embiid.
Moreover, Boston is returning two legitimate all-stars next year in Irving and Hayward. They've made it to the ECF without their two best players. In a star-driven league, that's incredible. I've said this before but it bears repeating. Their starting lineup next year of Irving-Brown-Tatum-Hayward-Horford will essentially feature five all-stars. The only reason all five won't make the all-star team is because their individual stats will look worse than other guys' because all five of them have only one ball to go around. They can't all average 20 points and 5 assists. Just not possible. So other guys on other teams will make the all-star team but make no mistake, all five of these guys will basically be all-star players.
Holy crap these two teams are going to kill each other for years and it's going to be absolutely amazing.
By the way, the key guy for the Celtics whose contributions mostly flew under the radar is Mr. All of Australia himself, Aron Baynes. His play at both ends was a major reason why the Celtics were able to contain Embiid.
Defensively, he made Embiid at least have to work for what he got, and on the whole Embiid's post up game, which the Sixers went to a lot, was extremely inefficient.
Offensively, Baynes shot 9-19 from three in the playoffs, most of that coming against Philly, and in so doing pulled Embiid out of the paint a bit. He came into this postseason as a career 14% 3-point shooter. His crashing of the rim for easy putbacks was also a key part of the Celtics offense in game 5.
Defensively, he made Embiid at least have to work for what he got, and on the whole Embiid's post up game, which the Sixers went to a lot, was extremely inefficient.
Offensively, Baynes shot 9-19 from three in the playoffs, most of that coming against Philly, and in so doing pulled Embiid out of the paint a bit. He came into this postseason as a career 14% 3-point shooter. His crashing of the rim for easy putbacks was also a key part of the Celtics offense in game 5.
I’ve said this elsewhere and I know @London Sox says he’s better than this but Simmons didn’t do anything this series that Marcus Smart didn’t do better. His defense was poor. His vision and passing was unexceptional. And he was afraid to shoot anything unless he was right at the rim.
Perhaps I’m spoiled by Tatum but I didn’t come away from that series thinking “Boy, the Celtics really took away Simmons’ game.” I thought, “Wait, what *is* Simmons’ game?” At least with Brown in last year’s playoffs, you saw him flash some elite D and some athleticism you knew he could build on. And while Embiid may have his flaws right now—conditioning, maturity, defensive consistency—all of that is obviously going to improve with age.
With Simmons—who admittedly had a great regular season—I came away wondering what he *doesn’t* need to work on – and what exactly he is going to build on. Athleticism alone isn’t going to cut it.
Perhaps I’m spoiled by Tatum but I didn’t come away from that series thinking “Boy, the Celtics really took away Simmons’ game.” I thought, “Wait, what *is* Simmons’ game?” At least with Brown in last year’s playoffs, you saw him flash some elite D and some athleticism you knew he could build on. And while Embiid may have his flaws right now—conditioning, maturity, defensive consistency—all of that is obviously going to improve with age.
With Simmons—who admittedly had a great regular season—I came away wondering what he *doesn’t* need to work on – and what exactly he is going to build on. Athleticism alone isn’t going to cut it.
Agreed with all of this.
Hard played series. A lot of adjustments on both sides. At times, Brown looked like he was outcoached by Stevens, but that's not a cardinal sin. Stevens is fantastic. But I thought that Brown did a damn good job adjusting, and his team clawed and scraped like a team with their backs against the wall. Ultimately, they were outexecuted by a smart and tough group of players and just barely at that. Every game could have gone the other way with a little ball luck.
If Philly were a stock, I'd be buying now.
From the Celtics POV, I didn't expect this young group to hold up. I thought that the superior talent of Simmons and Embiid and Philly's cadre of quality role players were going to wear them down. Even last night, I kept expecting one of those runs where Simmons was dealing and Reddick, Saric, Covington, et al. take the team from -2 to +15 with a 2-minute assault from deep. It just never really materialized.
This series was very reminiscient of the early 80s battles. Edge of the seat for 48 minutes. Great shit.
The Sixers are where we were a year ago — a great regular season, got exposed in the playoffs, and now need to decide whether to build on what they’ve got or make big moves.
If LeBron signs with Philly, I think Simmons gets traded, so next year’s Sixers could look completely different.
If LeBron signs with Philly, I think Simmons gets traded, so next year’s Sixers could look completely different.
Great post DD. That +/- passes the eye test. Except for MaMo, who I thought played pretty pedestrian, but maybe I'm underestimating his defense on Simmons.
Obviously, the Celtics switch/rotate quite a bit, but I expect Horford, MaMo and Semi to be the main defenders on Lebron (Simmons/Greek Freak package). If we see a Love, Lebron, Korver starting front line, we may see Brad go match up and replace Baynes in the starting lineup with MaMo (or even Semi again). Then match up Baynes on Tristen Thompson off the bench.
Last edited:
I didn't say he can't. It looked like it wasn't important to him. Defense is hard, unsexy work . One of Stevens' many attributes is his ability to get guys to focus on defense. Tatum gets scolded by his coaches/teammates more than just about anyone on the Celtics because his defensive focus drifts sometimes. It seems odd that Simmons would pick this series to tone down his defensive intensity. I suppose it could have been exhaustion.
I found this to be pretty incredible. For those on the app, Baynes made more threes in this series (7) than either Covington (6) or Belinelli (5).
Covington was absolutely pathetic this series. That whole “Tatum vs. Covington” stuff from earlier this year didn’t age well at all. Covington’s numbers:
6.8 / 5.0 / 1.6
27% from field. 25% from downtown.
Was very good in Game 2 and just awful in the rest.
One thing about Stevens - it's incredibly hard to play all-out on both defense and offense for 40 minutes. I think one of the reasons Stevens limits the minutes of his starters to get them in the habit of playing both sides of the ball for the entire game.
Seeing this shot chart, not only can't Simmons shoot from outside the paint, it looks like he can't do much from his left side of the basket.
I'm not the first one to say this but Simmons has always gotten by being more talented and physically more gifted than anyone else in the gym. He's going to have to put in long work in rebuilding his jump shot (maybe Fultz can help him with that - ***ducks***) but if he does, he'll be a contender for the best player in the world.
Lucky for Cs he didn't do that while he was out rehabbing his foot.
It cannot be stressed enough how bad the Sixers were after Embiid checked back into the game in the second half. They went seven consecutive possessions without scoring. Embiid repeatedly did not get back in transition. He several times forced shots with wide open teammates, including that awful brick three (Covington was wide open in the corner hands in their, calling for the ball), and generally, the offense went from the ball whipping around to complete stagnation (Embiid took three shots in a row outside the lane). They have to decide what kind of offense they're going to run going forward and his role in it.
I think that's one reason Baynes was out for the first 10 minutes of the 4th Q. He played more minutes than he did last night fewer than 10 times during the season. (i would have preferred him back in a minute or two sooner, but it worked out).
Philly has super talent, but in this series Simmons didn't seem to have a position on offense or defense. Embiid is, in fact, a total front-runner and his macho demeanor is a total fraud and I am going to hate him for years but I'm not sure why anyone in Philadelphia should particularly care; he was really good and will keep getting better just doing what he's doing(though the threes were a bit overdone.) They looked like a team figuring it out and a player away, and obviously that raises the questions 1) can Brown figure it out and 2) who is that player?
Covington's huge suck balanced Morris' huge suck. I am hoping a healthy Hayward can take away the Morris time for next year's go-round.
Covington's huge suck balanced Morris' huge suck. I am hoping a healthy Hayward can take away the Morris time for next year's go-round.
Baynes made more than twice as many threes in this series than he did-TOTAL- in 81 regular season games.
I was down on Brown and the whole Sixers team early in the series, but it seemed they developed more mental toughness as the series went on. Which is, I suppose, the whole point of getting playoff experience.
I would not have wanted to play this same Sixers team in a hypothetical series starting next week: the players are more resilient now, and Brown got more comfortable with adjustments.
I thought Baynes was an unsung hero in the series, somewhat neutralzing the one real mismatch that wasn't going away. He made Embiid work his ass off in the paint and I think wore him down. A lesser big man might have been -80 instead of -40.
Agreed. Taking those first two games was huge.
I think that Brown did a decent job with adjustments. Hard to know what's going to work sometimes. But he wasn't scared to mix things up once he saw what WASN'T working. And you can't gameplan for Covington shooting like evil Smart or Baynes becoming a legit corner three guy. Given his players, I thought that he did fine. Stevens just did better.