Game 45: Sixers @ Trailblazers 1/29 @ 10 pm ET Thread

[brannigan73]

I was at the gym on the treadmill and ESPN was on the monitor in front of me and I was looking at the crawl going by on the bottom of the screen and it had the Sixers as a -9.5 favorite in this game so I just assumed Maxey had to be playing for that to be the case. Was that a bogus line or something? What they rolled out there tonight probably would win 10 games for a full 82 games season. They have another loss coming tommorrow night unless Maxey and Embiid both somehow play. It really doesnt matter anyway these losses this team needs real upgrades to compete for a title and if they don't make them at the deadline it doesnt matter whether they finish 3rd or 5th they arent beating the Celtics or Bucks with this current roster anyway. So either they make some good trades at the deadline or it doesnt matter anyway in terms of going any further then we normally do.

[Decipher]

I was at the gym on the treadmill and ESPN was on the monitor in front of me and I was looking at the crawl going by on the bottom of the screen and it had the Sixers as a -9.5 favorite in this game so I just assumed Maxey had to be playing for that to be the case. Was that a bogus line or something? What they rolled out there tonight probably would win 10 games for a full 82 games season. They have another loss coming tommorrow night unless Maxey and Embiid both somehow play. It really doesnt matter anyway these losses this team needs real upgrades to compete for a title and if they don't make them at the deadline it doesnt matter whether they finish 3rd or 5th they arent beating the Celtics or Bucks with this current roster anyway. So either they make some good trades at the deadline or it doesnt matter anyway in terms of going any further then we normally do.

I started watching the game on ESPN in my gym and turned it off because both teams were poor

Harris apparently had the flu and all I can say is that I hope he did because jeez he was ordinary

Anyway on to the next one

[Jhawk03]

1st round elimination. Book it! Unless the most overrated GM in sports makes significant moves in the next 9 days. Don't hold your breath.

I've seen this pattern before... losing games like this consecutively being shorthanded on the cusp of the deadline, so I'm holding my breath.

Now if I didn't know any better, I'd be in line with you.

[M2J]

1st round elimination. Book it! Unless the most overrated GM in sports makes significant moves in the next 9 days. Don't hold your breath.

I've seen this pattern before... losing games like this consecutively being shorthanded on the cusp of the deadline, so I'm holding my breath.

Now if I didn't know any better, I'd be in line with you.

2nd round fodder

[Ben]

1st round elimination. Book it! Unless the most overrated GM in sports makes significant moves in the next 9 days. Don't hold your breath.

I've seen this pattern before... losing games like this consecutively being shorthanded on the cusp of the deadline, so I'm holding my breath.

Now if I didn't know any better, I'd be in line with you.

2nd round fodder

Yeah, it feels a little like the Eagles toward the end of this season, when the real division among my friends/ relatives was between the pessimists, who said that the Birds wouldn't win a single playoff game, and the optimists, who said that, come on, no matter how bad they've been lately they have to be able to beat one mediocre team before losing in the second round.

Always a bummer when pessimism = realism.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

Crappy loss, at this point just sit them into the all star break. We're top five lotto without Embiid. The difference between this year and last year is that we could win games without Embiid as long as Harden was playing. I don't miss Harden in the slightest, but I miss having a bona-fide point guard on this team. Guys like Harden, and Chris Paul (back in his day), you could put four GLeague players around them and they'd find a way to keep you in games by getting guys to play hard and keeping things flowing on offense. Will Tyrese Maxey get to that level? He hasn't just yet, but I'm not giving up on him getting there. How is it that we put a gladiator fight against Denver and then lay down to Portland like this? I just don't get it. The Hell with the scheduled loss crap, I'm tired of hearing that one. This team has a lot of issues that are going to unmask themselves as the season progresses.

We all knew going into the season that this was going to be a year that we potentially took a step backwards so I can't get too mad about things like this. Making a panic trade is the last thing we need to do at the deadline. I think if anything we make a smaller trade for a player that can potentially fit with us next season as well and let the rest of this play out.

I would also think, and look long and hard at draft night deals. People keep saying this is a crappy draft, but I disagree. There are some NBA players in this draft, especially at the guard position that we should try to add. Youth should be the goal here. I would do everything I could to be in a position to draft a few of these guys come June. Dalton Knecht, Cody Williams, Ja'Kobe Walter, Isaiah Collier, Kevin McCullar, Carlton Carrington...These are all names we should be looking at for youth moves. I'm just not in favor of adding overpaid veterans that are no longer hungry to prove themselves in this league. Zach LaVine is so depressing. Like I said, if Morey makes a smaller move that can bolster our depth, I'm all for it, but stay the hell away from these other fools like LaVine, and Dejounte Murray.

[rzzzzz]

Crappy loss, at this point just sit them into the all star break. We're top five lotto without Embiid. The difference between this year and last year is that we could win games without Embiid as long as Harden was playing. I don't miss Harden in the slightest, but I miss having a bona-fide point guard on this team. Guys like Harden, and Chris Paul (back in his day), you could put four GLeague players around them and they'd find a way to keep you in games by getting guys to play hard and keeping things flowing on offense.

Pretty wild how much of a floor general Harden has turned into for the Clippers. Plus I got to wonder at how big a contract he’s expecting with those other elder all-stars also looking for one last payday. Ironic that his biggest fan, Morey, chose not to even negotiate, especially considering how much he paid to get him. (Yeah, everybody knew Simmons was a head case, but when was the last time our crack medical staff was sharp enough to predict something like just how fragile Ben’s back would prove to be?) Yeah, I mean grateful as Maxey is for the amount of support Harden apparently gave him, he probably needed the chance to own the rock as much as he has this year to develop, and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t eventually return back to early season form. And there are still some really solid support players to be had before the trade deadline. I hate to admit that I still can picture a healthy squad making noise in the playoffs. Though at this point, maybe I should know better.

[Negrodamus]

I think it'll take a herculean effort by Embiid/Maxey to be a contender this year, but I also don't think losing a game in Portland, where our best player is Tobias, is any more or less disheartening than how I felt about this team before this losing streak. I also don't think we're going to make any kind of move that involves first round picks before the deadline. We might just roll with this team since there's nothing to be done that will elevate us to contender.

I think Morey is fully banking on a lot of angry superstars becoming available after the season.

[76ciology]

This season has been the least enjoyable for me so far. I haven’t watched so few Sixers games in over 10 years.

[Stanford]

You guys are such pathetic little toads. They lost a road game without Embiid and Maxey. Big deal.

[Negrodamus]

This season has been the least enjoyable for me so far. I haven’t watched so few Sixers games in over 10 years.

On one hand, it's kinda fun to watch the Embiid/Maxey duo without the distraction of Harden/Simmons dynamic. On the other hand, there's basically nothing interesting about the entire rest of the team with Springer laying an egg and everyone else being old.

[Bum Adebayo]

We all knew going into the season that this was going to be a year that we potentially took a step backwards

In which year did it look like we took a step forward? that's the issue here, it never seems to be our year.

[Bum Adebayo]

You guys are such pathetic little toads. They lost a road game without Embiid and Maxey. Big deal.

It's not about this game, it's the cumulative effect of seeing how this team, if we're lucky, is 2nd round fodder again. And I say lucky because there is a decent chance we can even go out in 1st round this .

[Lou_23]

When you see games like this, you can see how fortunate we are for have Embiid in our team. The goat.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

We all knew going into the season that this was going to be a year that we potentially took a step backwards

In which year did it look like we took a step forward? that's the issue here, it never seems to be our year.

We took a step back this year from last year. We don't have James Harden to lean on. The keys have been handed to Maxey. Maxey is a great player, he's getting better, but he's not the floor general that James Harden is. I personally wanted us to move on from James Harden. I thought it was better long term and I still feel that way. I thought that moving on from him would mean Maxey becoming the lead guard and this year becoming a developmental year for him so to speak (as a lead guard). It was clearly obvious that we were not "going for it" this year during the offseason. We weren't players in any kind of free agency additions and we didn't work the trade market either. We didn't even participate in the draft. We signed Beverly, Bamba, and Ourbre to minimum contracts. All three have been very valuable signings based on what we signed them for. The goal this offseason and into this season was to clean up the remaining mess that Elton Brand had created. Tobias is the very last of that mess left to be purged.

Morey's plan (AGAIN) was CLEARLY to field a competitive playoff team while cleaning up the cap issues created by Brand and appeasing Harden by getting him out of here all at the same time. I'm explaining all of this again to you because you seem to be missing the relation to reality here while your think noodle simmers incessantly in bioelectric broth.

Now, what has happened is we have lost James Harden and essentially replaced him with Nic Batum who is 34 years old and is playing on his dying, aching legs. Robert Covington has pulled a Jimmy Hoffa on us, KJ Martin looks like 12th man material (despite my excitement about him), and Marcus Morris is simply a body to put out there that can once in a while hit a mid range jump shot and that's all. That is the return we got for James Harden. Both teams won the trade, but we lost it in the short term. We got even older and less athletic after trading Harden (as if that was possible) and we have no youth on this roster that gives any kind of hope outside of Terquavion Smith and Ricky Council (both whom were undrafted). Jaden Springer has laid an egg for us in the middle of all of this. If this isn't a transitional season, I don't know what is. The amazing thing about all of this is that we're still a top three team in the eastern conference right now!

I'm pretty sure the plan is to wait this out while still making the playoffs in hopes that we catch lightening in a bottle with Joel Embiid staying healthy for a postseason run. The team is having fun this year and so am I as a fan. Sometimes that's all you can ask for. Maybe we make a smaller trade that pays off for us. If I were Morey, I would look at guys that I could trade for that wont destroy our cap flexibility, wont cost us all of our future 1st's, and are young enough to stick around for the next 3-4 years while this all plays out.

As for you, your main objective seems to constantly bash Joel Embiid along with crying about the team. You troll and troll and troll over and over again. If you're so miserable as a fan of this team then why on Earth are you here? Again...If you're so miserable following this team, then why do you continue to do it? I'd love for you to answer that question. Dig deep, you can do it.

[M2J]

I think it'll take a herculean effort by Embiid/Maxey to be a contender this year, but I also don't think losing a game in Portland, where our best player is Tobias, is any more or less disheartening than how I felt about this team before this losing streak. I also don't think we're going to make any kind of move that involves first round picks before the deadline. We might just roll with this team since there's nothing to be done that will elevate us to contender.

I think Morey is fully banking on a lot of angry superstars becoming available after the season.

Joel may become one of those stars asking to leave if Morey doesn't stop with this bull crap offseason plan. A B level star could make this team truly elite right now with depth. Maxey is legit and gives them a shot, my issue is not a referendum on Maxey... He's becoming an elite guard. My issue is Harden being taken off this team, and the team maybe being okay with replacing him with Oubre and Batum and stashing picks. Can't compare this team without Joel and last year's.... Harden had Maxey and Tobi. Maxey has Tobias and Oubre

WHEN this team crashes out of the playoffs they're likely to go after a star in the summer. Sure, but could likely lose Batum, Oubre, Harris, Melton and severely lack depth the way Phoenix does. Worse than the Bucks. Either your believe in your 2 all stars and depth or you don't.

I was supportive of an off season plan if Harden didn't get traded or they barely got anything. Maxey is even better than I thought in this system, and had 3 years of high level playoff experience. I was also supportive of it if no one that could help became available.... There are cheap (draft capital wise) stars available and they still may not? That's weird

[Ben]

Crappy loss, at this point just sit them into the all star break. We're top five lotto without Embiid. The difference between this year and last year is that we could win games without Embiid as long as Harden was playing. I don't miss Harden in the slightest, but I miss having a bona-fide point guard on this team. Guys like Harden, and Chris Paul (back in his day), you could put four GLeague players around them and they'd find a way to keep you in games by getting guys to play hard and keeping things flowing on offense.

Pretty wild how much of a floor general Harden has turned into for the Clippers. Plus I got to wonder at how big a contract he’s expecting with those other elder all-stars also looking for one last payday. Ironic that his biggest fan, Morey, chose not to even negotiate, especially considering how much he paid to get him. (Yeah, everybody knew Simmons was a head case, but when was the last time our crack medical staff was sharp enough to predict something like just how fragile Ben’s back would prove to be?) Yeah, I mean grateful as Maxey is for the amount of support Harden apparently gave him, he probably needed the chance to own the rock as much as he has this year to develop, and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t eventually return back to early season form. And there are still some really solid support players to be had before the trade deadline. I hate to admit that I still can picture a healthy squad making noise in the playoffs. Though at this point, maybe I should know better.

Although this wasn't the focus of your post, I do want to point out that Harden's been shooting out of his mind. Highest 3P% of his entire career, and 2nd-highest TS% of his entire career. Those seem very much like outliers given the kinds of numbers he put up in recent years even when surrounded by some talented offensive players. Pretty much all of his other stats and advanced stats are down from recent years. I don't mean that as a slight against Harden; he's having a great season for a 34 year old and he's been one of the TWO main differences for the Clippers this season, the other difference being that both George and Leonard have played in almost every game. So has Westbrook and so has Powell. That's a very unusual stretch of healthy games for almost all of their main players. For them to have any shot at a deep playoff run (IMO) they're gonna need for that very unusual stretch of good health to hold up throughout.

This sounds like sour grapes, I realize, but I still maintain that if the Clippers even think about giving Harden the long-term, max or near max contract he seems to have wanted from us, they're nuts.

[rzzzzz]

For them to have any shot at a deep playoff run (IMO) they're gonna need for that very unusual stretch of good health to hold up throughout.

Sounds familiar here. Except I kind of think the odds for their old roster getting through might be more favorable than our one prime unicorn.

[M2J]

I think it'll take a herculean effort by Embiid/Maxey to be a contender this year, but I also don't think losing a game in Portland, where our best player is Tobias, is any more or less disheartening than how I felt about this team before this losing streak. I also don't think we're going to make any kind of move that involves first round picks before the deadline. We might just roll with this team since there's nothing to be done that will elevate us to contender.

I think Morey is fully banking on a lot of angry superstars becoming available after the season.

Joel may become one of those stars asking to leave if Morey doesn't stop with this bull crap offseason plan. A B level star could make this team truly elite right now with depth. Maxey is legit and gives them a shot, my issue is not a referendum on Maxey... He's becoming an elite guard. My issue is Harden being taken off this team, and the team maybe being okay with replacing him with Oubre and Batum and stashing picks. Can't compare this team without Joel and last year's.... Harden had Maxey and Tobi. Maxey has Tobias and Oubre

WHEN this team crashes out of the playoffs they're likely to go after a star in the summer. Sure, but could likely lose Batum, Oubre, Harris, Melton and severely lack depth the way Phoenix does. Worse than the Bucks. Either your believe in your 2 all stars and depth or you don't.

I was supportive of an off season plan if Harden didn't get traded or they barely got anything. Maxey is even better than I thought in this system, and had 3 years of high level playoff experience. I was also supportive of it if no one that could help became available.... There are cheap (draft capital wise) stars available and they still may not? That's weird

I also forgot to mention that I would forever hold against Daryl's Philly record not jumping on this year's opportunity while Maxey is on a rookie contract. If things don't work out, you can get cheap again.

See how the Clippers made a star trade that allows them to stay deep when 3 max contracts? Philly is potentially punting that opportunity.

[Bum Adebayo]

As for you, your main objective seems to constantly bash Joel Embiid along with crying about the team. You troll and troll and troll over and over again. If you're so miserable as a fan of this team then why on Earth are you here? Again...If you're so miserable following this team, then why do you continue to do it? I'd love for you to answer that question. Dig deep, you can do it.

My main objective is to give opinions about how to fix this mess, always team first, players second, there is one constant for 7 straight years and it's Joel Embiid.
Sorry to say Regular Season sucks, back in the day it was more interesting, nowadays it's just 3pt spamming and no defense contest, yeah I could just leave the forum since playoffs, those are more interesting, but I like to just give my opinion about the team and how to fix it.