76ers 2023-24 Season Thread Part 3

[mjkvol]

Doesn't really matter much, if they need Batum to carry them again, they won't win nor would they deserve to.

Maybe not, but having some depth means that someone else might be the guy. But it's easier to just say "woe is us", I suppose. The "I told you so's" make losing all that much more worthwhile.

[Negrodamus]

Doesn't really matter much, if they need Batum to carry them again, they won't win nor would they deserve to.

Not asking him to carry us, but he can't be PJ Tucker out there.

Besides, it's not like we're playing the Celtics or Heat. Embiid usually cooks the Knicks. So I don't think he's going to be as lame as he was last night.

[FireMorey]

I don't expect Batum to be bad vs the Knicks, I just don't expect a repeat of what he was last night. I think he'll be generally fine. But expecting him to do what he did last night to that extreme, is asking a whole lot. They'll probably get games here or there where role players do well. Oubre will probably have a 23 point game. Hield may have a game where he hits 5 3's. But overall Maxey and Embiid need to carry them. I'm actually going to be more focused on Maxey than Embiid. Embiid doesn't look right, I'm not expecting him to be his usual 35ppg self. But Maxey has no excuse. If he plays like he did last night it's going to be really disappointing.

[Jailblazers7]

The point of playoff depth is to have solid floor, high ceiling role players. Batum won’t do that every game but we might get another Batum game, an Oubre game, a Buddy Hield game, etc.

I’d also expect much better play from Embiid & Maxey obviously.

[elchengue20]

Expecting Batum now to drop 15ppg or more is dumb.

Role players aren't supposed to do this anyway. But you need 3 or 4 of them that can do it sometimes when needed. It's good to know Batum has it. Also Buddy showed he can help. Oubre played great too. Lowry is a positive player too.

That's the bright side of last night, finally we have role players that can bring really good value if needed.

Now we need to get Embiid right and the 1/2 game with Maxey rolling. Also it's great that Biid cameback to life and made huge plays down the stretch. I'm hoping it's a sign that he's finally batling his demons and he's going to take a leap.

[ProcessDoctor]

Really wish Melton was available to wreak some havoc defensively. Lowry might not be able to keep up what he’s doing throughout the playoffs.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

Nobody is expecting Batum to all of a sudden become a third option on this team like he was last night. Nobody should be expecting him to become a focal point of the offense suddenly in his 16th NBA season. You do, however, need these types of performances out of your role players on a nightly basis in the playoffs. It was Batum last night, but Lowry, Hield, Reed can show up one night and do the same. Or... Nurse may pivot to Council in a flash and he does something for us. I think you can lump Kelly Oubre into that category as well. Oubre is going to win us a playoff game or two. He's also probably going to lose us one. Tobias? IDK man. He's really got to pull it together for his remaining time here with us. I hate seeing him go out like this. We need him.

The overall difference with this team this year is that we do have a nice collection of role players that can give you something collectively in a playoff setting. I hope we can see Melton back at some point for the postseason. He's such a valuable player when he's healthy for us. It's a shame he's been missing for so long.

[M2J]

Expecting Batum now to drop 15ppg or more is dumb.

Role players aren't supposed to do this anyway. But you need 3 or 4 of them that can do it sometimes when needed. It's good to know Batum has it. Also Buddy showed he can help. Oubre played great too. Lowry is a positive player too.

That's the bright side of last night, finally we have role players that can bring really good value if needed.

Now we need to get Embiid right and the 1/2 game with Maxey rolling. Also it's great that Biid cameback to life and made huge plays down the stretch. I'm hoping it's a sign that he's finally batling his demons and he's going to take a leap.

Nick Batum won't average 15. But listening to the talking heads cream over the idea that the Knicks are so much better, and utilizing the idea that Batum had to bail out the Sixers is not a smart thought process.

Mr. Morey added all of this terrific depth and created possibly the best roster in the association depth wise... To take advantage of these complex coverages that are attempted and have sent the Sixers home over the last decade. If your role players are doing their jobs, they either have big games by making open shots or the teams stop defending that way. Batum is a high percentage 3 point shooter, that was given open 3pt shots. He's typically a passive guy, and he was in the first half... But he did his job. Miami really stopped playing zone in the second half in large part because he was starting to hit shots, but they still loaded up on the stars. He wasn't exactly going one on one with Butler to get 20pts.... The heat gambled off him and lost

PJ Tucker would not.

Kelly Oubre or Tobi can't hit 5 threes, but they're capable of scoring against these coverages

Payne and Lowry and Hield can as well.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

Oh and I can't say enough about Embiid's performance in the 4th quarter last night. He really pulled it together and was a huge reason why we won that game. Rebounding, scoring, assists, defense...He saved his best for last in that game and I'm good with that. I can't wait to see how he does against New York. I have a feeling he's going to do well.

[M2J]

Oh and I can't say enough about Embiid's performance in the 4th quarter last night. He really pulled it together and was a huge reason why we won that game. Rebounding, scoring, assists, defense...He saved his best for last in that game and I'm good with that. I can't wait to see how he does against New York. I have a feeling he's going to do well.

No isos. Catch and shoot, rebound, make simple passes

[HardenToSixers]

I think Embiid played within himself well at points. The pass to Oubre was great. The and-1 was incredibly clutch. However I'm certainly not yet convinced he has taken the change of heart that we need to be able to perform consistently well down the stretch to close out games.

There were one or two possessions in the 1-2 mins left mark where he demanded the ball beyond the arc, bogged the offense down, and got left holding the ball with 8 seconds left on the clock. We can't have that happen and that has been what has plagued us each year.

He needs to take a step back and let the ballhandlers establish the offense in crunch time and let us get into a more efficient look. If we can draw up a look that lets him get the ball deeper in the post or at the elbow then great, but he can't try to go Kobe mode.

[the_process]

So, i said this thread should be about how we can convince Batum to not retire and play another season

You're going to have to significantly overpay him to keep him from retiring I think. Not sure that fits into the plans.

Running it back is not the best option here, either. I'm not saying Paul George is, but we saw this team all year long. We know they aren't real contenders.

[Jailblazers7]

I think we’re being a little harsh on Maxey too. He was absolutely critical to the post-chicken 3rd quarter run. We need better from him but he kept playing his game in the second half & help lead the comeback.

Overall, we showed a ton of fight & resilience which hasn’t been a Sixers hallmark for years. Hopefully that was a cathartic win for the team & they can play with a little more confidence in big games the rest of this run.

[Jailblazers7]

I think Embiid played within himself well at points. The pass to Oubre was great. The and-1 was incredibly clutch. However I'm certainly not yet convinced he has taken the change of heart that we need to be able to perform consistently well down the stretch to close out games.

There were one or two possessions in the 1-2 mins left mark where he demanded the ball beyond the arc, bogged the offense down, and got left holding the ball with 8 seconds left on the clock. We can't have that happen and that has been what has plagued us each year.

He needs to take a step back and let the ballhandlers establish the offense in crunch time and let us get into a more efficient look. If we can draw up a look that lets him get the ball deeper in the post or at the elbow then great, but he can't try to go Kobe mode.

I think Embiid’s problem, especially right now is conditioning. He’s too tired by the end of the games to fight for deep post position or set good screens. He does that post up at the 3 point line because it’s less physically taxing & it allows him to get back on defense easily.

[M2J]

So, i said this thread should be about how we can convince Batum to not retire and play another season

You're going to have to significantly overpay him to keep him from retiring I think. Not sure that fits into the plans.

Running it back is not the best option here, either. I'm not saying Paul George is, but we saw this team all year long. We know they aren't real contenders.

Run it back, add a center like Drummond. There isn't a free agent out there worth depleting the roster and having zero depth over.

They sucked without Joel because I've been telling you all that BBall sucked for years now. They couldn't defend the rim and rebounding was a terrible challenge. It takes everything in Paul's being to get a rebound. Even when Joel doesn't grab a board, he's also doing a better job boxing out and clearing space for his teammates.


They started the season with Maxey as the only real spacer and ball handler. Then they took care of that at the deadline. Joel stayed the only interior presence on both ends the entire year, and he's not reliable enough to not have a starter quality backup for stretches.... Drummond is also a player that they can properly run the dho for Maxey.

Run it back. Keep your picks, make a trade for an affordable star later in the season when possible.

[ProcessDoctor]

Ingram might be able to be had for cheaper than originally thought. I’d pursue him only if I knew for sure Mitchell wasn’t available.

[eyeatoma]

Read on Twitter

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This day cannot come soon enough.

Read on Twitter

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Also what a bad article from Pompey, Tobi's dad clearly wrote it lol.

Sent from my SM-S928B using Tapatalk

[mjkvol]

Overall, we showed a ton of fight & resilience which hasn’t been a Sixers hallmark for years. Hopefully that was a cathartic win for the team & they can play with a little more confidence in big games the rest of this run.

I credit the fight and resilience to a couple of things - one, the veteran presence of guys who have been in and won big games, and guys like Oubre and Hield, who haven't seen the playoffs a lot but also don't have the scars from the playoff letdowns that many of our vets certainly still have, and want to show out.

Two, and maybe most importantly, having a coach who understands how to win playoff games, that it quite often includes adjusting and re-adjusting your scheme in the course of a single game, as well as having flexibility with rotations to take advantage of matchups or hot hands .

The difference in watching that game as compared to any playoff game that was a dogfight the last three years was enormous. I went into halftime fully expecting adjustments and a different team in the second half, where I might have shut the game off early before. Win or lose down the stretch, it was an entirely new feeling.

[Negrodamus]

I'm sure we'll miss Tobias's blown layups and zero arch 3pt launches at the rim.

[Stanford]

Leave it to Keith to write a "Free agent might leave" story at the start of the playoffs.