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76ciology wrote:

eyeatoma wrote:

Stanford wrote:Wow, they won. Amazing! I'm actually shocked.

I was too, thank god that's it for janky zone defenses.

Is it just me? Is it the scars in my soul from the last two years' playoffs? But I felt the same feeling that I felt during those elimination games against the Heat and Celtics. I find that it's one of those games that Harden would be quitting, but we somehow have guys who fought and broke through.

Funny, but I never felt that way last night. If you don't hit your shots or get stops you aren't winning regardless, but I was sure that Nurse would adjust to the zone somehow, which he did brilliantly, as well as not getting stuck in the same rotations. He took the Heat out of their comfort 'zone', and free chicken did the rest.

Pulling this win off required Nurse to make adjustments and bench Tobi. Everything is lined up nicely now having to face the Knicks. This should definitely be a series that should be won. And then Bucks/Pacers is a winnable series also. Time to make it past the 2nd round !!!

Which kinda of contract do you guys think Tobi will get next season ( hopefully not from us lol)? He´s having a down year, and is getting benched in the 4rd quarter, not good for him, i would think...

M2J wrote:
I think they wore themselves out, but at the end of the day spo should've just kept at it

Once Maxey started to drive and Joel started the play on the 3 point line, keeping the zone was useless. In fact the 3s Joel hit were basically open shots because Love was stuck deep on the paint.

Murray_17 wrote:

M2J wrote:
I think they wore themselves out, but at the end of the day spo should've just kept at it

Once Maxey started to drive and Joel started the play on the 3 point line, keeping the zone was useless. In fact the 3s Joel hit were basically open shots because Love was stuck deep on the paint.

Totally agree and it helped Embiid to calm down and retain some energy instead of fighting in the post.

I was at the game last night and vibe definitely turned after the free chicken free throw misses. The crowd was way back into it and the team went on a little run to close the gap. More free chicken!

If Embiid played great, but the everyone else was awful I'd feel much better about the Knicks series. The fact that both Embiid and Maxey were meh and they needed a miracle Batum game and Butler to get hurt to beat a team they'd have been 8-10 wins better than in the regular season had Embiid not gotten hurt, has me concerned about the Knicks. Don't think they can win if that's the Embiid you're going to get.

FireMorey wrote:If Embiid played great, but the everyone else was awful I'd feel much better about the Knicks series. The fact that both Embiid and Maxey were meh and they needed a miracle Batum game and Butler to get hurt to beat a team they'd have been 8-10 wins better than in the regular season had Embiid not gotten hurt, has me concerned about the Knicks. Don't think they can win if that's the Embiid you're going to get.

I agree to an extent. Embiid was looking good until Adebayo got 2 fouls and Spoelstra switched to zone to cover the deficiency. This is where Embiid started looking tired and couldn't get what he wanted. Unfortunately no one knew what to do at this moment and people were not hitting shots. The Knicks are a good team, but their lack of zone is a help for the Sixers.

FireMorey wrote:If Embiid played great, but the everyone else was awful I'd feel much better about the Knicks series. The fact that both Embiid and Maxey were meh and they needed a miracle Batum game and Butler to get hurt to beat a team they'd have been 8-10 wins better than in the regular season had Embiid not gotten hurt, has me concerned about the Knicks. Don't think they can win if that's the Embiid you're going to get.

Okay, you provided the glass half-empty viewpoint, so let me give the glass half-full. This was a game we lose 10 out of 10 times before this season - no wing depth, no adjustments, no rotational imagination, and total dependency on Embiid scoring to win a meaningful game.

Now we have the wing depth and athleticism we've been screaming for, a legitimate coach who understands how to adjust a scheme as well as the balls to put the right guys on the court in crunch time, and who thrives in playoff scenarios, a star just coming into his own, and winning veteran presence that can actually be left on the court in crunch time.

We showed we could win a game where Embiid was limited, yet he still contributed with clutch 3's when Nick had schemed a way to beat the zone, and a killer pass. That wing depth and athleticism never showed itself more than last night, as well as the winning veteran presence.

There are no guarantees, but I like the fact that this group can win without depending on Embiid, and could do it without even a big night from Maxey. That's how championship teams do it, with role players stepping up when needed and getting the job done. For all the pissing and moaning, and ripping of Morey around here, this is IMO the best shot the Sixers have had of really making noise in the Embiid era.

mjkvol wrote:

FireMorey wrote:If Embiid played great, but the everyone else was awful I'd feel much better about the Knicks series. The fact that both Embiid and Maxey were meh and they needed a miracle Batum game and Butler to get hurt to beat a team they'd have been 8-10 wins better than in the regular season had Embiid not gotten hurt, has me concerned about the Knicks. Don't think they can win if that's the Embiid you're going to get.

Okay, you provided the glass half-empty viewpoint, so let me give the glass half-full. This was a game we lose 10 out of 10 times before this season - no wing depth, no adjustments, no rotational imagination, and total dependency on Embiid scoring to win a meaningful game.

Now we have the wing depth and athleticism we've been screaming for, a legitimate coach who understands how to adjust a scheme as well as the balls to put the right guys on the court in crunch time, and who thrives in playoff scenarios, a star just coming into his own, and winning veteran presence that can actually be left on the court in crunch time.

We showed we could win a game where Embiid was limited, yet he still contributed with clutch 3's when Nick had schemed a way to beat the zone, and a killer pass. That wing depth and athleticism never showed itself more than last night, as well as the winning veteran presence.

There are no guarantees, but I like the fact that this group can win without depending on Embiid, and could do it without even a big night from Maxey. That's how championship teams do it, with role players stepping up when needed and getting the job done. For all the pissing and moaning, and ripping of Morey around here, this is IMO the best shot the Sixers have had of really making noise in the Embiid era.

I very much disagree with that, but we shall certainly find out soon enough.

mjkvol wrote:

FireMorey wrote:If Embiid played great, but the everyone else was awful I'd feel much better about the Knicks series. The fact that both Embiid and Maxey were meh and they needed a miracle Batum game and Butler to get hurt to beat a team they'd have been 8-10 wins better than in the regular season had Embiid not gotten hurt, has me concerned about the Knicks. Don't think they can win if that's the Embiid you're going to get.

Okay, you provided the glass half-empty viewpoint, so let me give the glass half-full. This was a game we lose 10 out of 10 times before this season - no wing depth, no adjustments, no rotational imagination, and total dependency on Embiid scoring to win a meaningful game.

Now we have the wing depth and athleticism we've been screaming for, a legitimate coach who understands how to adjust a scheme as well as the balls to put the right guys on the court in crunch time, and who thrives in playoff scenarios, a star just coming into his own, and winning veteran presence that can actually be left on the court in crunch time.

We showed we could win a game where Embiid was limited, yet he still contributed with clutch 3's when Nick had schemed a way to beat the zone, and a killer pass. That wing depth and athleticism never showed itself more than last night, as well as the winning veteran presence.

There are no guarantees, but I like the fact that this group can win without depending on Embiid, and could do it without even a big night from Maxey. That's how championship teams do it, with role players stepping up when needed and getting the job done. For all the pissing and moaning, and ripping of Morey around here, this is IMO the best shot the Sixers have had of really making noise in the Embiid era.

It might be even better than 2019. It's close.

The good news is we'll have homecourt advantage when we play the Heat in the ECF.

A huge reason for the enjoyment of last night's game was the absence of cackling, shrieking and "Boom Boom!" or "Ty-Reese Maxey!" in the broadcast. And for the rest of the playoffs, however long that might be.

Negrodamus wrote:The good news is we'll have homecourt advantage when we play the Heat in the ECF.

Heat are finished now with Yimmy out for weeks. Probably will lose to Bulls. No chance in hell vs. Saltics.

mjkvol wrote:A huge reason for the enjoyment of last night's game was the absence of cackling, shrieking and "Boom Boom!" or "Ty-Reese Maxey!" in the broadcast. And for the rest of the playoffs, however long that might be.

mjkvol wrote:A huge reason for the enjoyment of last night's game was the absence of cackling, shrieking and "Boom Boom!" or "Ty-Reese Maxey!" in the broadcast. And for the rest of the playoffs, however long that might be.

I couldn't agree more!!!

phillynative wrote:It's a shame Jimmy got hurt . I wanted him and the heat to bully the Celtics again.

He doesn't get hurt. Philly is likely playing Boston

FlyingArrow wrote:

mjkvol wrote:

FireMorey wrote:If Embiid played great, but the everyone else was awful I'd feel much better about the Knicks series. The fact that both Embiid and Maxey were meh and they needed a miracle Batum game and Butler to get hurt to beat a team they'd have been 8-10 wins better than in the regular season had Embiid not gotten hurt, has me concerned about the Knicks. Don't think they can win if that's the Embiid you're going to get.

Okay, you provided the glass half-empty viewpoint, so let me give the glass half-full. This was a game we lose 10 out of 10 times before this season - no wing depth, no adjustments, no rotational imagination, and total dependency on Embiid scoring to win a meaningful game.

Now we have the wing depth and athleticism we've been screaming for, a legitimate coach who understands how to adjust a scheme as well as the balls to put the right guys on the court in crunch time, and who thrives in playoff scenarios, a star just coming into his own, and winning veteran presence that can actually be left on the court in crunch time.

We showed we could win a game where Embiid was limited, yet he still contributed with clutch 3's when Nick had schemed a way to beat the zone, and a killer pass. That wing depth and athleticism never showed itself more than last night, as well as the winning veteran presence.

There are no guarantees, but I like the fact that this group can win without depending on Embiid, and could do it without even a big night from Maxey. That's how championship teams do it, with role players stepping up when needed and getting the job done. For all the pissing and moaning, and ripping of Morey around here, this is IMO the best shot the Sixers have had of really making noise in the Embiid era.

It might be even better than 2019. It's close.

You mean that team which had Joel, Butler, Harris, Ben Simmons spacing the floor with the only good shooter being a middle age JJ that could not defend me.

Good defense, horrid offense.

This is a balanced roster with defense and spacing and depth. Again, Batum did what he should be doing when teams load up against stars. Oubre played a good game

M2J wrote:

phillynative wrote:It's a shame Jimmy got hurt . I wanted him and the heat to bully the Celtics again.

He doesn't get hurt. Philly is likely playing Boston

I guess we will never know...

FireMorey wrote:If Embiid played great, but the everyone else was awful I'd feel much better about the Knicks series. The fact that both Embiid and Maxey were meh and they needed a miracle Batum game and Butler to get hurt to beat a team they'd have been 8-10 wins better than in the regular season had Embiid not gotten hurt, has me concerned about the Knicks. Don't think they can win if that's the Embiid you're going to get.

The other stuff aside, the Knicks only won 4 more games than the Heat. They also lost to the heat in the playoffs last year with Butler missing a game/generally playing through an injury. Thibs isn’t Spolestra. The Heat have a history of punching above their weight in big games.

It should be a tight series that either team can win but I don’t see it as a huge jump in competition of anything.