#2 Knicks vs #7 Sixers

[mjkvol]

It has to be small ball without Embiid, and I'd love to see Nurse give Council a little run at some point. Maybe that energy and fresh legs could provide a short term jolt, which could make all the difference in a single game.

[76ciology]

Isolation Points Per Possession
Maxey: 1.39
Brunson: .92
Embiid: .70

Rollman
Embiid 7.2 possessions (first) at 1.31ppp

Post-up
Embiid 6.4possessions (first) .94ppp

[9th Wonder]

Isolation Points Per Possession
Maxey: 1.39
Brunson: .92
Embiid: .70

Rollman
Embiid 7.2 possessions (first) at 1.31ppp

Post-up
Embiid 6.4possessions (first) .94ppp

I'm always hesitant to question any NBA coaching moves (because what the hell do I know?), but it seems so plainly obvious that Embiid isolations and post-ups are terrible offence. The 4th quarters of games 4 and 5 there were too many possessions of him catching the ball at a stand-still at the three point line or fighting for post position, only to face double teams that he really struggled to navigate. He just looks so much better as the roll man or coming out of DHO. Joel catching in rhythm at the nail is the deadliest part of this team's offence.

[76ciology]

Josh Hart played the entire 53 minutes of Game 5, primarily defending Maxey and not grabbing an offensive rebound. He might be experiencing fatigue in his legs.

[76ciology]

Watch on YouTube

Alot of nonsense. But our defense to Brunson has to change.

I dont get trapping Brunson that high, where Knicks guards can just be at the nail and take an open shot at FT line

[SixthStreet]

I know we like to think the Knicks legs are dead, but Maxey is taking on the biggest load of any player on the court. Wouldn't surprise me to see him have a bad shooting night leading to the eliminating loss.

If we extend the bench I think using Martin as a small ball 5 might be worth trying, as well as playing him with Embiid. He can give some rebounding and rugged defense and a lob threat on offense. I think he's more usable in this series than Council.

[Mik317]

Thibs runs his guys ragged so they will be more used to it than we are...also most of their guys are younger

[elchengue20]

If we want to extend the rotation i'll definetively go Council too.

At least he's going to give you energy, hustle, some defense and among the bench players seems he's the most likely the moment ins't going to be too big for him.

[Jailblazers7]

Maxey is used to playing big minutes too tho. I think the only fatigue concern is Embiid, everyone else can probably manage just as well as the Knicks players.

[M2J]

Morey certainly crapped the bed with backup center again this year.

Joel and his injury is one thing, bit I still Believe it to be more on the brace and fatigue.
I would agree that they should try their best to do Batum and Harris at 5. No Paul Reed. No Bamba. Yes to trying out and running offensive sets for Payne and perhaps Buddy.

That small ball lineup should be able to play lightning fast, lightning aggressive, and get up shots. Which seems like it could be a good fit for both those guards.

That still holds true even if they don't bring in a new body. Maxey, Payne or Buddy, Harris, Oubre with Batum moving and spacing should be a fast paced and good offense vs any defense in the NBA.

I keep reaching for buddy because Payne is just scary defensively... Even though his ball handling is valued. But Lowry could get some minutes in that lineup...

[Arsenal]

Dead even series. Knicks outscored us by 1 total point over 6 games. Too bad we couldn’t win one more damn game without Jo to avoid the matchup.

[UnderdogRaptors]

Sad they needed the refs

[Kobblehead]

Knicks had like 5-7 guys in double figures in every game. Proving that depth around your star is the most important thing in the modern NBA.

Sixers do not need a third star, they just need dependable depth around Embiid and Maxey.

[blargh]

Knicks had like 5-7 guys in double figures in every game. Proving that depth around your star is the most important thing in the modern NBA.

Sixers do not need a third star, they just need dependable depth around Embiid and Maxey.

It’s hard to say from the regular season that guys like Hart, McBride, and Hartenstein are better than our role players, but they stepped up. Hats off to them. Part of it is Thibs keeps the rotations tight and consistent, so they learn their role well. It also means they are going to be exhausted in the second round after playing 7 guys, like most Thibs teams.

[Kobblehead]

A team with proper depth would not be playing 37 year old Lowry and 35 year old Batum 29 and 28 mpg respectively.

A healthy Melton playing those 29 mpg that Lowry played and we might have won the series. Still not good/deep enough to compete for a title yet, though.

[Iverson Armband]

Team regressed from going out in the 2nd round, to the 1st round. They had no business losing to that Knicks team, even with Joel at 70 percent.

Team didn’t go out sad this time, I’ll give them that. But a Joel Embiid lead team has still never beaten a good team in the playoffs. That’s a major problem.

[Arsenal]

Team regressed from going out in the 2nd round, to the 1st round. They had no business losing to that Knicks team, even with Joel at 70 percent.

Team didn’t go out sad this time, I’ll give them that. But a Joel Embiid lead team has still never beaten a good team in the playoffs. That’s a major problem.

Disagree. That Knicks team is really good as proven by all their metrics post-acquisition of OG. It was a total coin flip of a series and they were a bit lucky considering they outscored us by a whopping 1 point over 6 games.

The point of the regular season is to get a high seed to avoid such tough matchups in the early rounds. Unfortunately we blew that by being awful when Embiid was out.

[Iverson Armband]

Team regressed from going out in the 2nd round, to the 1st round. They had no business losing to that Knicks team, even with Joel at 70 percent.

Team didn’t go out sad this time, I’ll give them that. But a Joel Embiid lead team has still never beaten a good team in the playoffs. That’s a major problem.

Disagree. That Knicks team is really good as proven by all their metrics post-acquisition of OG. It was a total coin flip of a series and they were a bit lucky considering they outscored us by a whopping 1 point over 6 games.

The point of the regular season is to get a high seed to avoid such tough matchups in the early rounds. Unfortunately we blew that by being awful when Embiid was out.

Ok, I’ll grant you the Knicks as a good team. It was a coin flip series, that’s great. Why can’t the Sixers ever win a coin flip series? After years of disappointment, I don’t really care about the moral victories and the “well, they only outscored them by 1 point” crap. They lost…. again. Same story, different excuse.

[FireMorey]

The team wasn’t good enough. I think everyone knew that all season but convinced themselves otherwise by the end to give themselves hope to cling to. Just look at the roster. Their third best player is a guy they signed for peanuts right before the season. And he’s not even that good. Lowry was getting major minutes. This roster outside of Embiid and Maxey absolutely sucks. This was never ever going to be a championship team. And I don’t think they ever truly intended it to be because last summer they barely tried in free agency because they wanted cap space this summer. They basically punted on this season.

[WVU]

The team wasn’t good enough. I think everyone knew that all season but convinced themselves otherwise by the end to give themselves hope to cling to. Just look at the roster. Their third best player is a guy they signed for peanuts right before the season. And he’s not even that good. Lowry was getting major minutes. This roster outside of Embiid and Maxey absolutely sucks. This was never ever going to be a championship team. And I don’t think they ever truly intended it to be because last summer they barely tried in free agency because they wanted cap space this summer. They basically punted on this season.

Which is why I didn't understand rushing Embiid back. His knee is a big concern of mine (and everybody). Does anyone know what type of surgery they did on the meniscus? Based on how quickly he came back, I fear they did the irreversible one that basically guarantees the beginning of the end on the knee having any longevity.