NBA 25-26 - And so it begins..

[RedTeamGo!]

Well I’m not a prophet afterall

[Boss-Hog]

I am not going to ruin this thread, but you aren’t privy to our past or the foul things he says, so I suggest staying out of something that has nothing to do with you.

Whatever the issue is, it needs to be handled privately or not at all, but definitely not in the manner that was done above.

[SteelSD]

Good points on the Knicks high level of play, “heater” comment. I mean, when Hart goes 4-6 from 3 pt range, you know it’s not your day. AND brunson shared the ball!!! You know that’s a temporary deviation.
Also your point on my personal goals for KAT that never reached fruition are true. At an early part of KATs career I thought he would be better than Jokic or Embiid. That turned out to be exuberantly optimistic.
But I thought a healthy 2026 Sixers team had as much talent as any team in the east. In 2 games in the regular season the Twolves they played great. I really thought a NYC - Philly series would be a war. I was disappointed in the 4-0 sweep.

Well, you had a higher level of hope for Philly than I did coming into the Knicks series. I am not at all surprised that they were swept. Even fully healthy (whenever that is), Embiid is about 70% of his MVP-self. Guys knees are shot. Not nearly the defensive menace he once was, and he can't constantly bang in the post lest he exacerbate those issues, and if he isn't hitting threes (and he didn't) at a reasonable clip, that's a problem given the amount of time spent playing two-man games with him as a focal point. It's great that Embiid was able to come back early from an emergency appendectomy to help with an epic comeback in the Celtics series. Good story. But damn. I mean, the random issues he goes through are just bizzare when taken as a whole. I can't point at a guy who goes through two freak fractured orbitals and an appendectomy and say, "Injury prone!", but I've had about all the bad luck I can stomach. I dunno' how Embiid keeps doing it, honestly. Mitri mentioned "frustrating" and that's it in a nutshell.

That all being said, the Sixers brass has been putting all their eggs in the highly-paid "star-hunting" basket for too long, and making bad decisions while doing it. First, it was paying Harris instead of Butler. Poo. Then it was Harden. Yeah, they got away from Simmons, but the cost...double poo. Now Paul George, who lit it up this postseason, but even doing so, he faded into the background ala Tobias Harris (Sixers version). Only averaged 12-13 shots per game. That's either a usage issue, or a Paul George issue. The former can be fixed, it the latter, it's unfixable. But both are poo. Oubre is a solid bench player, but miscast as a starter. Edgecombe is a rook- a very good rook, but a rook. Quentin Grimes was supposed to be the guy off the bench, but may have played himself out of a bigger payday this offseason. Sometimes that isn't a problem if you have the kind of depth the Knicks do, but Philly dumps players like last year's first rounder, Jared McCain, to manage to the salary cap. You have no idea how frustrating it is to see guys like Isaiah Joe and McCain produce (and McCain has barely played this postseason) for a franchise like OKC. Solid depth just given away, and too much counting on one-dimensional dudes like Adem Bona who don't really have much chance of developing a well-rounded game. Overall, the team is smallish, which explains the constant difficulty with keeping other teams off the offensive glass. They don't shoot that well overall, and don't/can't/won't (pick one/all) consistently take enough threes. They're not as physical as they need to be come playoff time, are prone to terrible quarters, and don't understand that trying to come back two points at a time when down is a death sentence. During games they use last-decade solutions, like trying to get opponents' bigs in early foul trouble, to new-age problems. I mean, battle won, war lost. That type of crap. Also firmly frustrating.

I'm sure at some later date, I'll have some thoughts on how to fix it. But right now, they're mired in salary cap hell, so the first step would probably be to figure out how to get out of that without dealing either Maxey or Edgecombe. Everyone else is fair game.

[okpanda]

Well I’m not a prophet afterall

lol me neither. Spida was bonkers in that second half.

[Kingspoint]

[texasdave]

RIP Brandon Clarke of the Memphis Grizzlies. Only 29 years of age.

https://www.dailymail.com/sport/nba/...e-dies-29.html

[texasdave]

Wembanyama not receiving a suspension is exactly why people start thinking things are rigged.

[Kingspoint]

Wembanyama not receiving a suspension is exactly why people start thinking things are rigged.

Everyone knew a year in advance he was going to be a Spur.

[texasdave]

I guess Wembanyama is the NBA's new golden child. That tech on Naz Reid was laughable at best.

[Redsfaithful]

NBA pretty clearly wants Spurs - Thunder.

[Fil3232]

As do I

[Kingspoint]

As do I

I'd rather see the Wolves. Love this version of them. Edwards is having an MVP year...without help from the officials like Wemby.

[Redsfaithful]

I enjoy Anthony Edwards basketball more than Wemby basketball.

I also think we have 3-4+ rings ahead of us from Wemby, assuming health, and I'm not really racing to get there yet.

[Fil3232]

Wemby and Chet don't like each other. And the Wolves have no shot at beating the Thunder.

Spurs v Thunder will be a much, much better series.

[Rojo Rijo]

NBA has officially reached the point of being unwatchable for me. Part of me is actually glad Orlando lost after being up 3-1 on Detroit. No need for any false hope.