https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/joel-embiid-its-story-time

I
swear to God, my life is a movie.

It’s a movie.

I know corny dudes are always saying that because they bought like an SUV or whatever, but I swear I can say it for real. I’ll prove it to you like this….

This is a real story. Hand to God. When I came over from Cameroon at 16, I didn’t know any English, didn’t know a single person in America, didn’t really understand the culture except for like basic hip-hop. And I know people sort of know my story, but I don’t think they really understand how crazy it is. Because I had just started playing basketball literally — literally — three months before I got an offer to come play high school ball in Florida.

I could dunk, but I had no handle.

So I went to the practice on the first day, and I was so bad that the coach kicked me out of the gym. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was so skinny, so soft. But the worst part was that all my own teammates were seriously pointing and laughing at me, like the asshole kids in the movies about high school. It was crazy. I’m looking at these dudes, not really understanding what they’re even saying, like, Damn guys, come on, let’s just trust the process here.

And they’re just like, “LOL NAH YOU SUCK.”

Man, I went back to my dorm and cried. I was like, This is crazy. What am I even doing here? I can’t play. I’m going home.

But then I was sitting in my room listening to Lil Wayne or something, in my feelings, thinking about these dudes making fun of me, and suddenly my competitive side took over. I got really, really motivated. Whenever people say I can’t do something, I actually love it. It makes me want to prove them wrong so bad. So I said to myself, Alright, I’m literally just going to work and work in the gym until I’m good. KOBE.

I got better and better, especially around the rim, but I still couldn’t shoot. So I started working out with one of my teammates, Michael Frazier II. Remember him? This dude was a shooter. Like, killing it. He hit 11 threes in a game once for Florida. So after practice, I’d do these three-point drills with him, and of course, he’s smashing me. I have no form, no fundamentals. I’m jacking shit up. But I just can’t take losing to this dude every day. I’m so competitive that I’m like, I gotta beat this guy. I gotta find a way.


So I’m chilling one night, and I go on YouTube, and I’m thinking I’m about to figure this shooting thing out.

I go to the search box like….

HOW TO SHOOT 3 POINTERS.

Nah.

HOW TO SHOOT GOOD FORM

Nah.

Then the light bulb went off, man. I typed in the magic words.

WHITE PEOPLE SHOOTING 3 POINTERS.

Listen, I know it’s a stereotype, but have you ever seen a normal, 30-year-old white guy shoot a three-pointer? That elbow is tucked, man. The knees are bent. The follow-through is perfect. Always. You know how in America, there’s always an older guy wearing like EVERLAST sweat-shorts at the court? That guy is always a problem. His J is always wet.

Those are the guys I learned from on YouTube. Just random people shooting threes with perfect form. Me and Michael would play after practice for hours, and I’d just try to imitate how they shot the ball, and I started being able to compete. It was crazy, because getting some range changed my whole game. Teams couldn’t play off me anymore, and I started doing a lot better.

WHITE PEOPLE SHOOTING 3 POINTERS.
I know people are going to think I’m exaggerating, but that’s a real story. I didn’t even really know who J.J. Redick was at that point. I barely knew anything about the NBA because I could never watch it in Cameroon. And no, I don’t mean that like we were too poor and we didn’t have a TV. We had a TV. We had a pretty normal life. Americans have crazy ideas about Africa, like its all one big country.

No, the reason I couldn’t watch the NBA is because my mom was super, super strict about school. She didn’t play around. I could never stay up to watch the games. Every single day it was: Wake up, eat, go to school from seven to five, run home and take a nap, wake up and eat dinner, then study until like midnight. I’m telling you — school is too easy in America, man. In Cameroon, it’s crazy. Elementary school is like college. I didn’t even have any friends because all I ever did was sleep and do homework.

I remember when Cameroon had the Golden Generation at the 2002 World Cup, I was eight years old, so I was begging my mom and dad to let me play soccer. But they weren’t having it. So when I got to be older, I got a little more rebellious, and I’d sneak out of the house to play.

There was like an hour window after school when my mom wasn’t home yet, and the soccer field was right next to our house, so I had this whole scheme. I’d run home after school and put my bookbag by the kitchen table and then I’d open up a science book or whatever. And I’d have that thing all highlighted and everything, like I was really grinding. Papers and pens everywhere. Then once that was all set up, I’d run back out to the field. I literally got so good that I could hear the specific sound of my mom’s car coming down the street. If I was at the other end of the field and I was too far away, whoever was playing keeper would see her car coming and be yelling like, “Joel! Joellllllllllll! Your mom’s coming, bro! Run!”

And I’d sprint into the back of our house, hide my shoes and sit down at the table, like sweating. Like I was thinking so hard about science that I was about to pass out. I had like 25 seconds before my mom parked her car, took off her shoes and got inside to make sure I was studying.

I’d be sitting there with a glass of juice or whatever, like, “Hello, Mom. It’s me, Your Good Son.”

The first time I ever watched an NBA game was the 2009 Finals.

Lakers vs. Magic.

Dwight. Pau. Odom. KOBE.

I had never seen anything like that. I was watching those dudes shoot like 100% from the floor. Everything was going in. The way they moved, and the athleticism, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

I had that moment like, I just wanna do that.

I begged my mom and dad. I begged for a year.

My dad was like, “Nobody in Cameroon plays basketball. You can play volleyball.”

I’m like, “Yo, volleyball?”

By that time, I had started hearing some American hip-hop on the internet, and I’d be trying to sing the words to look cool, even though I didn’t know any English. I’d be walking around school singing that Lil’ Bow Wow and Ciara song. Remember that? All I could say in English was like “Hello, good morning,” and then “I AIN’T NEVER HAD NOBODY DO ME LIKE YOU.”

That was my exposure to American culture — Bow Wow, Kanye and Kobe. Sometimes I’d go to this court by my house where guys would play pickup, and every time I’d shoot the ball, I’d literally yell out, “KOBE!”

Imagine it. I’m out there shooting bricks, yelling out Kobe, on a busted hoop in Cameroon.

Seven years later, I was playing Kobe.

It’s a movie. It’s really a movie.


Guillermo Hernandez-Martinez/The Players' Tribune

Even when people hear the story, they think like, “Oh, they discovered this crazy talent in Africa, and this guy came over and started killing it. Kansas. NBA. Boom.”

Nah. You don’t even understand.

When I was 16, Luc Mbah a Moute invited me to come to the basketball camp that he puts on every summer in Cameroon, and the only reason was because I was like 6 foot 10. I was so nervous that I didn’t even show up the first day. The second day, I showed up, they put me in the game and I dunked on somebody.

I think I was so scared that my adrenaline took over or something.

Straight away, first game. And I mean — not just dunked. Dunked on somebody.

I was like, OH SHIT.

I mean, I was still terrible, but it was enough. They could see something in me. I got a spot at the Basketball Without Borders camp in South Africa. Two months later, I was on a plane to Florida to go to high school in America.

A year later, I committed to Kansas.

I didn’t even know what March Madness was. I didn’t know who the good teams were. The only reason I chose Kansas was because Luc told me, “Kansas is the best. You should go to Kansas.”

So I went to Kansas.

And this is another true story … hand to God.

My very first scrimmage at Kansas, I got dunked on so hard by Tarik Black that I almost quit. Tarik dunked on me so hard that I was looking at plane tickets home. This guy was a senior. He was a grown man. I didn’t know what was going on. He got his own rebound and dunked over me so hard that everything went in slow motion.

He dunked the ball off my head, for real. But I didn’t even tell you the worst part. The worst part was that the entire Kansas women’s hoops team was sitting in the bleachers watching the scrimmage. The whole gym was laughing at me. It was crazy. Seriously, it was like a WORLDSTAR situation.

So I went straight to Bill Self’s office afterward and I said, “I can’t do this. You have to redshirt me. I can’t play with these guys.”

And Bill was like, “What? Are you serious? In two years, you’re going to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.”

The thing was, I had been told that all these college coaches lie. So I really thought he was trying to be slick with me. In my head, I was like, Alright, I’m just going to keep showing up and at least I’ll get a degree out of this. That will make my mom happy.

The only thing that kept me going was the way that I was raised by my parents. They always told us to keep working, no matter what. I had this DVD that my coach in Cameroon had mailed to me when I first came to America. It was an hour-long tape of Hakeem Olajuwon and some other legendary big men. I probably watched that DVD every single day for three years. I would study the way Hakeem moved, and I would go out and try to imitate him.

I did it in high school, and I did it at Kansas.

I was basically just imagining that I was a good basketball player. The power of the mind is kind of amazing. I mean, I sucked. But somehow, I convinced myself that I was Hakeem. And I started getting better and better. And then I sort of started killing it.

I pretended my way to the NBA. I seriously got to the league by watching YouTube and living in the gym. There’s no other way to explain it. Remember when KG won the title with the Celtics, and he was acting all crazy, screaming out, “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!!!!!!!!!!!!”

That speaks to me. That’s my life. It happened so fast that it doesn’t even make sense.

The most surreal moment was when Kobe was retiring, and he played his last game in Philly. After the game, they set up a little room for us to talk for a minute. He walked in, and I shook his hand and I told him, “Man, I know you probably hear this a lot, but I literally started playing basketball because of you seven years ago. Whenever I’d be shooting the ball at the park, I’d be yelling out, ‘KOBEEEEEE!’ ”

He laughed and we talked for a minute, and then before he left he said the most Kobe thing. To most people, it wouldn’t mean anything. But to me, it was surreal. It was like I was in a video game or something.

He said, in the most Kobe way, “O.K., young fella. Keep working. Keep working.”

Thank you, Kobe. Thank you, Hakeem. Thank you, Mom and Dad. Thank you, Kansas. Thank you, Philly. Thank you, Lil’ Bow Wow. Thank you, Random White People.

It’s a movie, I swear.

search for asian people who can breakdance Joel, we got you

>But the worst part was
>that all my own teammates were seriously pointing and laughing
>at me, like the asshole kids in the movies about high school.
>It was crazy. I’m looking at these dudes, not really
>understanding what they’re even saying, like, Damn guys,
>come on, let’s just trust the process here.

Anything less than the following, guys can and should get fried.

embiid: 26/12/3/less than 3 TOs per game in 70 games. he's finally had his healthy offseason, and he should be enterring his prime. it's time for him to dominate every night and make a run at top 5 mvp

simmons: 6 FT attempts per game and 65% FT percentage. the counting stats will be there and will be insane, probably something like 19/9/9 or 16/11/10 or something. we will understand if ben gets it by whether the FT thing has gotten better.

fultz: 30mpg, 14ppg on 45 percent shooting, 30 percent on 3s on 2 attempts per game. i feel stupid even trying to set expectations for this kid, but this line is the minimum i personally would need to see to convince me he can recover to be more than a third guard.

covington: don't choke during the playoffs.

dario: 17/8/3, aka his playoff numbers, on 60 percent true shooting. and he'll do it, too. dario is good.

zhaire: get back fully healthy and establish yourself as a solid 15-20 mpg contributor during the regular season. i don't think he'll be playable in the playoffs this season. it's gonna take a minute.

the sixers: 55+ wins and a competitive L in the Eastern Conference Finals. i think Jo's going to get to the level we need to win the East this year, but Ben's going to need one more. That said, there's too much talent to be satisfied with anything less than a clear step forward. the ecf would mean we've beaten toronto or boston, and i expect last year's seasoning to make sure guys are ready for real playoff intensity. that said, i just think this is boston's year.

>Anything less than the following, guys can and should get
>fried.
>
>embiid: 26/12/3/less than 3 TOs per game in 70 games. he's
>finally had his healthy offseason, and he should be enterring
>his prime. it's time for him to dominate every night and make
>a run at top 5 mvp

Satisfied. No frying

>simmons: 6 FT attempts per game and 65% FT percentage. the
>counting stats will be there and will be insane, probably
>something like 19/9/9 or 16/11/10 or something. we will
>understand if ben gets it by whether the FT thing has gotten
>better.

Slight frying. The FTs did get better, but this mental block about shooting gots to go.

>fultz: 30mpg, 14ppg on 45 percent shooting, 30 percent on 3s
>on 2 attempts per game. i feel stupid even trying to set
>expectations for this kid, but this line is the minimum i
>personally would need to see to convince me he can recover to
>be more than a third guard.
>
>covington: don't choke during the playoffs.
>
>dario: 17/8/3, aka his playoff numbers, on 60 percent true
>shooting. and he'll do it, too. dario is good.

Lolz

>
>zhaire: get back fully healthy and establish yourself as a
>solid 15-20 mpg contributor during the regular season. i don't
>think he'll be playable in the playoffs this season. it's
>gonna take a minute.

Not frying, due to the rookie curse

>
>the sixers: 55+ wins and a competitive L in the Eastern
>Conference Finals. i think Jo's going to get to the level we
>need to win the East this year, but Ben's going to need one
>more. That said, there's too much talent to be satisfied with
>anything less than a clear step forward. the ecf would mean
>we've beaten toronto or boston, and i expect last year's
>seasoning to make sure guys are ready for real playoff
>intensity. that said, i just think this is boston's year.


Slight frying. One crazy shot away from the conference finals means the team was plenty good enough, but both Ben and Jo need to take this as a spur to get better. Embiid needs to get in better shape, manage his minutes, and make the adjustments to dominate guys like horford and gasol. Ben needs to acquire some skills that allow him to be effective in the half court.

The day that Kelle and Ben both hit a three in the same game I set at least half dozen cars on fire on Broad Street.

And not even attempt 3s. He needs one more playoff embarrassment to get it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Boahq3ElURt/?utm_source=ig_embed

16 points and counting before halftime for the Shanghai Stache. Get involved.

and upgraded my seat in Summer League. I'm in.

https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1048172156658569216

really hoping it was someone from over there who put it together, not some downington anime fan named steve.

After one game I officially declare this team as currently constituted just ain't got it.

I don't know how long we wait for Kelle to show something, but we need a third guy. Saric as much as I love him... ain't it.

I know plus/minus isn't the be all-end all but the 34 minutes that Joel and Ben shared the court we were +1, the 14 minutes one or both were on the bench: -19.

Our depth is ass and will continue to be exposed. Not sure how much Wilson Chandler is going to help that.

PS - I almost cry every time I see Tatum hit a smooth-ass pull-up jumper off the bounce.

even though i knew exactly what was going to happen, i'm still a seething ball of resentment this morning. that shit was ugly.

>I don't know how long we wait for Kelle to show something, but
>we need a third guy. Saric as much as I love him... ain't it.

Kelle can do whatever he wants, EXCEPT stand around on offense and do nothing, which is what he did last night. brett also has to do a better job with his rotations. i know you want to teach him and ben to play together. but kelle needs to play PG with the best possible lineup we can give him. when ben sits, it should be kelle, jo, and jj.

i feel like daRIo (shouts to correct pronunciation?) has been thrown off by kelle in the starting lineup. he just has so much less space now. that said, i completely agree he's not the third guy.

>I know plus/minus isn't the be all-end all but the 34 minutes
>that Joel and Ben shared the court we were +1, the 14 minutes
>one or both were on the bench: -19.

ben was a force last night, but i'm losing all patience with jo's turnovers. yeah, we ask him to do too much because no one else can generate offense on their own. yeah, there's no space for him to work. stop turning it over anyway, and stop with the freelancing. jo needs to get some moves/discipline.

>Our depth is ass and will continue to be exposed. Not sure how
>much Wilson Chandler is going to help that.

Chandler will help a lot. we didn't have a 3 n D wing besides Cov last year. he won't be able to create, but he's a solid professional basketball player and quality rotation guy.

>PS - I almost cry every time I see Tatum hit a smooth-ass
>pull-up jumper off the bounce.

i hate myself and want to die.

Took the fam to the home opener. Before the game, the event staff asked my wife to participate in the 'Mom Musical Chairs' game on the court during the third quarter.

As they stroll out on the court, I realize they set her up to be the heel. It's my younger, attractive wife and a bunch of 50-60 year olds. She also recognizes this and jumps in with both feet. Spends the whole game dancing around the chairs in rebounding position and boxing out those old bitches like Rodman. As she knocks off the last (grand)mom she turns to the camera triumphantly and welcomes her serenade of 20,000 boos.

PS - Fultz took 15 shots. Don't care if only 5 went in, keep shooting.

>As they stroll out on the court, I realize they set her up to
>be the heel. It's my younger, attractive wife and a bunch of
>50-60 year olds. She also recognizes this and jumps in with
>both feet. Spends the whole game dancing around the chairs in
>rebounding position and boxing out those old bitches like
>Rodman. As she knocks off the last (grand)mom she turns to the
>camera triumphantly and welcomes her serenade of 20,000 boos.

or, in general, of Philly. which I enjoy because Eagles

100% Ride or Die!!!!

They talk about my wife on the latest Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast. Said she was cheating and didn't deserve the prize pack. Give the crowd props for booing her. Also go at her for wearing a Redick shirsey.

She's heated. Doesn't care about being called a cheater or that she deserved to get booed. But busting on her shirsey choice es no bueno. At this point I'm pretty sure she will fight Spike on sight.

Embid is a clown

He had no idea what to do. He timed and blocked one fadeaway J, but other than that....it was rough.

Also...what Ish Smith did to Fultz...lmao

How is that possible? I can see if dude was a back to
the basket rock MAYBE

But dudes like Charles Oakley shot the ball 1000
times better than this dude.

How does that work?

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Never developed a j or didn’t feel the need to until now.

Giannis managed to work on his game enough to be at least
a decent shooter (and rising)

Ben has NO jumper. NONE.

How?


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

and, if he’s healthy, will be one of the five best players in the world this year.

and thus we have a will-mf-score-20-before-allstar-break-wager, 5 bucks

i almost hope he doesn't quite get there and i lose, bc i would love to double or triple or nothing this bet and the guy i'm betting against is a knicks fan with nothing to love at the moment

the homie guinness tweeted simmons *unbelievable* per 36 numbers when fultz is off the floor, and vice versa is true too. i'm all good with it now, particularly because it will force ben to learn to play off the ball.

Seriously, this is some ridiculous Jekyll and Hyde stuff. Brooklyn isn't as sorry as they used to be, but a 25-point L? Right after we stomped the Pistons?

B-side: Ben is back with the Kardashian-Jenner broad, oh joy.

i calmed down a lot when someone tweeted that, because boy that looked like a tired team last night.

that said, ben was yet again on some bullshit.

supposedly they were going to dump 4 in 6 and 3 in 4 scheduling a couple years ago, yet we still see bullshit like this? it waters down the product and endangers the players.

i had a suspiscion the team was going to come out motivated after the brooklyn debacle and three days of hearing about road woes. it was also super nice to see the defense carry us and start to resemble last year.

only concern were embiid's turnovers, which were high for the second straight game. if he wants to be the mvp, those have to stay down.

>i had a suspiscion the team was going to come out motivated
>after the brooklyn debacle and three days of hearing about
>road woes. it was also super nice to see the defense carry us
>and start to resemble last year.
>
>only concern were embiid's turnovers, which were high for the
>second straight game. if he wants to be the mvp, those have to
>stay down.

There was a sense of coherency on defense that has been lacking up to this point. It seems they may finally be getting the new system. It was actually neat to watch from a tactical perspective - when they get a big/small mismatch on a switch, a bigger Sixer offball defender immediately rushes the big trying to postup the Sixer guard and the Sixer guard gets passed off to defend the perimeter.

Offensively this team is still broken. Shamet and Dario were knocking down shots so they won. We don't have a bucketgetter. Ben is on his bullshit and is wearing on my patience.

You can tell he's more comfortable in that role. Way more aggressive




I think I like watching this team defensively more than I do offensively tbh. Makings of a top-tier defense in this league with their core


Even Fultz is ball hawking

He's mentally weak on and off the court. Simping without a limit for a Kardashian and down right lying about why he wont shoot.

https://clutchpoints.com/sixers-news-ben-simmons-never-anyone-teach-shoot/

you remember (c)

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23441223

BB still refuses to deviate from his analytic agenda...even with a new starter who isn't fully integrated

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/76ers/all-brett-browns-decisions-under-more-intense-scrutiny-ever

"The concerns regarding the rotation came up in Jimmy Buckets’ debut last night. Despite a strong start from Embiid (4 for 5 shooting, 11 points, three threes), Brown kept to his regular rotation, taking him out of the game halfway through the first quarter, seemingly stalling his momentum. And a hot shooting Wilson Chandler didn’t see the floor during critical moments of the fourth quarter. Those rotational issues will only get more complex, as it seems general manager Elton Brand isn’t finished making moves just yet."

He can't last to 2022...

He

Just

CAN'T.

So I was ready to concede the season but with the Butler deal this team can actually take the East. So what's the next move(s)?

We are obviously paper thin on the wing and PF. Another trade or do we just wait on the buyout market? I was laser focused on Trevor Ariza, who seemed like the perfect fit - big wing, switachability on D, can hit open shots... but is he washed at this point? Justin Holiday - but he can't switch onto 4s? Wizard Morris Twin? Someone I'm forgetting?

that is all

Love the addition of Jimmy

Just wondering when that translates to some defense

Back to back games we're giving up career games to guys Jimmy should be able to shutdown

Great W last night

Shorthanded, g leaguers getting big minutes...media stirring the pot with the JB/BB hype...best game I've seen from the 6ers this year honestly

another triple double for Ben who's getting close to averaging a triple double

and now he's pulling face up and turn around Js without hesitation

that confidence will translate to consistency during this season and the FT line

Looks like he's taking some of these matchups personal...Mitchell a couple of games ago got wrecked and Doncic didn't do shit last night

We coming for that #1 spot.

With the manufactured drama
Down 2 starters
and hosting the NBA's new darling

I thought the 6ers played their best game considering the context

It's the type of response I wanted @POR

We've got a stretch of home games vs sub .500 teams

I'm looking for this game to be the momentum to carry us until guys come back

Jimmy
Chandler
Zaire
...and the Fultz experiment...

Bolden >>> Muscala
Shake>>>Kormaz

Plus whatever salary dump we pickup at the deadline

#1.

While I know sports media has basically devolved into click-bait stories and 'Bad Locker Room Butler' is like fish-in-a-barrel piece, I can't help but feel like where there is smoke, there is fire. I really hope this isn't the beginning of the same shit that always happens with Jimmy, but I won't be surprised if it is.

While I agree in principle he should have a bit more of a role/usage in the offense, especially in P&Rs, I get the feeling he really means he should be the focal point: ball in his hands, orchestrate the offense, ISOs, etc. I really hope he realizes at 30 he isn't that guy, especially with this team. He is the complimentary player.

Jimmy is right...both he and Ben really, aren't having their strengths maximized

and those strengths are the mismatch they present for opposing defenses

a motion offense takes the ball out of their hands by nature

so the easy solution is have a 2nd offense when Ben and Jimmy are the starters on the floor

Ol' coach by the numbers sticks to a rotation halfway through the quarter

at about the 6 minute mark it's a wholesale change

Embiid, JJ and usually another starter, probably Chandler, are subbed out for

Leaving Jimmy and Ben as the remaining starters with 3 bench players

Simple solution is to run pick and roll/iso sets when they are the starters left on the floor

Run the motion when Embiid and JJ comeback in.

Agree with the majority of this and agree with Butler 'in theory'. I would like to see him with the ball in his hands more. Once they start subbing I'd love to see some minutes with him and Embiid (sans Ben) and watch them P&R the opposition to death or take over Redick's spot in the DHO stuff. But I fear this is the start of cantankerous Jimmy and he is pissed because he isn't the man here.

as in...if he had to make a decision today, almost 2 months into 'the process'...he wouldn't be staying in Philly

which I appreciate

We've got 4 months to figure it out.

He might also be wrong, in that I don’t think dudes like Korkmaz and Shamet are soft so much as they have physical limitations on defense. This team really needs another wing defender and a bamma, although I’m encouraged that bolden can get the bamma part within the next year. Muscala and redick, though? Charmin status.

They’re the fifth best team in the East and a 25 win team without Jo, and it’s all because we’ve got a ten win bench.

That ends up on another team outcoaching us

Shouts to Lloyd and Quinn.

He can’t make JJ or Muscala fast or interested, and he can’t make korkmaz or Shamet unskinny. He got his flaws, but no one could make this roster play good defense without jo.

we've got 3 all stars starting

+JJ having a career year

completely agree that Chandler is washed...but...he been washed...I'm not surprised that he can't give us quality play for 30 minutes every night

He's getting $12M...but we let Illyasova walk for $7M...WTF.
Collar was gone by then, so somebody has to answer for that bullshit

Seriously though...we just played a handful of squads that are bottom dwellers and ravaged by injury

The NYK are w/o their 3 best players...what's the excuse for that?

Fiz got them competing and playing hoard for 48 minutes

You really can't see a difference...

Lloyd Pierce looks like he's got ATL putting their best effort up....and they'r entire roster is D leaguers and a couple of rookies

C'mon

Admittedly, the Timbershook gave no resistance, but this was the most seamless the offense looked since jimmy got here, and the effort level was consistent on defense, even though we got away with some breakdowns because the wolves are charmin status.

Of course, great W

but what I'm noticing

Embiid, dominated AD and now KAT
Jimmy, got his revenge on MIN
Ben, outplayed Luka and Mitchell head to head

i.e. in the instances where they seem to have some personal gripe

They kill.

What we need is that intensity errynight

Take it personal every game

But yeah, that's the best 48 I've seen from us this season

Crazy...the lead story today is GSW...and we scored more points

If they are only getting up for certain games, I get it. Without all three of the dudes going 100 percent, we won’t beat anyone, but those guys are smart to protect themselves. I can’t be that mad about all these “30 point leads turn into 7 point wins” for that reason.

Jimmy has to be better.

Oh btw, Ben Simmons can’t beat elite defenses, except when he can.

>Oh btw, Ben Simmons can’t beat elite defenses, except when
>he can.

That last possession was pitiful, never seen an nba pg that’s scared to shoot

But yes let’s judge the second year player on 3 seconds.

the entire thunder team knew he wasn't going to shoot that, along w the rest of us watching

markelle fultz cant shoot bc of his health

what is ben simmons excuse?

When this team plays four quarters, it’s really frickin good.

>When this team plays four quarters, it’s really frickin
>good.

They are playing the best ball of the Process-era over these past 4 games. Even the OKC loss was semi-encouraging, as they could have packed that in early and just played out the string to the tune of a 20-point L. Instead they locked in and took a late lead, PG just played the hero that night.

I love having Corey Brewer out there "ballin", reminds me of the fun part of when we sucked.

obviously, Billy loves him. He was a fan favorite. So damn goofy, at times. We nicknamed him the Drunken Dribbler cuz sometimes he just falls for no damn reason. All the players liked him as evidence of them all taking time to chop it up with him before the game, Saturday. I hope he latches on with you guys for the season...or not...we have a roster spot open.

Brewer flopping vs Harden was the best thing I've seen this season

Loved it.

How long before Jo swings on somebody...and who you got?

I've got him fighting Braymond next Thursday...or Morris a couple of weeks after that

So many fake tough guys in the NBA

>I've got him fighting Braymond next Thursday...or Morris a
>couple of weeks after that

I need to see Jo v. Donkey... FOR THE CULTURE

Thursday, Jan 31st...930 central on TNT

Jo is smart and a troll god. He’s gonna goad somebody into getting a five game suspension and point and laugh at him.

he makes people so mad lol.

looks like reinforcements are on the way

Hopefully, all of these guys get some tick after the AS break

Ben gets his all star berth and shows out against th champs.

People need to stop saying the Sixers need a backup center. I’m willing to live with what Bolden gives us, which is quite promising, and concentrate on what we really need, which are wings and dudes who can defend point guards.

>People need to stop saying the Sixers need a backup center.
>I’m willing to live with what Bolden gives us, which is
>quite promising, and concentrate on what we really need, which
>are wings and dudes who can defend point guards.

I mean I wouldn't mind another playable big body, but with our limited trade resources it's certainly not anywhere near a priority.

he shut down anyone who switches on him

We really just did that.

>Ben gets his all star berth and shows out against th champs.

At this point I think I'm justified in stealing on any "sixer fan" saying we need to trade Simmons because fits.

When Ghost mentioned smart dumb dudes, this is exactly what he meant. Let’s ignore ben’s objective production to focus on the one admittedly important but also trendy skill he lacks.

And I'm okay with that

As mentioned in a post above, we should be getting Patton, Smith and Fultz on the court this season

Looks like we'll be picking up a buyout; Matthews or Dedmon

I like Matthews with Chandler out

And we got Mike Scott too, so we aren't even losing our neck tattoo ratio with Wilson Chandler being shipped out.


Elton Brand is not fucking playing around.

I was looking forward to ShamGod filling JJ's role next year

Really like that kid's confidence and effort on D

I'm going to assume these last couple of games were him hitting the rookie wall

I expect another move before the deadline for a shooter, 3 & D guard

F'n Brand is killing it though...hope these guys resign.

I hear you but "Scared money don't make money"

I know we basically have depleted all our assets, but if Jimmy and/or Tobi walk we have a lot of money to throw around. I gotta figure that they pretty much know that Harris resigns if they are giving up multiple picks.

second most talented starting 5 in the league.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

...and you call yourself a blue devil fan...

LOL

The boarding doors are now closed...prepare for departure

Just learned...Klutch has been employing his sister since 2016

Let's get that extension done, ASAP

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/the700level/lakers-need-stop-tampering-ben-simmons-and-other-nba-stars

The Lakers need to stop tampering with Ben Simmons and other NBA stars
By Shamus Clancy February 11, 2019 2:45 PM
425
9 Comments
There’s nothing the Lakers' franchise loves more than distracting everyone from the team’s underwhelming on-court play for the last nine seasons and leaking rumors about all the star players that want to join their squad.

Before the Lakers suffered a 23-point smackdown at the hands of the Sixers on Sunday, Magic Johnson, the team’s president of basketball operations, spoke to the media in a pregame presser.

Johnson let it slip that Ben Simmons wants to meet with him this summer to discuss some of the secrets of being a power forward-sized point guard with preternatural passing ability:


Marc Stein
✔
@TheSteinLine
Speaking pre-game in Philly, Magic Johnson reveals that Ben Simmons wants to sit down with him this summer to trade some "big guard" secrets if the Sixers, Lakers and the league office all sign off

2,822
11:26 AM - Feb 10, 2019
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Elton Brand confirmed this on 97.5 The Fanatic today and he rightly declined to give Magic and Lakers GM Rob Pelkina permission to do that. I’m glad that Brand dunked all over Magic’s face with that smug grin he’s been wearing for 40 years. Why should Brand let Simmons meet with him? What does Simmons tangibly gain from speaking with Magic?

“Hey, bro, throw it to the open player when he can get an easy shot.”

Wow, great insight from Magic, the NBA’s foremost Captain Obvious, known for giving LeBron James the astute advice that he “needs to be LeBron.”


Earvin Magic Johnson
✔
@MagicJohnson
My advice to LeBron, is to be LeBron! @KingJames

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It would be different if Magic was in the same position of Hakeem Olajuwon, who has spent the last decade working out with NBA players in the offseason. Olajuwon is a paid trainer. Johnson, conversely, is a head decision maker for an organization notorious for tampering with other franchises’ players. Are the people in the NBA league office just that dumb? Does Magic Johnson believe the fans of the league are this naive?

To make matters worse, Brand claimed that the talks with Pelinka happened over a month ago. Why is Magic bringing this entire situation up now? Is he trying to save face for the disastrous way the Lakers played themselves in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes? What a shame that the Pelicans didn’t want to take back a smorgasbord of role players and crappy picks for a 25-year-old superstar! Magic strategically dropped this morsel of info that will have bandwagon Lakers fans across the globe salivating and photoshopping Simmons into a Lakers jersey for the next half-dozen years (if they haven’t already been doing that).

Listen, I support players’ agency to take the fate of their careers in the hands, but I can’t sit idly aside while the Lakers and Magic just pull their “Um, we’re the Lakers and Magic is our president so every star should want to play here” card. It’s not a big market vs. small market thing. It’s a “Why do the Lakers get to do whatever they want?” thing. The Lakers, Magic, and LeBron can all fade into oblivion for all I care.

Just like I’m not going to police who Simmons is dating (by the way: the Sixers are 14-2 in games Kendall Jenner has attended this season), I’m not going to yell that Simmons “owes it” to Philadelphia to stay here. If he wants to flee to Hollywood and go full Fresh Prince, that’s fine, but it’s just infuriating that the Lakers plant their seeds of tampering throughout the league constantly with zero concrete repercussions from NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

This needs to go beyond the slap-on-the-wrist fines that have been given to the Lakers for their tampering with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George. Silver had no issue pushing the beloved Sam Hinkie out of the Sixers’ front office. Does he have the guts to do the same thing to one of the greatest players the NBA’s ever seen and basketball’s marquee franchise?

These lines need to be posted on three billboards outside the league’s headquarters in Manhattan:

Lakers tampering with another star.

Still no consequences?

How come, Commissioner Silver?

Scott, Ennis and Bobi with Furkan, McConnell, Bolden....evens things out against the C's second unit and the Raptors second unit.


Brown needs to be flexible to find the right rotations for their run. I really feel that he (or an injury) is the only thing that stops this squad from running through the east and giving the Dubs a real series.

>Scott, Ennis and Bobi with Furkan, McConnell, Bolden....evens
>things out against the C's second unit and the Raptors second
>unit.
>
>
>Brown needs to be flexible to find the right rotations for
>their run. I really feel that he (or an injury) is the only
>thing that stops this squad from running through the east and
>giving the Dubs a real series.

I have been happy with way the rotations have looked in the two games since the trade. I think it really highlights the fact that maybe Brown wasn't a dummy, but was just doing the best he could with a flawed roster - the 2 starters for Butler trade and Markelle situation really hamstrung what was already a thin squad.

The biggest things I see are the McConnell situation - he now is back in a 12-15 minute role, which suits him best. He can be annoying balls-to-the-wall defense guy 100% of the time in limited minutes. Also you now do not have to have him and Ben (two non-shooters) share the floor at all, which I think was the most problematic rotation issue we had. The second thing is that we can stagger the starters effectively so that we always have a couple scoring threats on the floor and that should eliminate the long scoreless droughts that have plagued this team for years.

The jj centric offense doesn’t work against the best defenses. They force him to dribble and pass, two things he’s bad at. Scrap it and design plays for jimmy and Toby.

But none of it matters if horford keeps outworking embiid.

i know PG was out and Russ is terrible now, but a very nice road win without our leader. Toby has been a revelation and works so very well with ben. also, Jonah Bolden is a thing.

i know PG was out and Russ is terrible now, but a very nice road win without our leader. Toby has been a revelation and works so very well with ben. also, Jonah Bolden is a thing.

I feel like Ben is more effective without Jo on the floor (out of the lineup)

and the team actually goes into another gear

...see last year's 16 game win streak...

Just a thought

Absolutely not. I'm not willing to entertain it any further than that.

Coming down the stretch...and Jo's out...again

They're saying he'll be re-evaluated in another week

Just wondering if this is what to expect in the future

Understandable for all of the injuries he worked through

But if we can't count on him when it matters...what's the point?

Should we cap his GP
minutes
playing in the all-star game was dumb

?

If this were the playoffs, he’d be playing right now. He should never play more than 70 regular season games, and we need to cap his mpg a little lower (which, if we really keep butler and toby, should be easier to do). Ultimately, we probably will deal with this stuff for as long as we have him.

https://twitter.com/tonygill670/status/1103504122903490560

@tonygill670
After the presumed loss before the teams had to comeback out Jimmy Butler could be heard yelling “We better draw up a better f****** play if we do”. Brett Brown was close enough to hear it

I don't see them making it out of the first round if they finish outside the top 3 seeds.

We have a streaky ass shooter in Mike Scott, Big ass Boban who is good for 10 minutes in limited matchups, and TJ who is good for 10 minutes in limited matchups - that is all. Ennis and the other Simmons aren't providing much. We do lack offensive punch from our reserves, but when you invest so much in the starting 5 this is where you are.

I'm not ready to throw in the towel because come playoff time the rotation is 8 deep and the starters should be playing 36 minutes minimal (Ben, Tobi, and Jimmy probably 40+), so whatever.

We’ve got four all star level players. That should get you to the second round, and if not, someone (jimmy) is leaving town

that was a big win.

only first-round matchup i'd like to avoid is boston. the rest is aight. McConnell is a ballsy player and Scott is doing all right, Boban an adequate backup center. What they don't have is a good fifth starter or anyone athletic off the bench. That should change next year with Zhaire Smith's arrival. They gotta replace Redick with another shooter but given his level of play this year I don't think that will be tough.

Yes.

My nerves were way too juiced for the regular season. I seriously don’t know how I’m gonna cope with the playoffs.

3000% increase from when it was 0.0


But if he actually took more, then the few times he's been forced to take em- late in shot clock or when defenders giving him Randy moss 20 yards cushion- he'd be way more comfortable with it.
Half the time looks like he's about to have an anxiety attack before pulling up

In conclusion, we need more Simmons airballs. The resources are already there, just Take 3 3ptr bricks off Joel's hands. The time is now. Thanks for coming to my TED talk

Agreed

If Jo's gonna rationalize shooting <30% from 3 as spacing the floor and forcing the defender to guard him

Same logic holds for Ben, start jacking.

Grand closing...

It came down to a bounce in the last second of Game 7.

Jimmy? Tobias? JJ? Brent?

Run it back. Seriously keep them all. When things were clicking the team looked really, really good. I think we gloss over the fact that young don't win it all. Let this "super squad" have a whole season together and bank on continued development of your young cornerstones.

That said, not sure if Tobias wants to stay and be the fourth wheel, and someone may give JJ more than the MLE that we're going to offer.

when next season starts? Is he worth it?

Will Tobias want the max? is he worth it?

JJ will be 35, will he take a pay cut?

Is Brett Brown the right coach to get them to the promise land?

>when next season starts? Is he worth it?
>
>Will Tobias want the max? is he worth it?
>
>JJ will be 35, will he take a pay cut?
>
>Is Brett Brown the right coach to get them to the promise
>land?

This is the last year that we'll have money to sign a max free agent. So unless Durant or Klaw decide to come here (super-duper doubtful) the best course of action is to bring everyone back. I would max Jimmy, he should have 3 years of good play left. I'll eat the last two years. Tobias isn't a max guy, but if you let him walk you only can fill out the roster with an MLE and vet minimum dudes. Butler/Tobias/JJ all control their own destinies so you have to respond if anyone decides to go elsewhere, but I would try and retain them all.

That's where I'm at with it too

We were still figuring things out

Jimmy and Tobi getting time at PG

Jimmy with the ball in his hands to close out

I honestly don't think this team played at it's full potential due to lack of on the court time as a whole unit

The missed defensive assignments were something that I believe irons itself out with experience

Love Jimmy, absolutely think he fits the city to a T

Nobody in Philly would blink an eye if they maxed him

Buckets is the priority

No, he's not worth 5/190 or even 4/150

He misses games regularly; load management. Did Jimmy invent general body soreness as a legit reason to sit? Don't think I've heard that anywhere else

Unfortunately, we have the money, this ownership group is anxious to win now, and Jimmy is the piece that makes this work IMO

Would not be surprised at all if they maxed him the second it was allowed

I would rather that, than sit through a summer of reports from Jimmy's Johnny Be Good campus tours

Where I think this gets interesting is Brand as GM

He likes to make moves

We could easily bring back errybody

But looking over the list of available FAs

There is room for improvement

I don't know what a max for Tobi is, but he's also worth it

We need a 50/40/90 guy, as does errybody at the 4

I think both Morris twins are available, Faried, Milsap, etc...

I keep Scott, add depth at that position


Same for the 2 guard spot

Ennis should have been starting

JJ should come off the bench

and there's alot of players available

Matthews, Ariza, Hood, Ross...


BB should have been fired after Fultz was sent packing

Reports at that time credited the pick to him and his enthusiasm

The team's inability to execute in the half court and end of clock/period situations never got resolved

We're a dogg on the road

The plea cops of flipping the roster 3Xs might save him

-1W reg season and +2W postseason, really feels like a push

And when you assemble a roster with that much talent, I can't rationalize bringing back the HC for what feels like a waste of a season with no tangible progress

But he's also losing his assistants

Might as well make the change, I just don't see it happening

Run It Back.

https://www.philly.com/sixers/josh-harris-brett-brown-elton-brand-sixers-76ers-raptors-nba-eastern-conference-semifinals-20190514.html

What's the purpose of saying his job wasn't in jeopardy vs TOR?

They made all of these statements about anything less than ECF being a bust...but they already told the HC his job was safe...?

He's still under contract for 2 more seasons, so we can take that off the table

BB is the HC.

Sounds like he has a ringing endorsement from the players too

Maybe we can get some basketball minds in the assistant chairs

Lloyd Pierce moves onto a head coaching job, they bring in Monty Williams, he does the same. Jim O'Brien was successful in Boston and kinda sorta in Philly, also he doesn't get enough credit for influencing offenses around the league. It was an eyebrow-raising thing for the Celtics to be taking so many threes in 2002 and now it's practically the norm.

Butler and Harris they've got to keep unless they really do backflips to massage their cap situation and attract someone better. Most likely they made those deals with the intention of re-signing both and I see no indication that they have been unsatisfied playing there.

Brown and O'Brien, I mean the way they played offense in big moments, I wouldn't shed a tear for their dismissal. But I think they get one more year and hopefully they can replace Williams with someone competent like they found in him when Pierce left.

With raises coming to the starting group (Harris/Butler or whomever replaces them, Simmons next year) it seems tough to see keeping JJ unless he takes a big hometown discount. He might, he likes it there and he got over like a fat rat in his first season there. He's made something like $36M in the past two seasons.

I will always believe it and I will never get over it.

lot of what-ifs but you know what, the sixers had plenty of opportunities in that series. can't take anything away from toronto. they beat the teams in front of them starting with an explosive sixers team, continuing with the league MVP and the league's best regular-season team and finishing with a diminished but still formidable dubs team. they've earned this. no jinx intended.

Takes Monty Williams sport as number 1 assistant. Why is this important? Is it because we have a up-and-coming assistant primed to be a head coaching candidate very soon or a possible in-house Brett Brown replacement if things don't go well?

No, it's important because this man is married to Nia Long. If this move gets Nia in the crowd at Sixers games next year, this is the biggest acquisition of the off season. Bigger than Jimmy and Tobias combined.