Philadelphia 76ers
Even though the Philadelphia 76ers came away with the win in their home opener, the performance was pretty underwhelming overall. That being said there were some interesting things to learn from the game.
The most interesting for me is that Joel Embiid has a load management agreement with the 76ers this year. He is reportedly expecting to play around 70 games. I got an overall impression of disdain from a lot of the discussions surrounding Kawhi Leonard‘s load management with the Toronto Raptors last season. Especially from certain retired players (who shall remain nameless) who are from a different NBA era.
I always knew that Kawhi’s return to health would not be the last time we heard the term. In fact, I think it’s pretty brilliant all the way around. If you know that you’re good enough as a team to make the playoffs, why not let your important playoff assets rest so they can be their best for the playoffs? That just makes common sense to me especially for players with a history of injury.
I mean, it’s really a win all the way around. Top players avoid injury which is good for the game. Top players are available to play in the playoffs which is also good for the game.
And for the love of basketball, maybe we could cut down on some of the banal conversations that surround the NBA playoffs and Finals every year. You know the ones I’m talking about. “Your team never would have won if so-and-so hadn’t been injured.” Please, PLEASE! Anything to make those conversations stop!
Okay. Woah. I went off on a bit of a tangent there. Sorry about that.
Also during that game, I learned that Embiid has his sights set not only on MVP this season but also Defensive Player Of the Year. I have to wonder if missing 12 games will affect his chances against other players that end up in that conversation.
The range shooting of J.J. Redick is clearly missed in Philadelphia. They shot just 7-29 from 3-point range. None of the Philadelphia starters made any meaningful impact from range. Tobias Harris went 2-5; Josh Richardson, 0-4; Al Horford, 1-6; Embiid, 1-4.
You noticed I’m sure that a certain Australian starting guard was not even listed. That’s because Ben Simmons has now played his 161st regular-season NBA game without so much as attempting a 3-point shot.
Ben! What are you doing to me!? I spent all summer watching YouTube videos of your working on your jump shot. I even wrote an article about how you were rediscovering a shot that you had once upon a time.
I chatted all summer about how good the shot looked and how unstoppable you’re going to be with a jumper as part of your repertoire. You made a 3-point shot in the preseason. You couldn’t put up at least one three in your season opener? Really? One was too much to ask?
To say I’m disappointed about this is an understatement of herculean proportions. And not only did he not attempt a 3-point shot, but every single field goal attempt also came from within the painted area. I was pretty sure that the way Philadelphia’s season ended in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals was the push Simmons needed to take that critical step in his development.
Then seeing the videos all summer seemed to give that conclusion some validation. Maybe it’s just too early in the season to have expected it… Who am I trying to kid!? It wasn’t too early and Simmons should have made the attempt the get his confidence going early. And if his lack of a jump shot attempt was the design of the Philadelphia coaching staff (not saying it was, just saying if) shame on them.
Philadelphia won this game by a 14-point margin but based on field goals, it could have easily been a lot less. Philadelphia actually shot a worse percentage from range than Boston did at 24 percent. If not for a marginally better field goal and free-throw numbers, the 76ers could easily have walked away with an opening night loss. In fact, the Sixers trailed for most of the first half before taking the lead with 0:27 to play in the half and pulling away in the second.
The 15 turnovers Philadelphia committed are of concern. Fortunately, Boston was only able to manage 11 points off of those turnovers or the Sixers may have had a much tighter ball game on their hands.
All in all, although they came away with a win, it wasn’t a convincing one. It certainly wasn’t the kind of opening night that says, “NBA Finals, here we come.”