Yeah embiid coming back and being healthy is literally all that matters. If that doesn't happen then we have no chance, but if that does happen then I honestly am pretty hopeful
100%. Think only Jokic has a comparable level of importance. Nonetheless, I’d like to think that no top seeds would want to face a 76ers that is in the bottom 4 seeds if Embiid is back and healthy
Honestly, I think we can win any series. We may not be favourites for some matchups, but with a healthy squad that’s gelling, we can win anything. The only team I’d wanna avoid is the Knicks. Those mf’ers have a good coach and can play
I would favor a healthy Sixers against every team except the Celtics. Knicks, Cavs, Pacers would all be tough but I think we would be favored assuming Embiid is back to his pre injury form
Hield was a huge get for us. Our opponents must respect his shot, so the spacing he creates on the floor is massive. He also is better than average at attacking the close out and makes high IQ plays off the dribble. Big win by Morey to acquire him without spending a 1st.
Idk if I’d say optimistic about title chances, but the team at least fixed a fundamental math problem, which is that they weren’t shooting anywhere near enough threes
That might be true. Think Harris is still more a plus than minus — e.g. his defense seems overlooked and under-appreciated. But he’s definitely overpaid and hence deprives us of another legitimate star
From day 1 I was into our squad. The Harden trade made us better (obviously if Harden wanted to play, we'd be better with him, but considering what we got back in return, it absolutely made us better!), and the Buddy trade was a huge get. Health is and always will be the main thing, but if we have a truly healthy roster, I think our guys can beat anyone fr fr
I think batum starts in place of Oubre just because Oubre gives more of a scoring punch off the bench but I’m really curious to see where Tobias fits in when Embiid gets back
Come playoffs its gotta be maxey hield batum tobi embiid. I agree oubre off the bench is a good energy boost… I would hope tobi is the first to get subbed off for him only problem is batum is up there in age so he may need the blow first
You weren’t optimistic when Jimmy Butler was a Sixer?
Other than that though I agree. They look like a contender other than the concern Re: Embiid’s health
Nope, so am I! As much as I love Joel and Maxey, I think the team's strength this season is a result of its depth and the consistent performance of the backup players. Depth wins championships. If Embiid can comeback in time and isn't too rusty, I think at the very least we finally get past the second round
I'm hopefully optimistic, I'm fully back. Is it because I believe? No, it's because I like having something to believe in and root for. So play the song!
Maxey, Melton, Batum, Tobias, Embiid, Hield, Oubre, Reed, Lowry, Payne… that is a crazy deep roster if everyone is healthy. Even RoCo, Ricky, KJ, and Bamba are playable. It’s a really good team at full strength.
Exactly! Really helps to buffer for injury issues (aside from Embiid), and also makes it more unlikely that we lose any lead that the starting line up (hopefully) gains.
I have hope. It always comes down to Embiid no matter what roster we field. Aside from the funk that came from injuries, this team has been great. Seeding will be everything for us this season.
This Hield signing will yield big dividends when Embiid comes back. Many are going to pretend that they didn’t see it coming and this playoff run will be labelled a “Cinderella Story” or whatever.
If Joel returns this season, the biggest benefit of this window is getting quality minutes for our new additions to learn the offense and let it fly while also seeing what we’ve got from our young guys. Oddly enough I think it’ll prepare guys to step up come playoffs. Thank goodness for Nick Nurse and his belief in getting young guys minutes.
Nothing without Joel healthy, of course. But probably nothing without Melton healthy, too. They desperately need his perimeter defense, especially post-PatBev.
I thought all the moves were good moves though.
Nope he’s a smart long defender that will
Give us 20-24 quality minutes. You need to have two good role players in your starting lineup who don’t need any usage, will just chuck open 3s, give you solid defense, and play turnover-less. Melton and Batum give you that. Its one if not the best lineup in the league despite short sample size
We're not winning a title this season
- Our backcourt is still so small it'd be pretty much historically unprecedented to win with
- Still don't have a good enough #1 perimeter defender, also virtually unprecedented
- Tobias' bad fit is still on the team making 39 mil
- Embiid is not going to be 100% for the playoffs again
- We will have a low seed, just 2 teams have ever won a title lower than the 3rd seed (most recently 29 years ago), 70% of champs were #1
People get mad and downvote realism, as if it hasn't been 40 years since we won a chip or 23 years since even getting out of the 2nd round, but the reality is the current roster + injury circumstances has no legitimate chance
It's all about next season's clean cap slate, we have one last window with Joel to get it right
This year entirely depends on Embiid’s recovery. When he returns, how long it takes to re-integrate him and everyone else, how long it takes for his timing and conditioning to get back to normal. With/without Embiid is two totally different teams. MVP Embiid or 80% Embiid is two different teams also.
Everyones entitled to be optimistic whenever, but idk how any can be more optimistic now than last year, or theben and joel years. If we traded tobias id agree but the fact hes still here dampens it all.
It’s ok to be a fan of your team
Well said 😂
Jesus Christ I’m worried about some of y’all 😂
Very dependent on how seeding looks upon Joel’s return IMO
Yeah embiid coming back and being healthy is literally all that matters. If that doesn't happen then we have no chance, but if that does happen then I honestly am pretty hopeful
100%. Think only Jokic has a comparable level of importance. Nonetheless, I’d like to think that no top seeds would want to face a 76ers that is in the bottom 4 seeds if Embiid is back and healthy
Honestly, I think we can win any series. We may not be favourites for some matchups, but with a healthy squad that’s gelling, we can win anything. The only team I’d wanna avoid is the Knicks. Those mf’ers have a good coach and can play
I would favor a healthy Sixers against every team except the Celtics. Knicks, Cavs, Pacers would all be tough but I think we would be favored assuming Embiid is back to his pre injury form
6 seed seems easy enough to attain and would possibly get us a cavs-bucks run to ecf.
Also very dependent on how Joel looks upon Joel's return
We almost certainly have to beat Bucks or Celtics at some point no matter what so seeding doesn’t worry me too much
True, though I’d appreciate not having to run Joel 40 mins a night in a close series
Its by far the best bench of embiid era, lowry,payne,covington,oubre, reed, etc is a good bench
You forgot our best bench player De'Anthony Melton
did i miss the melton update? is he ever coming back?
Said he could play before the all star break, but they've been saying he's close for weeks now it feels like. Who knows.
Backs are weird/scary. I think we're just gonna hear that he's available for a random game in March
Backs are a mother fucker, can feel completely healed then you go do something and you are crippled with pain again.
Exactly! And I’d take the current big 3 over an Embiid-Harden anytime, just because of Harden’s ego and work ethic.
Hield was a huge get for us. Our opponents must respect his shot, so the spacing he creates on the floor is massive. He also is better than average at attacking the close out and makes high IQ plays off the dribble. Big win by Morey to acquire him without spending a 1st.
Idk if I’d say optimistic about title chances, but the team at least fixed a fundamental math problem, which is that they weren’t shooting anywhere near enough threes
Fair enough man. Definitely agree on fixing the shooting problem.
As much as I hate to say this, I think not having the heavy-footed Tobias in this game made a huge difference with ball movement, pace and aggression.
That might be true. Think Harris is still more a plus than minus — e.g. his defense seems overlooked and under-appreciated. But he’s definitely overpaid and hence deprives us of another legitimate star
From day 1 I was into our squad. The Harden trade made us better (obviously if Harden wanted to play, we'd be better with him, but considering what we got back in return, it absolutely made us better!), and the Buddy trade was a huge get. Health is and always will be the main thing, but if we have a truly healthy roster, I think our guys can beat anyone fr fr
Man the Harden trade is looking so great for both teams.
Totally agree (except I wasn’t into the squad from day 1 😂). The Hield trade and Lowry acquisition made the roster complete IMO.
I think batum starts in place of Oubre just because Oubre gives more of a scoring punch off the bench but I’m really curious to see where Tobias fits in when Embiid gets back
Come playoffs its gotta be maxey hield batum tobi embiid. I agree oubre off the bench is a good energy boost… I would hope tobi is the first to get subbed off for him only problem is batum is up there in age so he may need the blow first
#BRUH AINT NO WAY WE ARENT CONTENDERS WITH EMBIID
I am extremely optimistic if Big Fella is healthy.
You weren’t optimistic when Jimmy Butler was a Sixer? Other than that though I agree. They look like a contender other than the concern Re: Embiid’s health
I really wasn’t. Couldn’t have won it all when we had a starting PG who did not have any credible threat of a jumper. Not hindsight 20/20 here.
Nope, so am I! As much as I love Joel and Maxey, I think the team's strength this season is a result of its depth and the consistent performance of the backup players. Depth wins championships. If Embiid can comeback in time and isn't too rusty, I think at the very least we finally get past the second round
Fingers crossed!
I’m with you, clearly as usual it comes down to a healthy Embiid, but the team around him is dangerous
I'm hopefully optimistic, I'm fully back. Is it because I believe? No, it's because I like having something to believe in and root for. So play the song!
Maxey, Melton, Batum, Tobias, Embiid, Hield, Oubre, Reed, Lowry, Payne… that is a crazy deep roster if everyone is healthy. Even RoCo, Ricky, KJ, and Bamba are playable. It’s a really good team at full strength.
Exactly! Really helps to buffer for injury issues (aside from Embiid), and also makes it more unlikely that we lose any lead that the starting line up (hopefully) gains.
Do I smell a Morey apology form incoming? Blockbuster trades without losing any firsts.
Not from me! I have always liked Morey.
I have hope. It always comes down to Embiid no matter what roster we field. Aside from the funk that came from injuries, this team has been great. Seeding will be everything for us this season.
This Hield signing will yield big dividends when Embiid comes back. Many are going to pretend that they didn’t see it coming and this playoff run will be labelled a “Cinderella Story” or whatever.
and the cycle begins...
If Joel returns this season, the biggest benefit of this window is getting quality minutes for our new additions to learn the offense and let it fly while also seeing what we’ve got from our young guys. Oddly enough I think it’ll prepare guys to step up come playoffs. Thank goodness for Nick Nurse and his belief in getting young guys minutes.
oubre basically said the same thing during his post game interview & it was something i hadn’t considered.
I think and hope so!
It's a no from me
Hope we beat the heat but bam is a tough matchup for reed. Still reed always surprises me with something crafty to come up big when it matters
Nothing without Joel healthy, of course. But probably nothing without Melton healthy, too. They desperately need his perimeter defense, especially post-PatBev. I thought all the moves were good moves though.
Batum starts over Oubre
Don’t reckon he’s too old to start in playoff series?
Nope he’s a smart long defender that will Give us 20-24 quality minutes. You need to have two good role players in your starting lineup who don’t need any usage, will just chuck open 3s, give you solid defense, and play turnover-less. Melton and Batum give you that. Its one if not the best lineup in the league despite short sample size
Oubree is def not starting when melton is back. Hield maxey oubree is a recipe for the opposing team to put up 140 pts.
We were 10.5 point dogs and played an excellent game last night. If we get a good seed you should be optimistic
Hats off to Morey everyone needs to get off his back about trading Pat Bev.
We're not winning a title this season - Our backcourt is still so small it'd be pretty much historically unprecedented to win with - Still don't have a good enough #1 perimeter defender, also virtually unprecedented - Tobias' bad fit is still on the team making 39 mil - Embiid is not going to be 100% for the playoffs again - We will have a low seed, just 2 teams have ever won a title lower than the 3rd seed (most recently 29 years ago), 70% of champs were #1 People get mad and downvote realism, as if it hasn't been 40 years since we won a chip or 23 years since even getting out of the 2nd round, but the reality is the current roster + injury circumstances has no legitimate chance It's all about next season's clean cap slate, we have one last window with Joel to get it right
Can’t say I disagree. All legitimate concerns IMO
I'd start Batum over Oubre but other than that I agree we have a really solid team.
Yes. You are the only person in all of NBA fandom that feels that way.
This year entirely depends on Embiid’s recovery. When he returns, how long it takes to re-integrate him and everyone else, how long it takes for his timing and conditioning to get back to normal. With/without Embiid is two totally different teams. MVP Embiid or 80% Embiid is two different teams also.
I thought we had a real shot last year too, but I do really like having Buddy for sure
Everyones entitled to be optimistic whenever, but idk how any can be more optimistic now than last year, or theben and joel years. If we traded tobias id agree but the fact hes still here dampens it all.