There are a few things you might bank on when you enter a new NBA season.
Remember, they were said to have the BEST offseason of any team in the East this summer.
It’s almost like these people can’t help themselves.
Every year it’s actually THIS version of the Process that’s going to be different.
I dunno, I always thought that was pretty weird.
It usually goes like this.
That was like two weeks ago.
I didn’t hear anything about how he then lost to the Magic or Knicks immediately after.
That’s the Sixers fan model.
They’re just 12-9 against teams .500 or better and only 14-11 on the road.
How could that be if the Sixers had the MVP and were the best team in the league?
That means 22 of their 34 wins have come against teams under .500.
But guys, Embiid beat Jokic that one time!
This is why beating the Sixers will always be fun.
It’s a nice little reminder of who still runs this conference.
What we saw last night was a championship caliber win by a team with legitimate championship talent and ability.
That’s not great for PHI.
I’d care, but you know, fuck em.
Those were two teams I was told were better than the Celtics.
Maybe next time I guess.
The Good
- There are ballsy wins, and then there’s what we witnessed last night.
You’re probably just willingly choosing to ignore it.
What I loved most about it was there was no excuse making.
80% of the starting lineup is out?
OK, so adjust.
Find ways to win and execute with what you have on the floor.
There was no panic, there was no “doing too much” from anyone who touched the floor.
Everyone instead decided to step up and just do their job.
But since I have to choose?
I can’t not go with Blake.
I mean come on.
The guy goes from barely playing or getting DNP-CDs to suddenly being thrown in against Joel Embiid.
How does he respond?
Oh I dunno
How about with 15 points on 5-8 from deep.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I have been thoroughly enjoying the Blake Celtics experience.
Probably not, unless he needs to.
I give his performance a 10 out of 10 last night.
- As a franchise, the Celtics are so lucky that Derrick White exists.
I don’t really know how else to say it, he’s a blessing.
Do you know how insane that is?
Once again, Brad knows what he’s doing and Twitter does not.
- Games and situations like last night are the exact reason Malcolm Brogdon was brought onto this team.
When Brogdon was on the floor it definitely didn’t happen, which is why he’s here.
How many teams in the NBA are throwing out a White/Brogdon backcourt with their second unit?
It’s not so much the 7-12 shooting because that will fluctuate, it’s more the mindset.
Can he be aggressive when he needs to be?
That’s what we’re about to find out but it looks pretty good to me.
Where he gets into trouble is when he tries to mix in pull up 3PA.
He stinks at those.
It’s back to 47.1%.
Tell me that’s not November Sam Hauser?
If you give him space, you’re dead.
If you press up on him and create driving lanes for others, you’re dead.
That’s very embarrassing for the Sixers.
They were close in 2nd chance points too (10-6).
What hapened to Embiid dominating?
That’s the supposed MVP?
A guy who in a big moment can’t even handle a 5'11 point guard in the post?
Have some shame Sixers fans and stop screaming that this is the MVP of the league.
This man went 1-5 for 5 points in his 8 4th quarter minutes against a completely depleted frontline.
- Things are so different when Good Grant shows up to work.
Even during his brutal month of play, his three is still over 40%.
He just has to remember to take that shit with confidence and don’t venture to do too much.
This is the version of Grant I have no problem paying whatever price for.
Now kindly keep it going.
That’s big time.
It starts with Tatum’s unselfishness and ends with someone making the right play/getting a bucket.
That was great to see.
- Shoutout Luke Kornet.
The guy just shows up and makes a positive impact.
For a 3rd center, I think Luke proved his worth in this game.
Great positional defense, some nice lobs, good on the glass in his minutes.
He’s been solid all year.
The Bad
- I forgot how infuriating it was to have to deal with the Sixers whistle.
The Sixers finished with 2x the FTA, and almost all of the ones on Harden were very suspect.
This is a foul merchant team through and through.
This makes me sad, but I wish him nothing but the best.
I hope he gets consistent run and kills it wherever Brad sends him today (if he does).
Talk about shit luck.
These are the things that happen over 82 games and depth is important.
I’m ready for masked Jaylen though.
That guy is going to be a monster.
The Ugly
- Not too much for this section outside of the normal stuff.
c’mon take care of the basketball.
Will they ever learn their lesson with this live ball turnover bullshit?
Nobody is perfect, and this is a flaw we’re stuck with.
For whatever reason, this team loves making things harder on themselves.
You want to turn the ball over?
Throw it out of bounds.
Do anything other than committing live ball turnovers that lead to easy buckets.
Just because the Sixers stink doesn’t mean it’s not a problem.
So now we turn our attention to today’s festivities.
Hopefully Brad does his magic and we’ll see them add as we prepare for the stretch run.
