mtcal wrote:

Gimpy wrote:We spent so long asking if Ben would take threes, we never stopped to ask if he should take them.

Maybe I'm in the minority or something but I just wanted him to take open 12 footers like just about every guard in the league does.

If he doesn’t shoot, he cannot play with Embiid long term. So, it’s not about whether he should shoot in a vacuum. It’s the fact that by not shooting he’s by extension making it more difficult for both he and Embiid.

The Savior wrote:

mtcal wrote:

Gimpy wrote:We spent so long asking if Ben would take threes, we never stopped to ask if he should take them.

Maybe I'm in the minority or something but I just wanted him to take open 12 footers like just about every guard in the league does.

If he doesn’t shoot, he cannot play with Embiid long term. So, it’s not about whether he should shoot in a vacuum. It’s the fact that by not shooting he’s by extension making it more difficult for both he and Embiid.

right- but everyone keeps talking about 3 pointers. i feel like a 12 foot pull up should be easier to make than a 3 in general, right?

His form looks better on 3 pointers than mid range somehow. Wish he would cut out the fade-away nonsense.

The big thing with him taking 3s is that if he’s just standing at the 3 point line he’s more out of the way of Embiid or whoever else is posting up/other people can be in the dunker spot besides him.

mtcal wrote:

The Savior wrote:

mtcal wrote:

Gimpy wrote:We spent so long asking if Ben would take threes, we never stopped to ask if he should take them.

Maybe I'm in the minority or something but I just wanted him to take open 12 footers like just about every guard in the league does.

If he doesn’t shoot, he cannot play with Embiid long term. So, it’s not about whether he should shoot in a vacuum. It’s the fact that by not shooting he’s by extension making it more difficult for both he and Embiid.

right- but everyone keeps talking about 3 pointers. i feel like a 12 foot pull up should be easier to make than a 3 in general, right?

A 12ft shot doesn’t solve the problem of spacing. Embiid is most effective on the block. Ben is most effective penetrating. That puts a lot of bodies in a small area of the court.

The only way to solve that problem is to surround those 2 guys with shooters.

The fact that we were so dominant at home and so mediocre on the road really makes me hopeful that there’s talent here that fits well enough for a new coach to do something special.

Jay Wright is a no go

so expect the wright-to-sizzlers announcement in 2 weeks?

i was on vaca when this happened and actually didn't know about it until now! Apologies if this was mentioned, but is this a shot at brand for the personnel turnover he was forced to deal with?

"In the past seven years, our players and coaches have evolved and grown, and I have deep appreciation for the 102 players I have coached."

I don’t think so because I think we had more roster turnover earlier in his tenure. Just a note on how many dudes came through that door (and probably about how difficult his job was).

Bucky wrote:i was on vaca when this happened and actually didn't know about it until now! Apologies if this was mentioned, but is this a shot at brand for the personnel turnover he was forced to deal with?

"In the past seven years, our players and coaches have evolved and grown, and I have deep appreciation for the 102 players I have coached."

I think he’s just using as a quick way to reference all of them but you’d hardly be alone in interpreting it that way (other regimes along with Brand of course).

heh

It's the middle Wednesday part of the week so I thought I'd stir something up for no reason.

Noted teammate trasher Jimmy Butler said this about lazy ass unconditioned Joel Embiid:

“That’s my guy. Outside of basketball, I love that man to death. He knows that. I tell him every opportunity I get, and I appreciate him for making me a better player, a better leader, better at understanding so many different things. I talk to him all the time, and I tell him, ‘I wish you were still in the playoffs, because you deserve a championship.’ Because he works. He works at it, and that’s just my guy. Yeah, I saw it, and I know that he still wanted me to be on his team. And I still wanted to be teammates with him. Let’s not get that misunderstood. But here, with these guys, I’m not trading that for the world either.”

I will take this time to say that I think the Embiid conditioning stuff is overblown compared to it just maybe being unrealistic to expect a big man to play 36-40 minutes while being the team's focal point on both ends of the court.

I will take this time to respectfully disagree with you, Mo.

I think the true message is that Joel Embiid is a nice guy version of killer Butler, masked in a troll outfit. As an athlete and body language expert, I could see moments where his energy got zapped having to watch noted maxish millionaire teammates scrub out. An Embiid with an edge, perhaps with the voice of a coach uncoddled, would do the deed like Butler and lash to lead. I imagine he'll need someone good around him to show him the ropes. It won't be Butler, and they lack the prospects for another big time player to come in, and with Ben being the silent type, it might just have to be a coaches version of Jimmy.

tl;dr, the conditioning is tied to the motivation is tied to the shit play around him

MoBettle wrote:I will take this time to say that I think the Embiid conditioning stuff is overblown compared to it just maybe being unrealistic to expect a big man to play 36-40 minutes while being the team's focal point on both ends of the court.

Seconded. Completely agree.

Trent Steele wrote:

MoBettle wrote:I will take this time to say that I think the Embiid conditioning stuff is overblown compared to it just maybe being unrealistic to expect a big man to play 36-40 minutes while being the team's focal point on both ends of the court.

Seconded. Completely agree.

I believe I saw a tweet along these lines from Jim Adair a week or so ago. I sent it to my friend who I admit was pretty tough on Embiid over the last few months, and of course he disagreed with it. I tend to agree with it, though. I think they ask him to do a lot. The focal point of the offense and expected to do a lot on defense too. I think there were moments where Kanter did bully him a bit on the boards, so it's not completely out of line to say there are conditioning issues. That being said, I think it's overblown.

Just look at his 1H vs 2H splits in the series. And his effort level of defense was inconsistent. This isn’t rocket science he’s not in peak condition. And butler just has a personal affinity for the kid and Jo obviously looks up to him/has a man crush as a big brother type. A little embarrassing how much jo fawns over him but w/e

joe table wrote:Just look at his 1H vs 2H splits in the series. And his effort level of defense was inconsistent. This isn’t rocket science he’s not in peak condition. And butler just has a personal affinity for the kid and Jo obviously looks up to him/has a man crush as a big brother type. A little embarrassing how much jo fawns over him but w/e

Agreed. Other key big men who were both offensive and defensive focal points have played 36+ minutes per game, especially when Jo's age. Kareem averaged over 40 7 years straight in his 20's. Shaq averaged over 36 until he was 31. Hakeem averaged 36 for his career. And, of course, Wilt averaged over 46.

Jo either can't (because of his injuries) or won't get into peak condition. To Joe's point, if the Sixers are to win a championship, Jo has to be more effective at crunch time. If he can only be effective for, for example, 26 minutes per game, we'd better save 5 or 6 of those minutes for crunch time.

But I still think it's crazy that someone at his age (not to mention salary) can't get into good enough condition to be effective for a full NBA game.