Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.
The Sixers clinched the top seed in the East, where they felt they should have been all along.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Bill Streicher/USA Today.)
The Philadelphia 76ers are the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. It’s a nice comeback after last year’s disappointing season.
I thought they should’ve had the best starting line-up last year. It was a really big line-up of Joel Embiid, Al Horford, Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons, and Josh Richardson. Embiid and Simmons were obviously the stars. Harris was the supplementary scorer. Al Horford would be the stable veteran and Josh Richardson would provide perimeter defense to go along with some three-point shooting (not the best but respectable enough).
Then surprisingly, Horford let out that there were some chemistry issues between the team. It was the actual veteran letting everyone know that they had drama. The spacing of the big line-up didn’t bode well for the team. Injuries also mounted and in the Wubble, Simmons was eventually ruled out for the postseason. That postseason turned out to be a short four games as Boston swept over them in a flash.
Horford had to go due to his awkward fit with the team. Richardson also got dealt as he never provided that outside threat for them. In were Danny Green (coming off a Lakers championship) and Seth Curry (who, of course, has shooting in his blood). They doubled down on spacing and Embiid had the best season of his career.
Plus, the roles are defined. There is no more confusion on who eats first, second, or third. Embiid is the centerpiece of the offense. Harris is the second option. Simmons sets the table and does everything. Curry and Green are the outside snipers. Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz provide the outside artillery off the bench. Tyrese Maxey is another spitfire guard off the bench. Matisse Thybulle will get the stops. And Dwight Howard can still get it done off the bench, as he showed last year with L.A.
And they also have a savvy general manager in Daryl Morey (who came over from Houston) and a veteran coach in Doc Rivers (who is trying to have his own redemption story after what was an awful end to his stint with the Clippers). This particular… process of going from pretenders to contenders has been swift. The Sixers knew they needed a GM that could provide them with the right mix of players and they knew they needed a coach that could get over the hump. While Brett Brown was pretty good in getting his team to the East semifinals at one point (we all know what happened there), Doc, even with his perceived failings with the Clippers, has won a championship with Boston. He knew what to do with this roster and they now have the #1 seed in the East.
But this process wouldn’t be complete if they don’t win the championship. They do have other teams they might have to watch out for on the path to the Finals: a super team in Brooklyn, a hungry team in Milwaukee, a disciplined team in Miami, and even youthful exuberant teams like New York and Atlanta.
For now, though, being #1 is a great first step.
Bullet Passes
We have the weekend left for the regular season and I feel bad for the teams that have to play on Saturday. That means they have a back-to-back to deal with and it could be big in terms of playoff positioning.
For the East, we still have the Hawks, Heat, and Knicks fighting over the fourth spot. They’re, at least, guaranteed to not play in the play-in game. Meanwhile, Hornets, Pacers, and Wizards are still fighting over the right to play Boston in the 7-8 match-up. Remember that in that particular bracket, they get two shots to advance to the real tournament. The 9-10 match-up is doom for the loser of that game. That’s pretty much one or you’re out.
Mavs clinched their spot in the playoffs so the Blazers and Lakers are fighting over the last berth. The 8th spot in the West still hasn’t been decided between the Warriors and the Grizzlies and either of them could play either Rip City or L.A.
Clippers inexplicably lost to the Rockets. Nuggets and Clips are still trying to get to 3 but what’s funny is that I saw Twitter fight over teams that should avoid the Lakers while, at the same time, say that the Lakers are in danger of being eliminated. WHICH IS IT, GUYS?!
No Stephen Curry in the Warriors’ win over the Pelicans. When you have Jordan Poole scoring 38 points, who needs Curry?!
Just for kicks, Russell Westbrook went for 21-12-17 to get his 37th triple-double of the season. Oh, and 183 for his career.
NBA Scoreboard
May 14, 2021
Watch This Play
Look at Tim Hardaway, Jr. channel his dad and give a nifty dish to Kristaps Porzingis.
GOOOOD LAWD pic.twitter.com/YVcl56dQs6
— x – Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 15, 2021
Like I said, the Mavs have clinched a postseason spot. Let’s see if they get further than they did last year.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.