The Philadelphia 76ers lost in the 2nd round yet again. This year was supposed to be different, they traded for James Harden, the bad vibes that Ben Simmons (supposedly) brought were gone, they had a real co-star for Joel Embiid, and none of it mattered. They rolled over again in embarrassing fashion… again. Who is to blame and where should Philly go from here?
Let’s go back all the way to June 30th, 2019. It was a large day in the NBA, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant went to the Nets, Kemba Walker went to Boston, and D’Angelo Russell was traded to the Warriors. Another team that had a big day was the Philadelphia 76ers. They had 2 major free agents in Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler, both players they had acquired during the 2018-19 regular season. They made a choice to re-sign Harris to a 5yr/$180 million dollar deal and ended up helping orchestrate a sign and trade that would allow Jimmy Butler to sign with the Miami Heat. They acquired Josh Richardson in the trade and then proceeded to sign Al Horford to a 4yr/$97 million dollar contract that could reach up to $109 million based on incentives. Those decisions blew up in their face almost instantly as the Sixers were swept out of the first round and the Heat, led by Butler, went to the NBA Finals. The Sixers faced those very same Heat in the second round of this season and yet again it was Butler delivering the knockout blow, scoring a game high 32 points and grabbing 8 rebounds, as the Heat eliminated the Sixers in 6 games. It was a display of what the Sixers once had, what they could still have had they paid Jimmy Butler the 5yr/$190 million dollar deal he wanted, and there was no better indication of that when walking off the court in the tunnel Butler was heard by camera’s saying “Tobias Harris over me?!”
Last season Ben Simmons had 1 point in the second half of the game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, this season, James Harden, whom Philadelphia traded Ben Simmons (along with more) for, scored 0 points, attempted 0 shots inside the 3 point line and did not get to the free throw line at all in the 43 minutes he played. Harden has had hamstring issues for a few years now so that could be a big part of why he shot 4/9 for the whole game and didn’t even attempt a single free throw. However, he has also shown throughout his career that he is not one that rises to the occasion when the going gets tough and leads his team to a victory, especially at this later point in his career. It is all fun and games when you are playing in New York on a Sunday afternoon in February putting up a triple-double and smoking the loley Knicks. However, when the lights were the brightest and James Harden needed to rise to the occasion, he folded yet again, just like he has over the course of his career.
In his press conference Thursday night, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers was doing what he normally does in post game press conferences, saying things that make absolutely no sense. This time was no different Thursday when Rivers said “I don't worry about my job. I think I do a terrific job. If you don't, then you should write it. I worked my butt off to get this team here. When I first got here, no one picked us to be anywhere. Again this year, the same thing.” He also said during the same press conference “I came to the conclusion at the end of this game that we were just not good enough to beat Miami.” Doc Rivers told us to write it if we don’t think he did a good job, so that’s what I’ll do. The dude is insufferable. Does not make the in series adjustments necessary, has these quotes that are either dumb or make no sense (most of the time both), always throws players under the bus, refuses to evolve as a coach, and gave DeAndre Jordan real playoff minutes in 2022. I understand he was voted as a top 15 coach of all time but I do not think that Doc Rivers is a good basketball coach in 2022. I think the Sixers should move on but that seems unlikely considering Daryl Morey saying on Friday that Rivers would return as head coach in 2022-23, though Morey has been known to go back on his word before.
The Sixers have a big offseason ahead of them, yet they do not have a lot of flexibility. Harden has a $47.4 million player option that he is expected to opt into so he will be back, Joel Embiid is under contract so he is not going anywhere, and Tyrese Maxey is under contract so he is not leaving. Danny Green tore his ACL last night and has a non-guaranteed contract for next season so he will be gone (and may never play in the NBA again), so they need a 3 and D player to fill that hole. They need some size behind Joel Embiid, Paul Reed is not someone you want to rely upon. The roster around Embiid simply is not good enough, they have a lot of needs and not a lot of pathways to fill those needs. Tobias Harris is a contract they want to get off of their books but who is really going to be willing to take back the 2 years and $76.9 million that is left on it? The Sixers will have to give up a lot of future assets to trade Harris. There are a lot of questions and not a lot of ways to answer those questions for Daryl Morey this summer.
Whether you think the process died the second Ben Simmons passes up the dunk under the basket to Matisse Thybulle, you think it died even before then, or you think it dies when Joel Embiid stops playing for the Sixers, it did not die last night. The Sixers are still trying to figure out how to build a roster around Joel Embiid and one player that would help a lot is the guy that Sam Hinkie traded to start the whole process out: Jrue Holiday. The Sixers lost before the Conference Finals yet again this season and I am not sure they will with the way this roster is constructed.
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