OT: Philadelphia 76ers - Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen... He Was Number One!

[Halladay]

continue.

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[Embiid]

Free McRae.....

 

[Schwarbomb]

Free McRae.....

Interested to see how he does. He was bad in preseason this year with us.

 

[Sniped]

I'd take a chance on him over Marshall, Canaan, and Jakarr.

 

[Hiesenberg]

Definitely Canaan, I'm done with that guy.

 

[deadhead]

Here's what people constantly forget about the Sixers, they're pretty much the youngest team in NBA history. Imagine the Flyers if they did what some fans wanted and started this year with Sanheim, Morin and Provorov on defense, Konecny and AK as forwards, etc. And they'd still have a veteran corp.

NBA players, even the best, tend to hit their stride in their 4th season, few rookies make a serious impact, even the best players, especially the one and done players.

So when you look at the key players on the Sixers:
Okafor - rookie, just turned 20
Noel - 3rd year, but only 2nd year playing
Embiid - 2nd year, but no NBA experience
Saric - no NBA experience
Covington - 3rd year, but only 2nd year playing (D-league isn't the same)
Grant - 2nd year
Stauskas - 2nd year
Sampson - 2nd year
Holmes - rookie
McConnell - rookie

So your experienced players?
Ish - 22 career starts before this season
Thompson - 3rd season, 64 career starts before this season
Canaan - 3rd season, 21 career starts before this season

Which is why you have to look at these players in terms of development, not where they are right now. To say Okafor can't play defense after 41 games, is to say that despite his exceptional combination of size and feet, he can never learn positioning or anticipation. Anyone watching him can see the improvement, he can play big centers one on one and is getting better at reacting to the P&R. He's not going to protect the rim like Noel, he's also not going to get backed down in the paint like Noel.

 

[Hurricane28]

Would you guys do Okafor + Heat Pick + Thunder pick for Russell + Lifting of protections on Lakers pick?

 

[Embiid]

That's pretty rich IMO ...no not at all

 

[Schwarbomb]

Would you guys do Okafor + Heat Pick + Thunder pick for Russell + Lifting of protections on Lakers pick?

Yeah, but I doubt the Lakers would. Since they chose Russell over Okafor to begin with they probably don't value him that highly to punt at a chance at Simmons.

 

[deadhead]

Silly, all you're doing is giving up a lot of assets for slightly better lottery balls.

 

[Karma]

Porzingis' agent steered him away from Sixers before draft

http://www.thescore.com/news/946062

 

[Schwarbomb]

Porzingis' agent steered him away from Sixers before draft

http://www.thescore.com/news/946062

Curry's agent didn't want him on the Warriors either.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-st...want-the-warriors-to-draft-him-023517645.html

 

[TheSpectrum]

Porzingis' agent steered him away from Sixers before draft

http://www.thescore.com/news/946062

Here is to Embiid smashing this guys head in next season at MSG

 

[YEM]

Porzingis' agent steered him away from Sixers before draft

http://www.thescore.com/news/946062

Noel's agent also
a little alarming that he basically shielded porzingis from hinkie

 

[Schwarbomb]

Noel's agent also
a little alarming that he basically shielded porzingis from hinkie

Was it totally Hinkie, or was it he wanted Porzingis in a larger market that already didn't have two high potential big men?

 

[deadhead]

Irrelevant, Sixers were taking Okafor in any case.
Okafor was the consensus #1 until Towns came on, and Okafor has outplayed both Towns and Porzingis one on one.

Okafor may not be a healthy Embiid, but he's still an exceptional prospect.

I mean he's 6'11 270 lbs with great footwork, an improving shot and for a guy who can't defend manages a block a game. People keep talking about him as a finished product, which is weird - he has more upside than Porzingis, who is closer to being maxed out (much stronger than advertised, and probably can't get much bigger without slowing down, and as a European is more advanced as a shooter which means he has less room for improvement there as well).

Go back and look at Okafor's footwork, this guy is an amazing athlete for his size, if he can continue to expand his shooting range and work on the basics of defense, he's a perenniel all star. He's not a big slug, he's very quick on his feet, he's just hasn't gotten a lot of experience or coaching on the defensive end.

 

[Sniped]

Well this game was pretty close in the first quarter... then ya know. The Warriors had 26 assists in the first half, that's on the high end for an entire game.

 

[Jack Straw]

That move Okafor just made down low was sick. 6'11" guys just don't do that.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Buddy Hield is hitting everything today.

 

[Jack Straw]

4 point game. This is weird.

 

[Hurricane28]

Man that was exciting can't wait til their good

 

[Jack Straw]

The Warriors were sloppy but still, great effort by the Sixers.

 

[zarley zelepukin]

108-105 on a buzzer beater; maybe the best possible outcome. Great effort tonight.

 

[Schwarbomb]

Okafor 1 rebound in 21 minutes.

 

[Schwarbomb]

Story of the game are those free throws. Tons a misses by the Sixers and the Warriors attempted 2 the entire game. 2!