[SlickBouncePassParticipant]

 First preseason game but here are some thoughts:

1)  Joel Embiid:  needs to get stronger.  I’m surprised he is like 275 because he looks slender.  Important to remember he is only in his senior year of college right now, and will grow into his body.  I really hope he doesn’t remain that slender in his legs.  Yesterday he played like Mutombo on defense, and KG on offense.  His game was too perimeter oriented and I hope he gets more confidence going hard in the paint.  But he’s a BIG BOY.  Obviously stands out next to Horford, etc.  For all the knockers in the past, they’re still right worrying about his health and he had a moment where I cringed because he tweaked his knee, but I still think there are people out there that denied his talent.  Those that know, have been saying this guy is Noel on Defense and Okafor on offense, he is the combo that makes the other two expendable…let’s get to the others, but first, amongst all his nice plays, the freakiest play I saw him make was where he grabbed the board and came up the court like Ben Simmons.  He coudl’ve passed it to a guard, but he was so young and excited he decided to take it up the court himself. THAT was his most freakish play.  People that say Antetokoumpo is the Freak, Giannis is freaky long, but he doesn’t have the skillset and polish overall that Embiid has.  I was never a huge fan of Giannis.  I will be buying Sixers Pelicans tickets, i can’t wait to see Anthony Davis vs. Joel, God-Willing both stay healthy!!

2)  Dario Saric:  This guy was the consummate PF.  Shooters touch from the outside, and solid rebounder and body.  Just a step slow on defense and running the fast break.  Otherwise, he is a workhorse.  Throwback to the Malone-era and he slots right in at PF.  I really like his size next to Embiid or Okafor.  So it seems like the right play is NOT to have Oak and Embiid play together, but rather have Simmons and Saric play the 4.  Maybe Just run Simmons at Point Forward and have Saric be your traditional 4 next to Embiid.  But the size the Sixers have isn’t fair.

3)  Big Jah and Noel – Jah didn’t play and I’m curious how they will use him.  You can’t double both Jah and Okafor.  And both require double teams.  Do they need to work the high-low?  Noel is a REALLY good backup center.  But I just don’t think Philly has the minutes to play all these guys.  Its kind of a waste having a really good defender in Noel just waste away on the bench in crunch time.  Its not fair to the guy.  But as a backup center, I love him.  He already understands Browns’ system.  I am still curious to see how they’ll use Jah from the PF position.  Saric is a perfect fit next to Embiid.

4)  Overall Offensive Flow – they got destroyed by Boston’s starting unit.  Boston is a playoff team that brought everyone back and added Horford who is great at meshing in.  Philly played its first game together with all the new talent.  I still don’t think Brett Brown is doing the best job with substitutions.  I think when you have the big guys you have, you don’t need the silly quick-draw 3 pointers from RoCo and Sauce.  I don’t like the "run run" mentality.  We need to use what we have, play to our strengths, teach the bigs how to pass out of doubles.  But I loved Saric’s Poise, and Embiid’s passion and command.  When Embiid was doubled he yelled at Stauskas to move for him, not just stand there and stare.  Embiid loves to play the right way, the problem is the guards suck….

5)  The Guards:  Stauskas is trash.  He needs to be cut.  He can’t hit an open 3, his shot is always off.  He thinks he is a ball-dominant guard and he is, in China.  Not in the NBA.  Thompson is the face fo the Sixers-Tank.  Hollis Thompson doesn’t fit with this new team.  Hollis Thompson has NBA size but no fast-twitch muscles in his body, I think my body is more defined than his.  Stauskas and Thompson don’t deserve to play a minute in this league.  TJ McConnell is the backup guard killer.  He can’t start for us, but is great in dead minutes.  Sergio was surprisingly small.  I thoguht he looked like a bigger guard in olympic play, but he can’t defend anyone.  I think he has a better shot than TJ, so I’d start him.  Gerald Henderson was exactly as advertised, just a body.  And Jerryd Bayless is going to be the same as Gerald Henderson, neither are impact guys just NBA bodies that know how to play in a system.  Keep it short, their guards suck.

 

6)  The Bench:  The Sixers bench players with McConnell, Jerami Grant, Noel all play hard and have good NBA experience.  It will be a strength because they are used to playing starter minutes.  I like Luwawu and TLC over Stauskas and Hollis Thompson.  Its another tank year, I’d rather have Luwawu and TLC in teh game over Stauskas and Thompson.

7)  Boston:  They’re a good team that plays together.  Brown was pretty impressive with his athleticism but he was playing against trash in the second half so all that flair doesn’t count much.  They will definitely be a playoff team.  Marcus Smart sucks, he is a football player playing basketball.  He has no basketball skills.  He is a dog defender but I woudn’t want him playing guard for me, because I don’t trsut his offense IQ, I woudn’t trade Noel for him I think Noel is worth more than that.  I don’t want any of the other scrubs hyped up by dudes in this chat iether, like Rozier and RJ Hunter etc.  Noel is worth a lot more than them, but I’d do Noel for Crowder, since Boston already has Brown.

Embiid is the real freak!  Stay healthy!!  How do you all see the frontcourt playing together?

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 Did you just say Giannis doesn’t have the skill set Embiid has?

Gosh you’re delusional.

 

[negguaryParticipant]

that’s more a testament to how talented embid is an can be more than it is a knock to the freak. 

[HitsterParticipant]

 Great to see him finally playing again, he looks as if he can be a legit defensive anchor, his block on Brown showed great mobility for a man his size. Saric looked solid at PF and offers them perimeter shooting too.

Noel looks as if the has been pushed down the pecking order already without the Oak even playing.

 

[pokieParticipant]

 Free Nerlens Noel. I hope his situation gets resolved sooner rather than later. 

[BrentSuriaga01Participant]

I just hope his body doesn’t betray him with injuries. He seems to be more mature as well compared to last year. 

[omphalosParticipant]

I’m glad they’re playing him in the pre-season so he can work out the rust of the last couple of years a little bit.

Expect him to improve dramatically over the course of the season as he gets more comfortable, health providing.

Its clear how scared the league is of him though, they are already giving him hard double-teams.

 

[holefillers1Participant]

 Wizards fouled the snot out of him.

[BeastMode716Participant]

 the last 2 years – more 76ers jokes but wow this kid looked pretty amazing.

What blew me away was he was Clearly rusty & not in basketball shape but he completely intimidated the Celtics starters. They did not attack the cup. They would drive b/c Phila’s guards are horrific but Embiid was everywhere in the lane & he would either block or alter the shot & then they started kicking it out. When Noel came in they attacked the rack again & w/ success – they had No fear of Noel.

At the offensive end – even his misses were impressive. And the C’s were forced to Double him almost immediately which is Crazy if you think about. Normally you Want a guy to shoot who hasn’t played in 2.5 years. Incredible moves & he can stroke it from 3 & he’s got a similar low post game to Okafor – it’s Nuts

I was also impressed w/ his Leadership. He’s got an easy going personality off the court but he was yelling at teammates like "Wake the F up!"when they messed up & failed to come TO him when the Double teams came.

I Def recommend watching the 1st half (he played 12 min) & checking this kid out – he’s got crazy skills at both ends & he’s a Monster but he’s so fluid. I was praying he would fall to the Lakers back in 2014 & I wish he did even more now.

 

 

 

 

[Anton123Participant]

Since everyone is giving Joel raving reviews, I would like to look at the other side of his performance. 

Did anyone notice how incredibly soft Embiid was? He didn’t fight for a single offensive rebound and all his shots were jumpers. Almost Andrea Bargniani like. I hope that changes as he gets more comfotrable.

[ZachAttackParticipant]

 I noticed that too… But I’m guessing that it’s more because he’s coming off of injury and Philly really doesn’t want to risk it with him especially in the preseason. Once he can see how his body holds up after being held out for 2.5 years I can definitely see him fighting for more offensive rebounds and bang down low in the post. But since it’s preseason I assume they don’t want both him and Simmons gone for another season.

[MopgrassParticipant]

 The Sixers are great for having no PG, SG, or SF. They’ve got 5 starting quality players. They just all play two positions. Embiid, Noel, and Okafor are only centers. Embiid shouldn’t be used as a PF… but I bet he will. Saric is only a PF and so is Simmons, though Simmons will rightfully have the ball in his hands most of the time and Saric will mistakenly log a bunch of SF minutes. 

Man they messed up this summer (or last year) by not trading Okafor or Noel. Once the league knows you need to trade one, their value does. Now that Embiid is in, Okafor and Noel’s value will drop further. They’ll get feeer minutes and Embiid will flash glimpses of being superior. 

I assumed they’d stay terrible this year, but Simmons was going to make some games worth watching. I hope that dude heals ASAP… just as a basketball fan. I think Jordan Clarkson would be a great guy to trade for. 1) He’s got point guard experience 2) He’s used to playing off the ball, so when Simmons returns and handles the ball, Clarkson can just play PG defensively 3) His 3 point shot is looking real nice right now 4) He’ll make the current team watchable 5) He’s still young. 6) Lakers could use a center. 

[Magic JordanParticipant]

 Okafor or Noel and the top 3 protected pick back for Clarkson… Absolutely.

[The Scare Crow RisesParticipant]

 I’d give up the Sacramento Swap pick and Noel and nothing more for Clarkson…

I know that’s not enough for Lakers fans but that’s what I got for now lol

 

[Hype Machine]

Scarecrow, you got a lot of nerve making these kinds of trades.

The league knows theres a fire sale on in Philly right now. Bargain deals on Big Men to be had. 70% off marked prices. 

[MopgrassParticipant]

 Last year Clarkson for Noel straight up would’ve worked. I think now Lakers would want more. Not sure what that’d be. 

[HitsterParticipant]

There are 96 minutes across the frontcourt each game – Embiid will be on a minute limit no doubt and Simmons is out until New Year so there will be decent minutes for all guys. If Simmons is a point forward he can play outside of the frontcourt on offence as a nominal SF, the defensive match ups would need to be decided though.

I think Embiid can play PF on offence given his potential shooting range, Oak has to play low post on offence whilst Embiid will obviously play C and anchor the defence. Oak will be less of a liability on defence with Embiid behind him.

[markfitz14Participant]

I would want to stress his body trying to play PF. Just play C. Let the rest work out once the season starts and they see some young Guards/wings improve and make a move to get.  

[MettaWorldDurant1Participant]

 He Made Tyler Zeller Look Like An Absolute Baby! Stuffed Jalen Brown At The Rim ..No No No! 

 

[MettaWorldDurant1Participant]

 Shaq Is Gonna Be On Embiids Nuts

[markfitz14Participant]

Saric having an outside shot will help this team a ton. I will miss seeing Simmons, but it will be great for the flow to have an outside shot going in for the team.  

[JoeWolf1]

Embiid is a natural. I definitely think he’ll take some time to adjust to the NBA, and probably a little longer than he normally would due to his restrictions, and being held out of back to backs, but I expect him to make strides this season.

He was a revelation at Kansas. He was clearly a sponge, and did new and different things every day. You could see him learning on the job, and then using that in his next outing. Crazy thing is that despite his skillset, and natural gifts, he’s raw in terms of experience against high level competition. I think you’ll see a flat out scary Embiid by April.

[mowestenParticipant]

I don’t know how they do it, but Philly needs to play as many of those core guys as possible and to hell with all the other guys. Simmons at the point, Saric at the 3, Okafor 4, Embiid 5, Noel off the bench and whatever leftover scrub you want at the 2.

Why not. The team isn’t going to win anyway with all the other clowns on the roster, at least that lineup would be interesting. I’d tune in to watch that.

[HitsterParticipant]

It doesn’t really matter who starts and who doesn’t, as long as Coach Brown gives all the guys decent minutes.

The consensus had been that 3 to 5 starters would initially be Simmons, Noel, Okafor – that now looks blown out of the water even after we had adjusted it with Simmons out. I don’t know if they could start Saric and Okafor at 3 and 4 or even with Oak at 5 and Embiid at 4 as Saric and Oak guarding faster guys at SF and PF may be an issue.

Also with Saric looking a comfortable fit in the NBA, it makes you wonder how high he would have gone this year or if he had been able to come over when he was drafted. Certainly top 8 would have seemed feasible to me in 2014 and probably top 5 this year.

[Snatalini247Participant]

Okafor at C, Embiid at PF, Noel at SF, Saric at SG, Simmons at PG. Totally unfeasible but it would probably be the most interesting line up to watch ever…

  

[Mr. 19134Participant]

Noel aT SG and Saric at SG is entirely not possible but Saric at SF and 6’9" Covington at SG is entirely feasible

[HitsterParticipant]

 Snatalini’s line up would probably be the biggest NBA starting 5 ever. People have talked about at least 3 of those 5 starting even 4 at a push but all 5 would be impossible I think.

 

 

[NBAjunkie81Participant]

 Rodriguez – I realize neither guy can defend anyone at this level but Rodriguez is a 100x better than TJ

Embiid looks Extrememly rusty & out of shape & just plain inexperienced – that’s what makes it all the more amazing that they guy basically walked off the street into NBA games after not playing a single basketball game or practice for 2+ years & at times he looks like a man among boys

If this dude stays healthy he’s going to wreak havoc & his confidence is through the roof – you can tell this guy Believes he should be scoring 30 a night – he’s going to fit great with Simmons who luvs to pass b/c Embiid wants to score on Every possession – he’s an Alpha no question (saric looks good too)

 

 

 

[Jaymes BrownParticipant]

 You can’t knock the results. 76ers beat the Celtics and nearly beat the Cavs, but Rodriguez screwed it up at the end when they had the lead. Rather than dribble out most of the remaining clock, Rodriguez quickly passed the ball for an open transition 3 pointer. Huge swing of the game right there with a minute left.

 

 

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

Good to see that he has got through 3 games so far although he only seems to be playing 12-13 mpg and there is talk he’ll sit some back to backs once the season starts.

I’d assume that Philly have worked out what his workload should be and will review it every so often as he reaches various targets.

He looked a real scoring threat vs the Cavs and this included a 3 pointer so he’ll be a threat away from the basket too. I’m waiting to see him in tandem with Okafor as Okafor’s low post game and Embiid’s shooting range will be a nightmare match up.

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