September 18, 2024
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Will the NBA Cup -- formerly known as the In-Season Tournament -- matter to the Sixers and other teams in 2024-25?
We are inside of two weeks from the start of Sixers training camp, with the team's roster for The Bahamas likely set in stone. Let's talk about whatever's on your mind.
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From @rlynch2013: I'm all in on the NBA Cup but do you think that the Sixers / rest of teams will really take it seriously, especially after what happened with the Lakers last season?
I was somewhat skeptical headed into last year's NBA Cup — then known as the In-Season Tournament — that the buy-in from players would be there for the new wrinkle in the league's calendar. Not only did I enjoy the entirety of the tournament, but there seemed to be plenty of enthusiasm from players and teams, all of which took it seriously.
Surely, teams will not do anything in NBA Cup play that would jeopardize a player's long-term health. If last season's frequent attempts to increase point differentials late in games tell us anything, though, it is that teams and players were both fully cognizant of how the tournament works and also cared.
On top of the natural competitiveness that emerges in situations like these, there is a monetary reward for winning the NBA Cup. Last season, each player on the victorious Los Angeles Lakers received a $500,000 reward. When you look at the salaries of players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, you may think that is insignificant. But that makes up nearly half of the minimum salary for a rookie on a standard NBA deal and is considerably more than a player will make if they spend an entire season on a two-way contract.
Early returns from 2023 indicate that star players with massive contracts already signed take it as a badge of honor to try to help players on their team with relatively minimal career earnings earn that extra check.
From the Sixers' perspective, it is not hard to imagine the jokes that would ensue if the team won the NBA Cup and then had another premature playoff exit. But as long as their pursuit of NBA Cup glory does not interfere with their NBA Finals aspirations, there is no real reason to not pursue a banner — even if it is not the ultimate banner.
From @JoelHinkieMaxey: Do you prefer Embiid plays in short stints like with Brett Brown or long stints like with Nick Nurse?
In a perfect world, I would use Embiid in longer stretches to allow the former NBA MVP to impose his will on the game for longer periods of time. But time and time again, Embiid suffers the impact of fatigue late in games down the stretch of the season.
If there was ever a season in which Embiid sticking to his long stints of action could work during a deep playoff run, it would be one in which he is sharing the floor in two All-Star scorers lie Tyrese Maxey and Paul George, who can help ease Embiid's workload on the offensive end of the floor.
When I tried mapping out an entire game's worth of substitutions and lineups two months ago, I gave Embiid a pattern resembling the ones Brown often used, with several stints on the floor that are on the shorter side. In general, I believe a superstar as excellent as Embiid will be perfectly capable of dominating opposing teams whether he is playing in, let's say, six stints of six minutes each as opposed to four stints of nine minutes each — and it should keep him at least a bit more fresh for that last stretch in the fourth quarter.
Someone could count on one hand how many times Maxey has looked noticeably fatigued during a game during his four years with the Sixers; using him — or even George, whose on-court style generally involves less exertion — for longer stints seems like the much more sensible option for Nurse to begin the season.
From @takesentry: Should [Nurse] experiment with two-big lineups with Joel at the four and [Andre] Drummond at the five?
I can understand why someone would watch the Sixers' playoff losses to the New York Knicks last season and suggest using an Embiid-Drummond lineup if the Sixers find themselves being pummeled on the glass. But unless Drummond miraculously develops a jumper, it is just not something I will advocate for.
If Embiid and Drummond shared the floor, one of them would be forced to defend on the perimeter on just about every possession. Drummond is not capable of doing that; asking Embiid to do it is a waste of both his energy and his talents as a rim protector.
Additionally, running offense through Embiid and allowing him to decimate opposing defenses would become much harder with a non-shooting big cramming the paint and encouraging his defender to double-team Embiid.
Very rarely can NBA teams put out a single lineup with no weaknesses. The job of these teams is to focus on an identity and buy into that. The Sixers could play Embiid and Drummond together in an effort to secure more rebounds, but they would quickly lose nearly all of their versatility on the defensive end of the floor while seeing considerably worse floor spacing on offense. In cases like these, the sacrifices are not worth making.
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