November 22, 2017
The local support for the Sixers has exploded over the last year or so, but there was always a core group of die-hards singing the virtues of The Process during the lean years. You could not say the same about the national view of their rebuilding plan. There were a few prominent defenders in the national media, but the broad view was that Sam Hinkie was a fraud, and the plan was never going to work.
As it turns out, when you finally get a couple of top prospects on the court together, the conversation tends to change. Following a dominant performance from Joel Embiid against the Lakers and a solid start to the season from the team as a whole, damn near everybody is trusting the process.
We've come a long way from hearing the rebuild referred to as a "Ponzi scheme." Here's what the rest of the sports world has to say about the 76ers through 16 games played.
In previous years, the Sixers forced other teams to respect their effort, because it was just about all they had. Now that they have some legitimate young talent leading the way, NBA stars are beginning to take them seriously.
Portland guard Damian Lillard spoke with reporters during a Tuesday evening practice, and he sang the praises of what they have brewing in Philadelphia.
I think they're really good. They've obviously got a lot of talent that they've built up over the years, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, but they've put really good pieces around them. JJ Redick, Robert Covington—he's a really good wing defensively and shooting the ball—Amir Johnson, they've brought in some really solid players to support those guys. It's looking good, they're playing really well.
I think in the past we took them lightly, and they kind of jumped out and played hard and they beat us. This year you have no choice but to respect what they've done and how they're playing. They're not doing it like it's luck, they're out there hoopin'.
Kevin Pelton | ESPN (Insider)
We are quickly approaching the first quarter mark of the 2017-18 season, and the qualifiers for small sample size will start to go out the window. Simmons is a long way from the 82nd game, but he continues to put up ridiculous numbers in winning efforts.
You've heard all the comparisons by now, with Simmons standing alongside giants like Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. Pelton dug through the data, and though the numbers we have access to limit our ability to say, he believes you could be looking at the most versatile rookie in the history of the NBA.
At some point, comparing players more than five decades apart becomes challenging. Scorers awarded assists less frequently in the 1960s than they do today, and the faster pace made it more difficult for a single player to dominate as much of the offense as in the modern game. So you're well within your rights to stick with Robertson's rookie season as the most versatile ever. But there's reason to believe Simmons may be the most versatile rookie we've ever seen.
To see the numbers of Simmons compared against the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic, and Wilt Chamberlain, you'll have to subscribe to Insider. But you can infer from the comparisons that Simmons is off to quite a start. [espn.com]
After Embiid got into it with Donovan Mitchell in Monday's win against the Utah Jazz, there were some detractors who cautioned the big man about trying that sort of stuff with the wrong person. They were concerned, evidently, that a humongous human being would somehow be ill-equipped to defend himself if someone really took exception with the trash talk and trolling.
Embiid had the chance to address the matter on the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter on Tuesday, and he seems completely unfazed.
Oh no, I'm not worried about that. If those guys they want to get their feelings hurt and if they're not strong mentally, that's not my fault. But I think when it comes down to it and if we all got to square up, I'm 7'2", I'm a big dude. I don't think you want to try me, and I'm African too.
That's the whole point of playing basketball, having fun, go out there, have fun, kick someone's ass, and just play basketball.
It's worth hearing this one in Embiid's voice, because it definitely adds to the comedic factor.
Good news,
— Sixers Legion (@SixersLegion) November 22, 2017
The trolling isn’t stopping any time soon 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/0fY3quXA1H
I'm not one to take Shaq's stories at face value, because he tends to stretch the boundaries of reality a bit at times. But his word still carries weight among big men, and we all have the tape of him pulverizing everyone in his path during his physical prime.
As Shaq explained during a recent episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, his son spotted Sixers rookie Markelle Fultz while they were at a Benihana in Los Angeles. Since it's hard for Shaq to stay anonymous anywhere he goes, a Sixers staffer approached O'Neal, and he said this is how it went from there.
Security guard comes to me and says, 'Hey man, Joel loves you bro.' And I said you know what, before we get started, you need to tell Joel I owe him an apology. I was hard on him last year, because you know how when you see people and you really don't know? But this kid is the truth. So we exchanged numbers, and we've been talking the last couple days, but he's a really nice kid. His game is really, really—like me, I don't give it up—I'm giving it up, I'm giving it up to Joel Embiid, his game is nice.
I don't want to brag, but he was doing okay the first half [against the Lakers], so I text this guy and this is what you got to do against...boom. And he followed it.
O'Neal even went so far as to reenact the text conversation he had with the Sixers' security staffer, who allegedly shared the conversation with Embiid mid-game. No one will ever accuse Shaq of not claiming enough credit.
You can hear the whole story starting around the 9:22 mark of this podcast episode. The simple fact that Shaq is showing respect for Embiid is a big step, because he spends most of his time on Inside the NBA ripping the contributions of all the best current bigs in the league.
Danny Chau | The Ringer
The comparisons to Hakeem Olajuwon are never-ending for Embiid, even if he doesn't quite fit the same mold as his idol just yet. But Chau sees a hybrid in Embiid, a man who can combine the size and talents of players like O'Neal and Olajuwon and weaponize them against the most unstoppable force in today's NBA.
Embiid’s 46-point, 15-rebound, seven-assist, and seven-block eruption against the Lakers on Wednesday was unlike anything we’d seen from an NBA center since the turn of the century. It felt like a performance born from the imagination of a child in 1995, marveling at the clash between Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon in Game 1 of the NBA Finals series featuring the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets, noticing their stark differences in size and style, and then wondering, “What if Shaq could shoot like Hakeem; what if Hakeem were as big as Shaq?” More than two decades later, Embiid has arrived as wish fulfillment. He is a thought experiment come to life, a stylistic amalgam of two ’90s titans sent to us to solve the modern problem plaguing the NBA — the Warriors’ dominance.
Embiid may not be able to stop the Warriors on his own, but as we've seen across two matchups in the span of a week, the Sixers are equipped to throw haymakers at elite teams. Whether they can shake off vicious hooks from their opponent is a different story. [theringer.com]
Emily Anderson | Liberty Ballers
A hush falls over the Wells Fargo Center crowd whenever Embiid hits the floor, and for good reason. The injury history is well-documented, and now that everyone has seen what he can do while healthy, no one wants to lose him for any significant period of time.
I'm of the opinion that it's also silly to let his falling bring you down and scare you every time it happens. Anderson agrees, and she shows some video and photo evidence of the big fella using proper landing technique.
There is going to be no shortage of bad landings in basketball, not when you have 7-foot-tall explosive athletes flying through the air. In recent games, Embiid has exhibited positive landing technique showing that he has not developed bad habits a la Derrick Rose. He has created a strong base with his lower frame, landed on two feet and a bend in his knee, and occasionally taken a fall. So when Embiid says that we don’t need to worry when he falls and that he’s not made of glass, I think I’m going to start listening. [libertyballers.com]
David Aldridge | NBA.com
There always seems to be some reason for national folks to skirt around considering Sixers players for Rookie of the Year. The song-and-dance with Simmons this year is one we heard in smaller doses for Embiid: he had a year around an NBA team, so he shouldn't qualify as a rookie.
Nonsense says Aldridge, who summed the matter up like so as part of his Morning Tip mailbag.
I do understand your sentiment. I would just say in response that players for a generation have all said the same thing, that nothing -- nothing -- prepares you for NBA basketball except playing NBA basketball. Being around it, doing all the lifting and running, getting coaching on the plane or bus are all good, but you only learn and improve by being on the floor against the best players in the world, night in and night out. So I’m not going to subtract in any way from what he’s doing (I agree with you that right now, he’s the odds-on favorite for ROTY) because he was around last season. He’s earning it now, on the floor.
Here's an analogy for the skeptics to consider: you're a teenage student who sets plans in motion to go to college. Unforeseen financial issues arise at the last minute, and as a result, you're unable to take a single class until the following year. All the while, you still (somehow) have the means to live in that same college town, soaking in the rest of what it means to be a college student, from frat parties to meal plans and living on your own for the first time.
So when you started your first semester of classes the following fall, what would your academic standing be? A freshman. A spectacularly prepared freshman, but a freshman all the same. You don't get credit for not taking any classes, and you don't get any for appearing in zero NBA games. Kill this noise already, and deal with Simmons being the best rookie in the league so far. [nba.com]
