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The Philadelphia Dumpster fire

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"Congrats lil homies," Sixers great Allen Iverson tweeted. "Keep fighting and stay strong."
 
Jack Brickman said:
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Thank you for reminding me about this glorious website. So many old gems.
 
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Note that this screenshot was taken during the third quarter.
 
Two wins in one week? WTF?

Did not expect to see them clime out of 30th spot here: http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings/_/week/6

# 28 Minnesota 4-15
Last Week: 25Losing at home to an 0-17 squad is bad enough. Losing at home to the previously winless Sixers when the visitors shoot a paltry 39 percent from the floor makes it tough for us to focus on the absences of Kevin Martin, Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic as reason to pardon the Wolves.

# 29 Philadelphia 2-18
Last Week: 30The good news: Philly has to be your consensus Team of the Week after finding a way to win in both Minnesota and Detroit after that 0-17 start. The bad news: Each of the three previous teams in NBA history to start a season 0-17 earned no better than the No. 3 pick in the next draft.

#30 Detroit 3-18
Last Week: 29The Stan Van Gundy Pistons are suddenly (and stunningly) this season's Milwaukee. Which is to say they came in aspiring to compete for the No. 8 seed in the East -- just like last season's Bucks -- only to find themselves winning as often as a Philly team that's just trying to win the lottery.​
 
Douglar said:
Two wins in one week? WTF?

Did not expect to see them clime out of 30th spot here: http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings/_/week/6

# 28 Minnesota 4-15
Last Week: 25Losing at home to an 0-17 squad is bad enough. Losing at home to the previously winless Sixers when the visitors shoot a paltry 39 percent from the floor makes it tough for us to focus on the absences of Kevin Martin, Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic as reason to pardon the Wolves.

# 29 Philadelphia 2-18
Last Week: 30The good news: Philly has to be your consensus Team of the Week after finding a way to win in both Minnesota and Detroit after that 0-17 start. The bad news: Each of the three previous teams in NBA history to start a season 0-17 earned no better than the No. 3 pick in the next draft.

#30 Detroit 3-18
Last Week: 29The Stan Van Gundy Pistons are suddenly (and stunningly) this season's Milwaukee. Which is to say they came in aspiring to compete for the No. 8 seed in the East -- just like last season's Bucks -- only to find themselves winning as often as a Philly team that's just trying to win the lottery.​
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Not shocked at all considering how amazingly poor Detroit has been. I suppose when you're already terrible, and then you lose to the terrible-est team there is, you get dropped to the last spot.

That said, Windy made a pretty interesting point a few weeks back on his show. If Philly somehow ends up with the top spot in the draft, expect Embiid or Noel to be made available in a trade since there's a strong chance they'd take Okafor.
 
Inside the Sixers: Questions surround Embiid's conditioning, maturity

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - So, who is Joel Embiid, really?

The 76ers rookie appears to be a likable person. The 7-footer always speaks to reporters in passing, even though he's off-limits for interviews.

He displayed a fun-loving personality on Twitter and Instagram by unsuccessfully recruiting LeBron James to the Sixers and asking out Rihanna and Kim Kardashian on dates.

Yet there appear to be some concerns.

Embiid has a weight issue. Although the Sixers wouldn't disclose his weight, a source said he's close to 300 pounds after being 250 pounds at Kansas last season.

His work ethic is being questioned by some inside the organization.

And a blowup with assistant strength and conditioning coach James Davis is one of the reasons he was sent home during the team's recent West Coast road trip.

So, who is Embiid?

"He's a young, 20-year-old kid who is trying to figure his way into being a professional basketball player and learning life," Sixers forward Luc Mbah a Moute said.

Mbah a Moute knows more about his fellow Cameroonian than anyone here in the United States. He spotted Embiid at a basketball camp in their homeland several years ago. The 28-year-old has mentored Embiid ever since.

"Obviously, you can see some of his immaturity [in] his tweets sometimes," Mbah a Moute said. "But you can also understand how mature he is in certain situations the way he handled himself. . . . He's a good kid, man.

"At the end of the day, it's tough for him being in a situation where people can't really see who he is as a person."

So true.

Reporters are not permitted to interview Embiid until he participates in a full, five-on-five scrimmage, a league policy the Sixers follow. Based on his rehabilitation program for predraft foot surgery, that time may not come until late April or May, if at all this season.

Instead, the public perception of him comes from his fun-loving Twitter pranks, or whether you believe what others say about him.

But here are the definite truths.

Embiid came to the United States as a high school junior to play basketball. Now, for the first time, he has to deal with not being able to play the sport he learned to love.

On top of that, the former Kansas standout is about 6,000 miles from home. Having the support of teammates, especially Mbah a Moute, is good. But there's nothing like having your family around during tough times.

And it has been tough for Embiid, who's still dealing with the loss of his younger brother Arthur. The 13-year-old died in a car accident in October in Africa.

Playing in actual games would be a good way to help him cope. However, the closest he has gotten is participating in pregame shooting drills.

Because of the foot injury, his conditioning has been limited. Embiid can only do things such as use the antigravity treadmill and take long walks to generate a rapid heart rate. In the process, he has become noticeably heavier than the chiseled 250 pounds he carried in college.

The Sixers are trying to address the added weight. Embiid, however, hasn't always been a willing workout participant, according to sources. He's even blown off conditioning drills, one source added.

An altercation with Davis during the West Coast trip, coupled with Brown's wanting him to be in "more of a structured, stable environment," pushed the Sixers to send him home, the sources said.

Because he's not practicing, Embiid is unable to give his side of the story. Maybe that's all for the best. Brown said Embiid "has been good trying to get back on track with his conditioning."

The Sixers don't want to rush the third overall pick onto the court. It's also believed they would be content if he missed the entire season, as Nerlens Noel (knee surgery) did last season. That's understandable.

Embiid was a health risk even before the Sixers drafted him.

A stress fracture in his lower back kept him out of the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments last winter. Still, he was projected to go No. 1 until a stress fracture in his right foot was diagnosed the week before the draft. He had surgery June 20 and was expected to be sidelined up to eight months.

So, the Sixers are being cautious.

"He's boxed up in a big man's frame," Brown said. "He is frustrated at times when he isn't playing. He can't play. And I just feel like there are a lot of things going against him."

The Sixers are hoping he sheds the weight and is 100 percent healthy by next season.

He'll be happy to be back on the court contributing for the Sixers. At that point, we'll finally learn just who Embiid actually is.
 
Seems like someone who isn't ready for the NBA lifestyle and grind. If and hopefully when the rule goes up to 2 years, the guys like Embiid will be the huge benefactors.

He came here from a foreign country without a true support system in place, and at 19/20, you want him to act like a professional in THAT environment? Please.
 
It is interesting how many players are red flagged even before they enter the nba or right after bring drafted. I wonder how many players try to get drafted as a one and done before the tires fall off in terms of health. Some players can get away with hiding injuries for one season. Two, however, is another story. Think Greg Oden.
 
Had to bring back this thread. Philly just lost their 23rd straight dating back to last year. 4 more and they can own that fucking record all to themselves!!
 
This is a good revival. I was just about to bring them up. It's time for people to really reevaluate whether or not bottoming out and tanking is always the best path to rebuild a team. The Sixers, more than any other team, has purposefully tried to be bad multiple years in a row. They haven't added a player worth a significant amount of money in a long time, nor have they tried. Seriously, who was the last player they signed via free agency worth more than 5 million a year? It's been a while.

At this point, and after watching the Cavs do it for four years, I'm not sure this should be the default route taken, and it's especially true for the Sixers who basically did everything they could with their picks so far. Is it worth staying off of the "treadmill of mediocrity" when you're THIS bad, year after year after year? I don't know if it is, especially from a financial standpoint. That arena is empty as hell.
 
Rich said:
This is a good revival. I was just about to bring them up. It's time for people to really reevaluate whether or not bottoming out and tanking is always the best path to rebuild a team. The Sixers, more than any other team, has purposefully tried to be bad multiple years in a row. They haven't added a player worth a significant amount of money in a long time, nor have they tried. Seriously, who was the last player they signed via free agency worth more than 5 million a year? It's been a while.

At this point, and after watching the Cavs do it for four years, I'm not sure this should be the default route taken, and it's especially true for the Sixers who basically did everything they could with their picks so far. Is it worth staying off of the "treadmill of mediocrity" when you're THIS bad, year after year after year? I don't know if it is, especially from a financial standpoint. That arena is empty as hell.
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bottoming out and tanking is the best path to a title for the vast majority of teams. doesn't mean it'll get you anywhere once the lottery balls have landed though. and it's certainly worth noting not all teams actually have title aspirations and are willing to make the sacrifices ($$, losing, whatever else) necessary to get there. of course nobody will ever admit it publicly, but lots are content with being on the treadmill if it'll get em a round in the playoffs and half decent attendance numbers. and that's obviously ok; they are the ones putting up hundreds of millions to buy a sports franchise. but, they aren't gonna actually win a title trying any sort of rebuild-on-the-fly nonsense.

also, it's incredibly premature to dismiss the 76ers rebuild considering 2 of their top 5 picks have missed entire seasons. of course they're still going to be awful. yes, embiid is likely a bust because of his super poor attitude seemingly killing any chance of full recovery from injury, but noel can still be ok and okafor looks good (on one end of the court, at least...). most importantly, the absolute last thing they should be criticized for is lack of free agent spending. paying out a ton of money for anyone at any point in the past 3yrs would've been horrendously bad. you don't hand out huge contracts without a core in place - period.

edit: regarding the cavs, yes, their rebuild was mostly a disaster until they were bailed out by lebron, love, etc. that has nothing to do with tanking and everything to do with piss poor front office decisions though. tanking put them in a position to rebuild through the draft with an incredibly strong core; that is independent of their terrible draft picks. tanking will only get a team so far, the front office needs to hold up their end of the deal too.
 
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I have no issue with what Philadelphia is doing. None whatsoever.

Unfortunately for them, you need a significant amount of luck (drafting Steph Curry 7th and Klay Thompson 11th or landing the No. 1 pick in the draft three out of four years for example) in the drafting process for this to work and they simply haven't had it yet.

But this upcoming draft they'll have their own pick PLUS the Lakers pick (plus they have the ability to swap picks with the Kings if Sacto happen to win the lotto), so it's absolutely possible that Philly ends up with two top five picks.

They snag Ben Simmons, Jamal Murray in the draft, bring Saric over, and get Embiid healthy enough to play or trade and people might not be laughing anymore.
 
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